Gunungkidul is practically synonymous with hardship. Its hilly karst land forms gorgeous but unforgiving barren landscapes. Water can be extremely scarce during the dry season when farmers, who account for the majority of the 725,000 residents, can grow only a few types of food crops, especially cassava.

The harsh life has naturally driven it’s young to big cities for a better life. And thanks to the hard lesson they learned from childhood, Gunungkidul migrants boast a reputation as tenacious workers whose remittances greatly contribute to the local economy.

Despite all the economic improvements in recent years thanks to the people’s prowess to turn their infertile land into beautiful beaches, caves and adventure tourism, the masses remain impoverished.

The horrible old tradition that won’t die is... suicide.

Official statistics show that between 2003 and 2016, 33 people committed suicide every year, one of the highest rates among other regions. So far this year, the local administration has recorded 20 cases of suicide and two canceled suicidal attempts.

But the problem is more complex than just the economy. Poverty, lack of education, mysticism and low self-esteem among people in rural agrarian communities — all play a role. Those who cling to Javanese mysticism believe in the existence of pulung (supernatural bell-weather of luck — bad or good luck).

In local Javanese cosmology, the pulung is an apparition that takes the form of shooting stars that cross the night sky in different colors. The good one is burning blue and the bad one takes the shape of a red fire ball — all have bright tails. Sightings are often reported by people heading home from seeing the nightlong performance of the Javanese shadow puppet, so the tale goes.

In rural areas, people can talk on and on about seeing from horizon a heavenly body the size of a soccer ball burning bright like fire falling from the sky, usually at dawn. If the apparition is blue, it is a harbinger of good for the person it strikes, such as winning a major prize or public position. But if it’s fire-red, oh my God, its pulung gantung — an ominous sign that somebody in the neighboring village would kill himself or herself by hanging on a string usually tied up on the roof or a tree in the garden.

In the smartphone era of today, many people in Gunungkidul still take the myth seriously. They say anyone struck by pulung gantung is destined to commit suicide by way of hanging, although some do it by plunging into a dug well.

Kandriyanto, a 80-year-old and veteran teacher, says that once a person is struck by the pulung gantung, he or she will develop a suicidal feeling, even if they show no signs of distress or tell anyone about their intention to commit the horrible act.

“Legend has it that pulung gantung is in fact Nyai Roro Kidul [goddess of the southern seas in Javanese folklore] swooping on people who feel worthless to be enslaved in her kingdom.”

The myth surrounding suicide that is alive and kicking along with Islamic conservatism in the regency baffles many in and outside the poor regency. Local authorities say people who committed suicide usually had something in common: economic problems, such as mounting debt; chronic ailments or mental health issues.

Amid the embarrassing torrent of bad news exposing the high rates of suicide in Gunungkidul, Regent Badingah formed a team last month to address the issues more seriously. Obviously, she is convinced that religious virtues will do the trick.

So the team’s activity on the ground focuses on preaching about the need for vulnerable people, especially those who live alone and the elderly who are no longer supported by their offspring, to pray more.

“We believe that boosting people’s faith will reduce the suicide rate,” Mukotib, the local religious affairs agency chief told the media.

Hmm, let’s see. While the real cause of the social problem is poverty and diseases as the local government bureaucrats believe, they think that piety is the panacea. Would anyone buy it?

Maybe Aristotle was right when he famously said, ‘’To run away from trouble is a form of cowardice and, while it’s true that the suicide braves death, he does it not for some noble object but to escape some ill.”