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uban, 40, tried to breathe fresh air outside room in Mitra Husada Hospital in Tangerang, Banten, on Tuesday, where he was being treated after sustaining burns to both of his hands.

He, along with 13 other friends, was admitted to the hospital after their teacher, identified as 35-year-old Didi, poured acid on their bare hands last week as part of a test to evaluate their invulnerability skills. The incident took place at Didi’s rented house in Rawa Kopi, Tangerang, located on the outskirts of western
Jakarta.

Nine of them were released from the hospital as of Tuesday morning, while the rest had to receive intensive treatment.

For the past few months, prior to the invulnerability test, they had undergone a series of training and religious rituals. What was supposed to be the final step, however, turned catastrophic.

“Honestly I feel embarrassed now. It exposed me to the media and this is not the result that I wanted. In two weeks, I need to get back to work,” said the 40-year-old man, while struggling to move his hands.

Suban said before the acid was poured on his hands, he had seen Didi’s feet being rinsed with it, which apparently did not affect him.

As a worker in a firm that maintains coal-fired power plants, he spends most of his time working in remote areas including exploring Sumatran and Kalimantan jungles, where he faces many potential dangers.

“Becoming a jawara [fighter] is not my intention. My job forces me to work in the jungle and I just want to equip myself with strengths and abilities so when I encounter a wild animal, for example, I can survive,” he claimed.

Didi, who remains at large, originally came from Lampung in Sumatra and had been renting a house in the village for the past three months. He fled the scene after the incident and was being pursued by the police, who charged the fugitive for violating Article 360 of the Criminal Code on negligence leading to injury. He could be imprisoned for up to five years if convicted.

“Our personnel are tracing his whereabouts, and this case appears to be the first of its kind [for us],” Tangerang Police chief Sr. Comr. Harry Kurniawan said.

Such dangerous incidents are not uncommon in the province, where Debus, a local term for the martial art and ancient ceremony of proving the power of faith, is perceived as tradition.

The roots of Debus can be traced back to the 16th century. At that time, it was popular among local fighters and symbolized the fight against Dutch colonialism.

The practice involves some death-defying feats, including attempts to slash one’s body with a machete, eating shards of glass, setting oneself on fire and withstanding a powerful blow from a sledgehammer.

“Doing so requires comprehensive training and rituals. It cannot be taught carelessly given the gravity of the danger,” said Naim Badra, the chairman of Pendopo Macan Samudera dari Utara (Sea’s Tiger from the North).

“It should be professionally organized and everything should be prepared in case of an emergency,” added Naim, who is also an active senior member in the Tangerang Regency Martial Arts Association.

Didi is largely unknown among Debus adherents in the region, and what he did was an attempt to seek recognition, Naim said.

Debus is popular in the province and it is often performed at ceremonies and festivals. Being a jawara provides them with a wide range of connections, including with companies and government institutions, which could grant them jobs or invitations to important events.

“Anyone mastering it normally earns respect from the locals,” Naim said.

In the past few years, performers of the practice have injured themselves in a number of incidents, such as during an Islamic Students Day in Tambelangan, Sampang regency, in East Java last month, which seriously injured a young man.

In 2012, two residents of Cilincing in North Jakarta died after acid was poured on them during a Debus training session in Serang, Banten.