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RISKY RIDE. Sri Wahyuni, also known as Ayu, performs in the "Wall of Death," locally known as "tong setan" or the Satan’s Barrel, at a fairground in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Wahyuni was the star of the most-awaited performance at the night fair on the outskirts of Medan city. She began riding the Satan’s Barrel at age 17, drawn to it by curiosity while searching for work. Now 25, she’s a key performer in the iconic Indonesian night fair act. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Sri Wahyuni, also known as Ayu, left, and Rismauly Girsang, perform in the "Wall of Death," locally known as "tong setan" or the Satan’s Barrel, at a fairground in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
Performers ride in the "Wall of Death" (pictured), which is locally known as "tong setan" or the Satan’s Barrel, at a fairground in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
(AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)
From The Asian Reporter, V35, #7 (July 7, 2025), page 20.
A death-defying ride & a night’s earnings in the Satan’s Barrel
By Binsar Bakkara and Edna Tarigan
The Associated Press
MEDAN, Indonesia — On the motorbike seat, she started the engine, sped up, and began a death-defying performance inside the track known as the Satan’s Barrel.
Sri Wahyuni was the star of the most-awaited performance at the night fair on the outskirts of Medan city in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province.
She began riding the Satan’s Barrel at age 17, drawn to it by curiosity while searching for work. Now 25, she’s a key performer in this iconic Indonesian night fair act.
Riding in the Satan’s Barrel requires courage. The riders don’t wear helmets on the velodrome track also known as the "Wall of Death."
Wahyuni always rides with one other biker, and sometimes as many as five ride on the circular track, its painted wooden walls 19 to 33 feet in diameter.
That, of course, makes the audience nervous.
Wahyuni works at least four hours a night. One recent evening, the single mother took her 5-year-old daughter to the fair, fed her, then let her wait at the ticket box during the show.
At the end of the performance, the women spread their arms and even held hands on their motorbikes, signalling the finale.
The audience stuck out their hands to give money from the top of the barrel, and Wahyuni and her partner welcomed the bills one by one, a tip for the excitement they presented that night.
Afterward, they tidied up the bikes and counted their tips.
Wahyuni earns a weekly salary, but the tips help with rent and daily needs for her small family. She admits it is difficult for her to find a new job or start a business by herself.
"I am hoping for the best. I think there is no way I can keep working like this," Wahyuni said.
Tarigan reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.
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