Tung Tung Tung Sahur

A New Monster from the Italian Brainrot Squad

*disclaimer - I don’t usually share A.I. art but this story would be incomplete without it… definitely a phrase I thought I would never say .

This week’s monster, Tung Tung Tung Sahur, is internet famous and part of the very real and extremely viral meme trend, Italian Brainrot. Tung Tung Tung Sahur is a baby monster, freshly birthed from the union of TikTok and an A.I. meme. He is also not Italian but that is not a prerequisite to become part of this meme genre. To be considered Italian Brainrot, a meme needs A.I., absurdist humor, intense sound design, and some cultural remixing.

Several sources state that on February 28^th, 2025, TikToker noxaasht posted the first known image of this Indonesian meme monster, a wooden stickman standing at a train or bus stop. The rest became Italian Brainrot history. A new monster was born. Like all great legends, the lore has evolved and continues to evolve with each retelling/edit/repost.

Tung Tung Tung Sahur is loosely based on an old and very real Indonesian tradition called a public waking. During Ramadan in some areas, people drum to wake others for Sahur, their pre-dawn meal. The drum that is used is called a bedug and makes a sound that the words “tung tung tung” is mimicking.

Ahasa Indonesia: Bedug dan kentongan milik Masjid Raya Pare, Kediri, Jawa Timur.

Ignoring this drumming is how one might accidentally summon Tung Tung Tung Sahur. If a person fails to answer the call to Sahur three times, Tung Tung Tung Sahur comes for them wielding his baseball bat. This type of tale reminds me of other monster lore told to scare followers into compliance such as the Christmas Witch. These entities exist to scare humans into keeping cultural traditions that they may feel tempted to skip.

It makes perfect sense that most people would not want to wake up pre-dawn to eat and meditate before a day of fasting. It is a tradition that many must be tempted to skip, some choosing to hit that snooze button a few more times. It seems that the world was ready for this early morning tradition to get its own enforcement entity. The story warns followers not to ignore the call to Sahur, demonstrating that there could be consequences much more dire than not having enough energy during a day of fasting.

Say what you will about this Italian Brainrot trend, it is strangely mesmerizing and compelling to witness an urban legend being born and raised by the internet. In fifty years, will these funny memes pass the test of time and become terrifying tales to scare people into answering the call to Sahur? Tung Tung Tung Sahur is young but he could become as terrifying as older, more established monsters. As in most lore, only time will tell.

For now, I will accept that it is pretty satisfying to say “Tung Tung Tung Sahur” and that is probably half the appeal. The other half is the sheer love of the absurdist meme game, and the game is definitely afoot. There are many, many others in the Brainrot Monster Squad like Brr Brr Patapim, a Bombardino Crocodilo, and Lirilarila. One of the most popular Italian Brainrot memes is Ballerina Cappuccina. Obviously, she is a ballerina with a cappuccino for a head. There’s an assassin involved. Some even ship her with Tung Tung Tung Sahur, but other fans are very against that relationship. There are several songs about these creatures including the popular one below, Tralalero Tralala - The Italian Brainrot Song.

I do think trying to overanalyze the momentum behind these creatures is a mistake. Silliness and alliteration have always entertained humans and will continue to do so long after we get bored of A.I. and memes. I am actually considering writing a drabble based on one or a few of these Italian Brainrot memes but it will need to be silly and filled with alliteration as well as being scary, and that is a tall order. I will have to decide if I can deliver…

…for now, please participate in the poll!