Building an AI Tatung
Building an AI Tatung: A Digital Oracle Inspired by Tatung tradition
Recently I added two experimental features to this blog:
- tAItung - an AI oracle inspired by the tatung trance medium tradition
- Kauchim - a digital fortune stick interpretation tool
You can try them here:
This started mostly as a curiosity project. And honestly, it’s been surprisingly fun.
The Curiosity Behind It
Every year around Cap Go Meh, there are many videos circulating online showing celebrations in Indonesia, especially from Kalimantan.
One of the most fascinating parts is the appearance of tatung, a trance mediums who enter a ritual state and deliver symbolic guidance or messages.
Whether you interpret this as spirituality, cultural performance, or ritual psychology, the structure is interesting.
A typical sequence looks something like this:
- The medium enters a trance
- A symbolic vision or sign appears
- The meaning is interpreted
That structure immediately made me think:
This feels like something an AI could simulate surprisingly well.
So I built a small experiment to test the idea.
The Structure of the Oracle
The oracle responses follow a strict narrative structure:
TRANCE The medium enters a trance and senses unseen forces.
VISION A symbolic scene appears, often involving nature, places, or mystical imagery.
INTERPRETATION The meaning of the vision is explained in relation to the user’s question.
This structure works well because it gives the system a clear storytelling pattern.
Instead of trying to predict the future, the oracle simply produces symbolic guidance.
Prompt Design Matters
Most of the work behind the scenes is actually about prompt design and structure, not the AI itself.
For example, the oracle responses rely heavily on symbolic imagery such as:
- wind
- rivers
- lanterns
- temples
- mist
- mountains
- falling leaves
These symbols help generate visions that feel mystical and atmospheric.
Without a structured prompt and symbolic vocabulary, the responses would feel far less interesting.
Two Small Experiments
tAItung
tAItung simulates the experience of consulting a trance medium.
You ask a question, and the oracle responds with:
- a trance moment
- a symbolic vision
- an interpretation
It’s not meant to predict the future, but to provide a reflective and symbolic answer.
Kauchim
The second experiment is Kauchim, inspired by traditional fortune sticks.
In traditional practice, someone shakes a container of numbered bamboo sticks until one falls out. Each number corresponds to a fortune poem.
In this version:
- A digital “stick” is drawn
- The oracle interprets its meaning
- The user receives a symbolic message
It’s essentially a modern reinterpretation of an old ritual format.
Guardrails
Since these tools are public, I also added some simple safeguards:
- request limits
- format validation
- filtering of problematic inputs
- response sanitization before display
The goal is simply to keep the system stable and prevent obvious abuse.
Why Build Something Like This?
Mostly because experimentation is fun.
The internet is full of very serious AI applications like productivity tools, coding assistants, research systems.
But sometimes it’s enjoyable to build something a bit strange.
A digital oracle inspired by cultural traditions sits somewhere between:
- storytelling
- folklore
- human curiosity about the future
And that combination turns out to be surprisingly entertaining.
Try It
If you’re curious, give it a try:
Ask the oracle something about your plans, your decisions, or even something random.
Just remember:
The oracle offers guidance, not certainty.
And sometimes the spirits are feeling poetic.
Albert