Female Circumcision in Indonesia: To "Islamize

Archipel
Female Circumcision in Indonesia : To " Islamize " in Ceremony or

Secrecy
Andre Feillard, Lies Marcoes
Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Feillard Andre, Marcoes Lies. Female Circumcision in Indonesia : To " Islamize " in Ceremony or Secrecy. In: Archipel,
volume 56, 1998. L'horizon nousantarien. Mlanges en hommage Denys Lombard (Volume I) pp. 337-367;
doi : 10.3406/arch.1998.3495
http://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_1998_num_56_1_3495
Document gnr le 17/03/2016
Andre FEILLARD & Lies MARCOES

Female Circumcision in Indonesia :
To " Islamize " in Ceremony or Secrecy
Female circumcision in Indonesia has received little attention in the past

decades, and we have to go back to the early 20th century to find solid
documentation on the subject. The reason may be that the practice remains
surrounded by a certain amount of secrecy in some regions but also that it is
being minimized as a purely symbolic gesture, compared to the mutilating
cliteroctomy known on the African continent. As such, the practice in
Indonesia would not be worthwhile discussing.
Male circumcision in Indonesia has been a recent theme of research by
Nico Kaptein, who showed that the traditional incision dating from preIslamic times has been progressively replaced by circumcision. This process
was accelerated after a number of Meccan muftis, disapproving of mere
incision, issued fatwas at the end of the 19th century. Such a local practice,
they warned, could result in grave consequences in the social, ritual, and
eschatological domains. The indigenous technique of incision thus started
disappearing in a number of places, a trend reinforced in this century by
three factors : the influence of reformist Islam, which is keen on eradicating
local customs ; medicalization ; and centralization, as expressed in the
emergence of mass circumcision ceremonies. (!)
1. Nico Kaptein, " Circumcision in Indonesia : Muslim or not ? ", in Jan Platvoet and Karel van der Toorn
(eds.), Pluralism and Identity : Studies in ritual behaviour, Brill, Leiden etc., 1995, pp. 285-302. I would
like to thank Nico Kaptein for his comments, his help with the bibliography and his verification of part of
my Dutch translations. A.F.
Archipel 56, Paris, 1998, pp. 337-367
338
Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes
So far, female circumcision has been dealt with as a theme of research

subsidiary to male circumcision. Today, at the time of the so-called Islamic
revival, issues of concern to Muslim women are receiving increased
attention and have been taken up in the press. The aim of this paper is to
follow up on Dutch studies in the 1920s to find out what evolution the
practice has experienced this century. Is female circumcision a pre-Islamic
practice as is proven for male incision ? Has it spread together with
Islamization ? Is the operation different from what it used to be ? Which
population group is most concerned with this practice? Has the age of
practice changed ? How is it perceived at the end of the 20th century ?
In the first part of this article, data collected mostly by Dutch scholars
since the second half of the 19th century are summarized. The second part
deals with the perception of female circumcision in the post-independence
period, a subject which has received surprisingly little attention considering
the fact that the practice seemed relatively widespread. In the third part, the
current state of the practice is analyzed. It was however, impossible to
encompass the multitude of ethnic groups written about by the cited
researchers. Our interviews were conducted at random in the various
provinces visited, mostly on Java. Thus, this article offers no more than a
preliminary analysis. We hope to embark on more fieldwork in the near
future. The fourth part gives the current standpoint of various Muslim
organizations.
Historical data and terminology
Data on female circumcision is rare and succinct but ethnologists and
linguists have made some notes on it in the course of their work, mostly after
the second half of the 19th century.
The first assessments (17th - early 20th)
The oldest testimony on female circumcision in the archipelago dates
back to the end of the 17th century and is found in the Description historique
du royaume de Macacar by the French author Nicolas Gervaise, the private
tutor of two Makassar princes. (2) After a long description of the male
circumcision ceremony, Gervaise writes that he believes the Makassarese are
the only Muslim people to circumcise girls as, "different from the Turks",
2. On Gervaise, see C. Pelras in Archipel 54 : pp. 63-80. Gervaise's book was first published in Paris, in
1688, then in Ratisbonne, which is the edition we cite here. Gervaise never traveled to Makassar, and his
detailed account is apparently based on detailed interviews with the princes.
Archipel 56, Paris, 1998
Female Circumcision in Indonesia
339
they believe salvation is possible for women, who should be allowed to save
their souls through circumcision. Gervaise says it is practiced "in secret",
quietly while "men are never present". Different from boys - who are to sit
on a buffalo head before the operation - the girls suffer less and are able to
walk the following day. The ceremony takes place at the same time as a
boy's so that she might receive the blessings coming to boys so that she may
profit from the boy's superiority (in French : la plnitude de la sanctification
du premier sexe puisse suppler au dfaut de perfection du second)
(Gervaise 1670 : 179).
Male and female circumcision were more widespread than Gervaise had
imagined, both in the Islamic world in general and in the archipelago, where
Islamization spread beginning in the 13th century.
More reports on the practice start to appear in ethnological work in the
second part of the 19th century. The Dutch scholar Winter wrote in 1843 that
girls in Surakarta (Java) were circumcised there at the age of 6 or 7 years,
that "the part of the clitoris that is cut off is wrapped with a small piece of
turmeric, or koenyit, Curcuma longa (L.), in a cotton cloth, and then buried
under a kelor tree, Moringa oleifera (Lambk.)". The ceremony is as solemn
for girls as for boys (circumcised at 15), with the difference that offerings are
to be tied with a red ribbon. (3)
Some thirty years later, Riedel, a colonial administration official with a
special interest in ethnography, wrote in 1870 that girls in Gorontalo were
circumcised there between the ages of nine and fifteen, in a ceremony
similar to the boys', but performed by a woman and with less ostentatious
festivities. (4) The operation is sometimes followed by music and songs.
Dr. B.F. Matthes, a Dutch linguist interested in South Celebes (Sulawesi)
wrote in 1875 that Makassarese and Buginese girls were circumcised
between the age of 3 and 7 years quietly with no ceremonies, and that men
were strictly forbidden to be present, except maybe for the father. Only "a
very very small part" of the clitoris was removed, "only so much that a drop
of blood comes out". The ceremony was called kattang in Makassarese and
katta in Buginese, meaning afschaven (to plane). It was performed by two
women, one standing behind the girl. (5)
3. G.F. Winter, " Instellingen, gewoonten en gebruiken der Javanen te Soerakarta", in Tijdschr. v. Ned.
Indie, 5, 1843, dl. I, p. 708.
4. Riedel, "De landschappen Holontalo (Gorontalo), Limoeto, Bone enz.", in Tijdschrift voor Indische
Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Batavia, vol. XIX, 1870, p. 134.
5. B.F. Matthes, Bijdragen tot de ethnologie van Zuid-Celebes, 's-Gravenhage, Gebroeders Belifante,
1875, p. 71 and p. 156, note 40.
340
A.L. van Hasselt (1882) reported that girls in the Minangkabau region
were circumcised "at an earlier age than boys" (without further precision),
inside the house, by a female dukun, who was given delicacies and some
money as compensation. (6)
The Dutch specialist of Islamic law, L.W.C. van den Berg, neglected the
subject altogether as a non-Islamic practice. He wrote that circumcision
seemed to be a custom of Semitic people, based on hygiene, taken over in
Islam, but not ordered by the Koran. As such, this question was more
relevant to ethnologists than to law specialists. (7)
It was the Dutch ethnographer G.A. Wilken (1847-1891) who became the
first, in 1885, to make a thorough survey of the practice in the archipelago. (8)
He was the first to draw the conclusion that female circumcision was
exclusively found among Muslims, which led him to believe that it was no
indigenous practice but one "borrowed from the Arabs" (v. Ossenbruggen
1912 : 34). He also concluded that girls were generally circumcised earlier
than boys, that ceremonies generally accompanied these practices, although,
at least in Gorontalo, they were much less important than for a boy's
circumcision.
On the practice itself, Wilken noted that, in Java, a part of the clitoris was
really removed, as proven from the terminology used in Javanese, namely
putung-itil, which means a piece of the clitoris. For the Makassar and
Buginese people, it seemed benign, as noted by Matthes (v. Ossenbruggen
1912 : 239). Wilken acknowledged that nothing was known about other
ethnic groups in the archipelago. However, he cited the German doctor Franz
Epp(9) as the only source who spoke of "circumcision of the labia minora".
As this information was not confirmed elsewhere, the ethnologist suggested
more research was needed.
Wilken analysed the meaning and the population's acknowledged motives
for this practice, introduced by Islam into the archipelago. He saw it had
" more or less the character of a ceremony of entry into the religion " (v.
Ossenbruggen 1912 : 239), or, at the very least, "people do not seem to
6. A.L. van Hasselt, Volksbeschrijving van Midden-Sumatra, Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1882, 429 p.
7. L.W.C. van den Berg, De beginselen van het mohammedansche recht, volgens de imm 's Aboe
Hanfaten asj-Sjfe', Batavia/'s-Gravenhage, Ernst/Nijhoff, 1878, p. 148.
8. Wilken's article titled : "De besnijdenis bij de volken van den Indischen Archipel ", was first published
in Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch- Indie, 34 (1885), pp. 165-206. The
article quoted here is a later publication, in De Verspreide Geschfriften van Prof. Dr. G.A. Wilken,
verzameld door F.D.E. van Ossenbruggen, Deel IV, GCT van Dorp & Co., Semarang/Soerabaya/'sGravenhage, 1912, p. 235.
9. in Schilderungen aus Hollandisch-Ostindien, Heidelberg, J.C.B. Mohr, 1841, p. 393.
341
attach any other significance to the practice". Referring to 19th century

theories that, for women in Africa and Arabia, the practice was performed to
remove genital "abnormalities" (allegedly excessively large clitoris and
labia minora), which might prevent normal intercourse, Wilken said that
such a corrective purpose of female circumcision was unknown in the
archipelago where " apart from some exceptions ", women do not suffer from
such anomaly (v. Ossenbruggen 1912 : 240). (10) Thus, in the archipelago it
was no aesthetic operation but rather a religious rite.
Unfortunately, the Dutch ethnologist gave no indication as to the spread
of the practice. Snouck Hurgronje was the first to ask this very question
about Java. In his Verspreide Geschriften,(n) the Dutch Islamologist wrote in
1891 that female circumcision was not widespread in Java : "Although it is
also (considered) obligatory for girls, there are still many simple villagers
who do not know this and thus do not have their daughters circumcised"
(Snouck Hurgronje 1924 : 205). He continues, however, that "most Javanese
and Sundanese" attached more importance to the practice than is actually
prescribed in the religious texts. It was considered as a religious duty which,
however, " like other duties, is neglected by the majority of indigenous
people" (Snouck 1924 : 205).
Snouck further confirmed Wilken's first observation that circumcision
was a mode of entry into the Islamic community. The Javanese krama term
for circumcision is njelamak which comes from selam, meaning " to make a
Muslim". Snouck noted the singularity of this understanding given that, to
become a Muslim, according to the texts, the recitation of the shahadat
(there is no God other than Allah and the Prophet is His messenger),
followed by praying, is of greater relevance. The Dutch colonial
administrator gave little detail on the operation (soenat in Java, goesaran in
Sunda) except that it consisted in " the removal or the reduction (verkleinen)
of the praeputium, and of the corresponding part for the woman".
Interestingly, Snouck noted a tendency to increased secrecy of the
practice : Sundanese girls were circumcised at the same time as their teeth
were being filed, so that their parents would speak only of the goesaran
ceremony, a way of avoiding openly naming the operation (Snouck
Hurgronje 1924 : 206). Javanese girls were now often circumcised the same
10. In a footnote, Wilken however cites Dr. Epp as saying that Javanese women may have at times larger
nymphae : "Through onany, and through too frequent genital activities, in a warm climate, women have
the tendency to a softening" (note 106, p. 240).
11. C. Snouck Hurgronje, Verspreide Geschriften, Bonn/Leipzig/'s-Gravenhage, Schroeder/Nijhoff, vol.
IV, 1924.
342
day as their brothers, so that guests only know of the boy's circumcision,
with only female parents and the dukun herself knowing of the sister's
parallel circumcision. The dukun was also the one helping with the delivery
of the child (Snouck Hurgronje 1924 : 206).
Yet, this trend to secrecy was absent among the Javanese priyayi, who
gave a solemn ceremony for their daughters' circumcision, similar to that
given for their sons. Priyayi girls were circumcised indoors, and a special
gamelan melody was played as a signal for the guests to know that the girl
had undergone the operation (Snouck Hurgronje 1924 : 207). In Java, the age
for female circumcision was between 2 and 8 years old, much earlier than
boys (at 14 or 15), but it took place "earlier in santri and devout" circles.
In his study on Aceh, first published in 1893 (in Dutch), Snouck
Hurgronje noted the even greater secrecy surrounding female circumcision
there. (12> The haste with which the operation was carried out at a very early
age was probably based on the fear that the girl would mention it in her
"childish innocence". The women merely went to the teungku to ask for a
one-time prayer (fatihah) carrying "a gift of yellow glutinous rice" but not a
single word was spoken about the girl's circumcision. The Acehenese were
thus the most secretive ethnic group, concealing with the greatest zeal where
and when their daughters were circumcised (Snouck Hurgronje 1924 : 395,
398).
Schrieke' s work
The most solid work on female circumcision, encompassing the whole
archipelago, was published on the occasion of an exhibition of circumcision
instruments and accoutrements, organized in Batavia in August 1921, during
the Far Eastern Association for Tropical Medicine's congress. The Dutch
historian B.J.O. Schrieke gathered fieldwork reports written for this
exhibition into articles that were published in 1921 and 1922. (13) In his
introductory analysis, Schrieke himself showed greater interest in male than
in female circumcision, and left mostly unanalyzed the data from the 56
reports that follow his introduction. These reports represent an unparalleled
source of information on female circumcision. They are mostly written in
Dutch, and by local administrators, teachers, or medical doctors (not
necessarily from the area about which they write), sometimes also by Dutch
officials. Let us proceed to a tentative analysis of these reports.
12. C. Snouck Hurgronje C, The Achehnese, Leyden, Late EJ. Brill, 1906, vol. I, p. 395.
13. B. Schrieke, "Allerlei over de besnijdenis in den Indischen Archipel", in Tijdschrift voor Indische
Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, 60 (1921), 373-578 ; 61 (1922), 1-94.
343
First of all, it is striking that female circumcision was reported in almost

every region reached by Islam. Unfortunately, when it was not mentioned,
there was most of the time no indication whether it was an oversight or
whether it was indeed absent in the area. The mode of operation does not
differ greatly from region to region : it was performed by a female dukun, in
the presence of women only - the exception being Ngawi (Madiun, East
Java), where the father and grand-father could be present. In almost all cases,
a small piece of the upper part of the clitoris (the size is often not mentioned)
was removed or cut off (afgesneden, eene kleine uitsnijding), or rubbed off
(wegkrabberi), or touched (aanraken) either with a normal knife, a bamboo
knife, a padi knife (ani-ani), or special scissors (goenting soenat), leaning on
a piece of tumeric (koenyit), known to prevent infection.
In none of the reports do we find information on the reaction of the girl
circumcised. The operation's severity can only be judged from the flow of
blood : from "slight" to more intense bleeding - in one case, the success of
the operation was linked to the quantity of blood that flowed.
The amount of secrecy surrounding the event varies from strict secrecy
(in Aceh and Selat-Panjang ; among the Malays in Sintang and in the Upper
Kapuas of Borneo ; in Ciamis, Sunda) ; the Javanese santri often held a
simple ceremonial meal ; among the Javanese aristocracy (priyayi) or in
various sultanates, ceremonies as important as for boys were held for the
girls.
The age at which the operation is performed varied also, from shortly
after birth to before the age of 15. The names given to the practice are
many : soenat mostly, but also ditetakak in Javanese, ditetesi in high
Javanese (krama inggil), bersoenat rasoel in Malay in Batu Sangkar for
example, berchatan in Selat Panjang. Sometimes, differences in practices
existed in the same neighborhood, so that a clear map of the regional
differences is not possible. The following are the main points that can be
noted on each region :
In Sunda, three reports mention female circumcision practiced at a very
early age in Ciamis (7th or 40th day after birth), without ceremony and in
great secrecy, and at 4 to 5 years old in Tasikmalaya (Schrieke 1921 : 408423). A "scarification" with a knife or a needle was performed by a female
dukun in Ciamis, a small "incision" in Tasikmalaya. There, the girl was
circumcised together with her brother, an observation already made by
Snouck Hurgronje. In Bogor, the ceremony was more important.
In Java, female circumcision seemed to be relatively less systematic than
in Sunda, but it still appeared to be a common practice in parts of Java. In
344
Banjarnegara (Central Java), incision (not full circumcision) was reported

for boys, but there was no mention of female circumcision. In Kutoarjo (near
Purworejo) girls were circumcised between 7 and 8 years old, in a "secret
place". In Kebumen, more to the west, it occurred after birth or at 7 or 9
years old ; in twelve villages around Muntilan, the age varied between 6 and
8 years old. In Tegalsari at 11. In Parakan, north of Magelang, it was
facultative, and took place at the age of 5 or 6 years old, in a similar way as
for boys but with less pomp, with no Koran recitation. In Ungaran, south of
Semarang, girls were circumcised shortly after birth or at 11 or 12 years old.
In Demak, at around 5 years old. In Surakarta, at 5 or 8 years old through a
rubbing over the clitoris (wegkrabben). In Sragen, the report did not mention
female circumcision. In Ngawi, north of Madiun in East Java, girls were
circumcised between 6 and 9 years old, with a padi knife (ani-ani or
poegoei) accompanied by a small ceremonial meal (selamatan). Another
report from Ngawi spoke of the age of 8 to 10 years old, 4 years old in one
case, or straight after birth. In Nganjuk, girls were circumcised before the
age of 6. In Mojowarno, it occurred at an earlier age than boys but " not all "
girls underwent the operation. In Lawang, north of Malang, there was no
report of female circumcision.
In Sumatra, the picture was more contrasted, depending on whether a
region was islamized or not. In Blakang Padang (Sambu island, in Riau), the
report made no mention of female circumcision. In Indragiri, south of Riau,
on the East coast of Sumatra, girls were circumcised " at the time of the first
bath, that is at about 10 or 15 days". In Asahan, on the East coast of
Sumatra, the age for girls' circumcision was 2 to 3 years (boys 7-8). In Deli
Serdang, no female circumcision was reported (for boys at about 5 years old,
by a moedim bersoenat). In Medan and its surroundings, Malay girls were
circumcised when they were a few months old, but sometimes also at the age
of 4 to 5 years.
Let us take a closer look at the case of Selat-Panjang (on the East coast of
Sumatra, south west of Batam) and its surroundings, which is dealt with in a
long report by Raden Seno Sastroamidjojo, who was then a medical doctor
in the area. He reported that girls' circumcision was kept " as secret as
possible" : "It is a matter between the mother and the daughter, and then
between the circumciser and the girl. Many fathers do not know when,
where and by whom their daughters are circumcised". He wondered about a
"so huge" difference in ceremonies for both sexes, and spoke of "religious
fanaticism" partly to explain the secrecy and the early age for the practice.
Girls were circumcised at an age no older than 4 to 7 years, before they
345
knew any feeling of shame. Seno Sastroamidjojo's description of the

operation was one of the most detailed : a special scissor (goenting soenat)
was used, or a knife and a piece of tumeric (koenyif) as support. The female
moedim held the clitoris between her fingers so that the limit between the
glans and the main part of the clitoris was visible, and there she cut a part
off, which is called daging charam (religiously proscribed flesh). The
common belief was that if much blood flowed, she would have a lucky life,
otherwise, her life would be full of adversity. The girl was then given a
second bath, and would recite the shahadat. Only then would she start
learning the Koran - whereas the boy was circumcised only after finishing
the Koran lessons. After a short prayer, the piece of daging charam was
buried. When asked about the meaning of this circumcision, people said it
was for their daughters to become Muslims (eerst Mohammedanen worderi)
(Schrieke 1921 : 549-551).
Let us continue to gather the picture of Sumatra's circumcision tradition. In
Penjabungan (Tapanuli), girls were circumcised shortly after birth, on the 7th
day, or before their 7th or 10th year, and always before 15. A small incision or
a pierce was made in the clitoris with the thorn of a pandanus. In Padang
Sidempuan, North Sumatra, female circumcision was not reported, although
the traditional method of male circumcision practiced among Batak Muslim
"some 50 years ago" has already been replaced by total circumcision. In
Pearaja, among pagan Bataks, there was neither male nor female circumcision,
according to a quote from a Dutch medical doctor residing there for a long
time. In Bangkinang (Riau, near Pekanbaru) girls were circumcised "at a very
early age", with a bamboo knife, without ceremony. In Batu Sangkar (Fort van
de Capellen, West Sumatra), it was not mentioned for girls, but a boy would be
circumcised between 7 and 10 years old.
On the Mentawai island group (West Sumatra), in Muara Siberut, pagans
had neither male nor female circumcision, but the Malays there followed the
practice. Thus, among the "Lampongers", it was reported, girls were
circumcised at the age of 2 or 3 years, without ceremony, sometimes together
with boys. The piece of the clitoris cut off was also called daging charam, as
in Selat Panjang. In Merawang (Bangka), boys were circumcised at the age
of 7 by the moedim, after the fasting month. There is no word of female
circumcision. In Belitung, girls were circumcised shortly after birth (boys at
12 years old).
The frequency of female circumcision seemed to decrease significantly in
the small Sunda Islands, where Islam had made minor inroads. Thus, female
circumcision seemed absent in the following regions or islands : among non-
346
Muslim Balinese (and even among the Muslims of Singaraja where boys are
circumcised at the age of 9 to 12) (Schrieke 1922 : 18); in the western part
of Lombok (although male circumcision was linked to Islam there) (Schrieke
1922 : 25-29); in the Maumere region on Flores Island (Schrieke 1922 : 3032) ; in east Flores (the district of Lwingo) ; in north west Sumba, in south
west Sumba (Schrieke 1922 : 34-38); in Middle-Sumba (Schrieke 1922 : 3841); in East-Sumba (Schrieke 1922 : 41-43); in West-Middle Timor, where
male circumcision took place as an offer to "nature" ; in Roti Island.
There are only three places in the lesser Sunda islands where female
circumcision was reported. First, among the Muslim Sasak who live in
Karangasem. At the age of about three months, girls were circumcised
without ceremony. The dukun used only a small or larger needle until a small
amount of blood flowed (Schrieke 1922 : 24). The second and third cases
were on Alor and Pantar islands : girls were circumcised by a female
moedin, mostly in the evening. " With a small knife, a light scratch is made
to the vulva. The victim does not feel the slightest pain", the report said. The
following day, the girl went to thank the moedin and brought a small present.
The rule was that, while adult men who embraced Islam were to be
circumcised, adult women did not have to undergo the operation (Schrieke
1922 : 46-47).
In Borneo, only Muslim Malays practiced female circumcision, while it
was totally absent among Dayak tribes. Thus, there was no mention of
female circumcision in Kutai, East Borneo, where male circumcision was
linked to adat, for both kings and the common people (Schrieke 1922 : 5356). Similarly, among the Ngaju Dayaks from Kuala Kapuas, female
circumcision was not mentioned, whereas male circumcision was not linked
to religion but to hygiene. Again, among the Upper-Dayaks, (the Ot-Danom
Dayaks, the Arak-Dj Dayaks, and the Bara-Dia Dayaks), male circumcision
was described as being deeply rooted in adat, to the point that even Christian
Dayaks had their sons circumcised using the local methods (between the
ages of 14 or 18) : there it was explicitly said that "among the girls of the
indigenous population no circumcision takes place" (Schrieke 1922 : 60).
However, the Malay population living in the same area did have their
daughters circumcised before the age of three months, with ceremonial
meals as for boys. The population coming from Banjarmasin practiced
circumcision as "compulsory" (Schrieke 1922 : 61). Malay girls were
circumcised at about the age of 40 days without ceremony in the UpperDusun and Purukcahu areas in Borneo (along the Barito River), that is
among the Malay "people who were coming from South-East Borneo and
347
had repressed the local pagan Dayaks ". In the sultanate of Pontianak, girls
were circumcised at the age of 10 years old. In Sekadau Ilir, Sintang, at the
age of 7 or 8 years. Another report from Sintang itself says Malay girls were
circumcised (dikikis dengan pisau hingga keluar sedikit darah), but no age
was reported (Schrieke 1922 : 76). In Smitau, Upper Kapuas, all Malays,
"which means all Muslims", of both sexes were circumcised, boys between
7 and 20 years old, girls from 7 to 10 years, through the removal of a clitoral
part the size of a "rice grain", or through the piercing of the clitoris by "a
small needle" (Schrieke 1922 : 77). It was performed secretly without any
ceremony. In East Borneo also, in Tenggarong and its surroundings, close to
Samarinda, Kutai, girls are said to be circumcised at the age of 5 to 7 years.
It is called kattang klitit (which would seem to show that they belong to the
Makarassere diaspora). The same festivities were given for girls and boys
(Schrieke 1922 : 52).
On Celebes, nothing was mentioned of female circumcision among the
Toraja. In Gorontalo, circumcision for boys and girls "dates back to the 15th
century when the king Matolodoelahoe converted to Islam". Girls were
circumcised there at the age of 1 to 4 years, without ceremony (Schrieke
1922 : 83).
In Palelah (Bwool or Buol, North Celebes), female circumcision was not
mentioned.
On Buton Island, girls and boys who were to be circumcised had to be at
least 10 to 15 years old. It also occurred without ceremony (Schrieke 1922 :
85-86).
On the Kei Islands, south of Ambon, Muslims of both sexes were
circumcised between the ages of 8 and 14. It is considered a religious duty,
"just like without baptism one is not a Christian, without soenat, people are
considered half-Muslims" (Schrieke 1922 : 87). There, the clitoris was cut
on a length of 2 to 3 millimeter with a steel knife, over the recitation of a
simple prayer (Schrieke 1922 : 88).
In Bacan, in the Moluccas, girls were circumcised like boys between the
ages of 7 to 10, with 3 to 4 mm of the top part of the clitoris removed
(afgesneden). When asked, people said "Islam" demanded that it be done
(Schrieke 1922 : 90).
These various regional reports gathered by Schrieke lead to several
conclusions.
Female circumcision seems indeed to have been introduced by Islam,
together with/or following the coming of Islam, as it is present only in
Islamized regions, as already noted by Wilken. It is absent in the regions not
348
yet reached by Islam or superficially Islamized like Nias, Timor; and Pearaja
among pagans Batak ; in Muara Siberut, Lombok, Sumba, Flores, Solor, Roti
; among the Dayaks in Borneo. Moreover, the terminology reinforces this
assumption : to circumcise is to "Islamize". In Muntilan, to circumcise is
called ngislamak, to make a Muslim. In Ngawi (near Madiun), a popular
saying had it that "Whoever is not circumcised is not a Muslim". There, the
circumcised girl was accepted in the "orde Fatimah". In Ciamis, soenat was
the "sign of a true Muslim". In Demak, the Javanese doctor who reported
spoke of a demand from preachers rather than from the Koran. Among the
Malays around Medan circumcision was called soenat rasoel. In Batu
Sangkar (Fort van de Capellen), Minangkabau, it was said that circumcision
was obligatory for converted Muslim populations (" Bangsa-bangsa jang
beloem memeloek agama Islam, kalaupoen ada jang hendak masoek Islam,
maka iapoen soenat rasoel djoega dahoeloe") (Schrieke 1922 : 6). In Muara
Siberut Malays, the clitoral piece that was removed was called daging
charam. Indeed, one can object that this terminology does not prove that
female circumcision was not present before Islam, given that the term "to
Islamize" is also used for male circumcision which is pre-Islamic. Thus it is
rather the absence of female circumcision in non-Islamized areas that seems
a more valid argument.
Moreover, the rationale given by the local people interviewed is in almost
every case religious, without further explanation. In one sole case is there an
elaboration, namely in the report from Penjabugan (Tapanuli) where Abdul
Rasjid, a medical doctor (Governments Indisch Arts), explained the multiple
benefits of Muslim female circumcision, from the religious, hygienic and
sexual points of view as follows : "The reaction (to circumcision) of these
two (woman and man) are contradictory : the man's libido is heightened,
whereas the woman's libido is diminished. But the sexual needs of a woman
are stronger than a man's." Abdul Rasjid continued : "Together with
circumcision, the woman will grow fatter, as a consequence of which her
beauty is heightened, which results in passionate feelings of the man towards
the woman". Abdul Rasjid explained thus the "happy combination"
between circumcision and polygamy. But, " the quantity of men and women
being back to normal ", female circumcision was no longer necessary, while
male circumcision itself would compensate for the wife's higher libido
(Schrieke 1921 : 570). Sexual libido is not mentioned in other reports.
Not much is said, unfortunately, about the frequency of the practice that
could verify the exactitude of Snouck Hurgronje's remark on Java. Only
three regional reports give some indication of the extent of the practice. In
349
Tasikmalaya (Sunda), a Dutch school (HIS) teacher says that out of 18

student girls in the first HIS class, 17 were circumcised, most of them before
the age of one or two years (Schrieke 1921 : 412). This high frequency
reported for Sunda seems to be comparable to that reported among Malays in
Borneo and around Medan : in Banjarmasin, " even people who do not
follow other religious duties submit themselves to the practice" (Schrieke
1922 : 61). If we are to believe the reports suggesting that it is a primary
religious obligation for Malays, we can assume that the practice was largely
followed among the Muslim population in the outer islands. As for Java,
Snouck Hurgronje's observations about a larger neglect there seem to be
confirmed : in Mojowarno, near Surabaya, Ismael, a medical doctor, writes
that " only the santri {de "fijnen ") in the village will sometimes (soms) have
their daughters circumcised" (Schrieke 1921 : 500). In Parakan, near
Magelang, female circumcision is reported to be "optional". And in three
places (Banjarnegara, Sragen, and Lawang) it is not mentioned and thus
perhaps absent.
However, female circumcision seems also to have been perceived in Java
as a mark of entry into Islam, and as such, it may still have been more
widely practiced than the pillars of prayers, fasting, the aim (zakat) and the
haj. This is suggested by an interesting quote in the Muntilan report about
the meaning of ngislamak. One Javanese respondent commented : " Yes, it
is (to make someone a Muslim) but this does not mean that the person
circumcised has to follow the prescriptions of Islam. "
Yet, changes linked to " modernity " are reported in two places : In
Magelang (Central Java), in the city itself, earlier customs were starting to
weaken or simplify, while they were continuing in remote places around
Parakan and Kedu. In Asahan, on the East coast of Sumatra, female
circumcision was no longer as common as it used to be. No other reports
confirm this "modernizing" trend.
About 10 years after Schrieke's precious report's gathering, in 1931, the
German ethnographer Felix Bryk, taking a world-wide view, wrote about
circumcision and cited Celebes and Java as places where " bloody " {blutige)
female circumcision was practiced. He gave no further details. (14>
A young foreign woman of Russian origin, studying Javanese dance at
the Yogyakarta court for several months between 1932 and 1933, Hlne
Leibmann, wrote in her journal that she learned about female circumcision
14. F. Bryk, Die Beschneidung bei Mann und Weib : ihre Geschichte, Psychologie und Ethnologie,
Neubrandenburg, Verlag Gustav Feller, 1931.
350
during a wayang ceremony to which she was invited. The girl circumcised
was between 8 or 10 years old. A student from Taman Siswa explained to the
foreign student that this was done to " deprive her of any love feeling and of
any desire, so that the man will be sure she will not betray him", and that
" not having to care to satisfy them, he will be free to have as many wives as
he wishes ".(15)
The post-independence perspective
Indonesian data on female circumcision is rather poor. After
independence in 1945, the most extensive explanations on female
circumcision were published in a book on hygiene according to Islamic law.
The author, Ahmad Ramali, who was born in Bonjol, Central Sumatra, and
who carried the title of Soetan Lembang Alam, was a student of medicine at
the prestigious Gajah Mada University in Yogyakarta. The fact that his
doctoral dissertation was published by the major publisher Balai Pustaka in
1951 indicates the importance of his work, besides the fact that he was
guided by such leading intellectuals as Haji Agus Salim. Ramali had
frequent evening meetings with the Muslim politician during 1933. They met
at Salim's house, where Salim helped him " understand the meaning of the
Koran verses relevant to this dissertation ".06) Although Ramali brings no
new ethnographic data on the subject, his book is precious for the insight he
gives on the perceptions then prevailing on female circumcision.
Ramali writes that female circumcision was "a custom (kebiasaan) that
entered Indonesia together with Islam, perpetuating an Arabic custom which
had already been accepted in pre-Islamic times" (Ramali 1951 : 67).
Reflecting at length on the " origin and the meaning " of female
circumcision, he concludes with Felix Bryk's theory - who borrowed from
Freud's psycho-analytic methods - that female circumcision represents a
girl's sexual switch : she is withdrawn from the public sphere through a
change of her sexuality, from outside (clitoris) to inside (vagina) sexuality
(Ramali 1951 : 69). (17) Ramali expresses satisfaction with Bryk's analysis
that female circumcision brings girls into full womanhood (Ramali 1951 :
71).
15. Unpublished testimony of Hlne Leibmann-Fisson, gathered by her son-in-law, Bertrand Malaud, to
whom we express our gratitude.
16. Ahmad Ramali, Peraturan-peraturan untuk memelihara kesehatan dalam hukum sjara' Islam, Balai
Pustaka, Jakarta, 1951. The dissertation was defended in 1950.
17. " Aus Gemeingut wird es Privateigentum. Die Beschneidung wird symbol des folgenden
Besitzwechsels. Die praktische Bedeutung liegt zunachst darin, das genesende Mddchen der
Zudringlichkeit derjungen Leute auflngere Zeit zu entziehen. "
351
In a second part, the Indonesian medical student answers the question of

whether or not circumcision should be compulsory. His argument goes this
way to favor circumcision, without specifying boys or girls : it is a preIslamic custom, and the Koran does not deal with the issue "in a clear way"
(secara tegas-tegas), but Muslims are supposed to follow the "religion of
the Prophet Ibrahim", a religion free of "innovation" (bid'ah) and which
makes circumcision (chitan) obligatory. "Ibrahim" was circumcised at the
age of 80, the Prophet Muhammad was sine praeputione, and was thus
himself circumcised ; he had his two grandchildren Hasan and Husain
circumcised at the age of 8 days. These are antecedents enough to condone
circumcision. However, continues Ramali, many old ulama hold the opinion
that chitan is only recommended and not compulsory. But the Shafeite
school of law makes it an obligation for " each Muslim male and female who
have reached puberty ". 08)
The 13th century Shfi'ite jurist Abu Zakary1 Yahh al-Nawaw
(631/1233 - 676/1277), one of the highest authorities in Indonesian Islam is
then quoted : "(circumcision) is, according to al-Shafi'i, equally obligatory
for males and females" (...) "As regards females, it is obligatory to cut off a
small part of the skin in the highest part of the genitals ".O9) Thus, Ramali
seems here to be aiming at "correcting" the prevailing opinion among
Indonesian ulama then, namely that female circumcision is only
recommended.
Ramali brings no new ethnographic data, but he offers interesting
remarks about Schrieke's work which he has studied carefully. He thus
makes the distinction between more or less "devout" regions (ta'at-ta'at
pada agamanja), where female circumcision was performed at an earlier age
(Aceh and Minangkabau) and other regions (Central and East Java) where it
was performed at an older age.
On the technique of the operation, an-Nawawi is cited again as the model
to follow, whereby "a small part of the upper skin of the vulva" should be
cut off. Ramali then tries to answer the question of how big a part of the
clitoris is removed in Indonesia : while " half of the dukuns " cut only a small
part of the praeputium, " another half" thought it was enough to make a
scarification or several perforations on the clitoris. "There are also dukuns",
18. "Menurut madzhab Sjafi'i -jaitu madzhab orang Muslimin Indonesia chitan itu wadjib bagi tiaptiap Muslimin dan Muslimat jang sudah akil balig" (p. 72).
19. This is a transcript from the English edition of Brill's Encyclopedia of Islam (2), v. 20, where
"Nawawi's words are quoted. The Indonesian transcript of Nawawi's words by Ramali is as follows :
Tentangjang wadjib bagi Muslimat ialah sedikit sadja disajat kulit bagian sebelah atas dari vulva."
352
Ramali continues, who only touch slightly (mentjetjahkari) the outside part
of the genitals with a knife " so that this last one is a mere symbolic
circumcision" (Ramali 1951 : 83). This assessment may sound overgeneralizing but it is a valuable first evaluation of the practice in the 1950s.
Different from earlier authors, Ramali goes into details over the meaning
of circumcision in Islam, and comments on its three main functions : to
Islamize, to prevent disease, and to restrain sexual libido. About the first
meaning, " to differentiate between Muslims and Christians ", Ramali
suggests that the terminology - to circumcise is to Islamize (mengislamkari)
- confirms this Islamizing function : in Javanese krama, the term was dipun
selamaken, in ngoko, ngislamak. In the whole of Indonesia, he says, sunat
is considered a "condition to enter Islam" {suatu sjarat untuk masuk agama
Islam). Ramali notes that " according to the belief of Indonesians,
circumcision is no less important than the other five pillars "(2) (Ramali
1951 : 89). Hygiene is the second reason cited : "bad odors can be repulsive
for the husband". Thirdly, circumcision serves to lessen sexual libido, not
for female but male, enabling a husband to ejaculate later (retardatio
ejaculatio seminis), thus bringing a feeling of greater satisfaction to his wife
(Ramali 1951 : 91). Interestingly, and contrary to the general assumption,
Ramali does not think that women's sexuality should be restricted : on the
contrary, he points out that they are way behind men in their sexual
libido. (21)
In conclusion, Ramali is clearly in favor of male circumcision for
hygienic reasons (the author takes eight pages to cite the hygienic virtues of
male circumcision which could prevent various diseases, from syphilis to
cancer). The advantages of female circumcision are much less numerous
(prevention of bad odors), according to his own assessment, but Ramali still
seems to keep being a fervent advocate of the practice.
Apart from Ramali1 s work, little information is found on the subject. A
look at definitions given in encyclopedia and dictionaries also give the
impression of hesitant opinions on the compulsory character of female
circumcision. Thus, the Ensiklopedia Indonesia noted in the fifties under the
heading chitan that it is generally thought to be the mark distinguishing a
20. " Menurut kejakinan penduduk Islam di Indonesia sunat itu hampir tidak kurang pentingnja dari
rukun Islam jang lima. "
21. " tertjetjer djua dari laki-laki dalam hal bangkit sjahwat itu ."
353
Muslim from a non-Muslim. "According to some ulama, girls also have to

be circumcised like boys. " (22)
A 1957 Javanese-Indonesian dictionary by S. Prawiroatmojo explains
under the heading sunat that it is not obligatory for girls but considered " a
good thing to do ". (23> Clifford Geertz noted in his Religion of Java that
" incision " was sometimes practiced around Surakarta on eight-year-old
girls, but the ethnologist remarked that this ceremony did not occur in his
area of research, Mojokuto, in East Java (Geertz 1960 : 51).
The more recent Ensiklopedi Indonesia^) explains the origin of the term
sunat, with reference to the Genesis. It wonders whether it was originally
done for reasons of hygiene or as a mere religious rite. (25) Christianity, it
goes on, "changed the function of circumcision by baptism", which gives
" an indelible sign as a new member of the religious community of Allah
(ummat Allah) ". (26) Under khitan, the Ensiklopedi Indonesia says : " Way to
Islamize through the removal of the skin over the penis glans. This rule goes
for males and females. In Indonesia, khitan is also called sunat, or potong
kulup, there are also some who say 'Islamize'". <27)
The first Indonesian Ensiklopedi Islam, written under the auspices of
Jakarta's prestigious Islamic university (IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah), says that
khitan is compulsory for "each Muslim", including for new converts at an
adult age. It describes male circumcision, but is silent on female
circumcision. (28) The more recent (1994) and more voluminous Ensiklopedi
Islam published in 5 volumes in Jakarta has no entry on circumcision. (29)
All these writings point to a process of " Islamization ", but with
variations and uncertainties as to the compulsory character of circumcision
for girls. Paradoxically, in the 1950s, female circumcision seems to be an
22. "Chitan
Muslim.
laki."
Ensiklopedia
Menurut
itu, meskipun
kata
Indonesia,
sebagian
bukanNVsjarat
ulama,
Penerbitan
tetapi
anakmenurut
W.
perempuan
van Hoeve,
pandangan
harus
Bandung/'s-Gravenhage,
juga
umumdichitan
sebagaisebagaimana
satu tanda
1950s,bagi
p.anak
315.
seorang
laki23. Kamus Jawa-Indonesia, CV Haji Masagung, first edition 1957, 4th edition 1989 : "tidak diharuskan
tetapi bila dilakukan baik (hal agama). "
24. Hassan Shadily (ed), Ensiklopedia Indonesia, P.T. Ichtiar Baru-van Hoeve, Jakarta.
25. "Apakah ini mula-mula hanya soal kebersihan ataujuga upacara keagamaan tidaklah pasti. "
26. " Dalam agama kristen, fungsi sunat diganti oleh permandian yang memberi cap yang tak
terhapuskan sebagai anggota umat Allah yang baru. Bagi orang Islam diwajibkan setelah umur dewasa"
(p. 3370, vol 6).
27. " Cara pengislaman dengan membuang kulit yang membungkus kepala kulup. Ketentuan ini berlaku
bagi laki dan perempuan. (...) Di Indonesia, khitan juga sering disebut sunat, potong kulup; ada pula
yang menyebut dengan menyelamkan atau mengislamkan" (vol. 3, p. 1771).
28. Ensiklopedi Islam Indonesia, disusun oleh tim penulis IAIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Penerbit Djambatan,
1992, p. 555.
29. Ensiklopedi Islam, P.T. Ichtiar Baru-van Hoeve, Jakarta, 1994.
354
optional act from the legal point of view, but still an essential rite from the
sociological angle.
The current state of the practice in Indonesia
How widespread is female circumcision nowadays, almost one century
after Snouck Hurgronje and Schrieke's notes ? Different from Schrieke, who
relied on a huge recollection of works from teachers and administrators from
all over the archipelago, this article is based on interviews of Muslim men
and women, (3) made at random in the course of visits to various Indonesian
provinces, with a stress on Java, and on visits to several clinics. (31)
The spread offemale circumcision
Compared to the 1920s, the only solid reference we have, female
circumcision seems to be more widely practiced today. The pattern of more
frequent circumcision in Sunda than in East and Central Java remains, and
the area where female circumcision seems the least habitual is the far-eastern
part of Java. In Blitar, Probolinggo and Jember, there were more respondents
than elsewhere who said it was rare if not absent in their surroundings. One
young man from a village near Blitar said : "There are people who do it,
others who do not. In our village, we do not do it, in the towns they do it. If a
girl is circumcised, it is okay, but Islam does not say it should, the Koran
does not say so". Interestingly, his religiousness is still marked by preIslamic rites : "We are descendants from Buddha, we go to the sacred tombs
(kramat) and cemetery (kuburan). The old people believed we had to go to
the cemetery before marrying, to ask for the benediction (doa restu) from our
ancestors. When I was young, my parents gave me cigarettes and red
pudding {bubur merah) in my room, every Thursday (Kamis Kliwori), my
birthday. " Asked about his religious affiliation, he said he was closer to the
traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) than to the modernist Muhammadiyah,
" those who wear the veil " (yang pakai kerundung). He does not pray five
times a day and mistook Hasan Basri, head of the official Ulama Council
(MUI) for the Nahdlatul Ulama chief. This information is in line with Robert
Hefner's findings that female circumcision is absent among the Javanese in
30. Men were at times less knowledgeable about the subject than women, but most of them knew of the
practice. Women seldom witnessed their daughters' circumcision, performed by nurses or by a dukunbayi.
31. Midwives (bidan) and medical doctors were interviewed in five different clinics. Two belonged to the
Nahdlatul Ulama (one in Gresik, one in Jakarta), two were Muhammadiyah clinics (one in Gresik, one in
Jakarta) and the fifth was a small government clinic (Puskesmas) in Central Jakarta.
355
the Tengger mountains of East Java. (32) On the contrary, the rite that " made "
female (and male) Tengger- Javanese "Budha" was the ritual haircutting
performed anywhere between the age of 2 to 10. (33>
A little more to the north of East Java, in Probolinggo, two young Muslim
women from a family active in the Nahdlatul Ulama showed great
astonishment when asked about female circumcision : they had never heard
of such a practice. When told of it, they expressed incredulity and dread.
Further to the east, in the small city of Jember, the practice does not seem
to be widespread. The wife of the deceased Nahdlatul Ulama president (rois
aam), Kyai Achmad Siddiq, said it was not being practiced systematically in
that region. Nyai Siddiq added that she was now trying to encourage the
practice in a NU clinic, following the model of Solo, where she was a
student.
Female circumcision does exist however in East Java. About twenty NU
women activists (Muslimat) from towns nearby Surabaya were interviewed
during a celebration there. They said it was practiced in their family and
around them.
In Central Java, it seems that remote villages are less touched by the
practice than small towns. A young 'Aisyiyah leader (Muhammadiyah)
residing in Solo said she was not circumcised herself : " In Central Java, it is
not so frequent in villages. It is a city custom rather than a rural custom,
maybe a question of finance in a region where the tetesan ceremony is big
and costly. "
However, the rural versus urban difference reported for Java is only one
factor. If cities were the first to experience female circumcision, it is also
true that they were the first to reject it, as elite Muslim circles tend not to
have daughters circumcised. This is true not only for "modernist"
Muhammadiyah families but also for the "traditionalist" Nahdlatul Ulama.
Thus Wahid Hasyim's family did not practice female circumcision. This
phenomenon has apparently occurred more frequently in Muhammadiyah
families. The same disapproval was found in one elite family of Arabic
descent in Jakarta, where an educated woman in her forties spoke of her
father's anger when he learned that one of his grand daughters had been
32. Male circumcision is practiced and historically explained as ritual of "making budha", i.e. nonIslamic. I would like to thank R. Hefner for this information.
33. Robert W. Hefner, Hindu Javanese, Tengger tradition and Islam, Princeton University Press,
Princeton, New Jersey, 1985, pp. 144-145.
356
circumcised. He argued that "it is not Islamic but an Arab custom to prevent
wives to have an orgasm".
Urbanization seems to have had the reverse effect on lower classes : the
least Islamized population groups in Javanese towns seem to have adopted
female circumcision. Thus, in cities, it seems no longer limited to the strictly
devout (taat) santri groups, as reported by Snouck Hurgronje and Schrieke.
One factor which has recently contributed to the spread of female
circumcision, is medicalization. Clinics now offer the service of ear piercing
(tindik), vaccination, and child delivery in one package. It is no longer being
performed by the dukun-bayi but by simple midwives (bidan) at hospitals or
clinics. The five clinics in Gresik and Jakarta contacted during this research,
said they offered the service, and most clients wanted it to be performed.
Christian clinics also make it available to their Muslim clients. The coupling
of circumcision with ear piercing for girls is increasingly taken for granted,
to the point that the term sunat is sometimes used for ear piercing. (34) A
Jakarta activist for women rights said she was distressed to learn that her
daughter had been circumcised, together with ear piercing, just after birth in
a Jakarta clinic without her being informed before hand. Female
circumcision has thus seemingly become a regular service in cities.
With the growing Islamization of Indonesia in the 1990s, social pressure
in favour of female circumcision has increased. One Jakarta woman lawyer
reported : " I had seen my sister being circumcised. I had seen the blood. For
my daughter, I decided not to have her circumcised, but my mother insisted,
my sister also. Finally, I gave up and, at 6 months, I brought my daughter to
the hospital. She was circumcised and I cried. " The high fashion of Islamic
symbols in the 1990s has contributed to further spread the practice. The
nurse of a Nahdlatul Ulama clinic in South Jakarta told of one Christian
mother who accepted that her daughter be circumcised out of doubt of what
was best for the child.
Families with an Islamic modernist background who had started to
abandon the practice are going back to it. Thus, a 73-year old woman from
Bukittinggi, who was educated in the famous modernist school Diniah Putri
Padang Panjang, a pupil of Rahmah Elyunusiyah, said she did not have her
daughters circumcised. But her own children had their daughters
34. In Elinor Clark Home, Javanese-English Dictionnary, New Haven & London, Yale University Press,
1974 "Sunat : 1) meritorious but not obligatory by Moslem law 2) (fetes ki) ritual act performed on
adolescents : piercing of the clitoris (girls), circumcision (boys). Sunatan : ceremony held at the time of
the above act. Njunatakldisunatak : to have [a boy] circumcised ; to have [a girl's] ears pierced for
earrings" (p. 575).
357
circumcised soon after birth. Why ? She could not say for sure, but answered
her husband did not ask her to do it, and she does not remember whether Uni
Rahmah disagreed to it or not. Today, her own children had their daughters
circumcised.
Timing and ceremony
Today, female circumcision is mostly called sunat or khitan perempuan in
Java. Khifadh is less frequent.
Many Javanese respondents said female circumcision occurred in the
week following birth (Pati, Cirebon, Blitar, Solo, Sepanjang, Jombang,
Situbondo). But some mentioned a small ceremony one month (Probolinggo,
Gresik) or the 40th day after the birth (Pekalongan, Semarang, Banten,
Madura, Javanese from Lampung, Javanese from Bengkulu). In Cianjur
(Sunda), female circumcision takes place between the 7th day after birth and
3 months, and girls are mostly circumcised on the 40th day, at the time of the
nyukuran ceremony. Compared to Schrieke's reports, it thus seems that, in
Java, girls are circumcised at an earlier age than before, although there are
still regions in Central Java where it is practiced at 7 or 9 years, before
puberty (Yogyakarta, Solo, Purwokerto and Pemalang). In Ciamis, West
Java, female circumcision was still called the Gusaran ceremony until the
1970s, the same ceremony reported by Snouck Hurgronje. It was performed
at the age of 5 or 7 years. For the well-to-do Sundanese in Ciamis, the
ceremony then used to be as solemn as for boys : the child would be carried
around the village in a cart (dokar), she would be given a bath in the largest
river, and then dressed as the wayang character Srikandi. She would be
driven again around the village in the cart, wearing her new dress, up to the
place of the celebration, where a specialist (paraji) would perform the
operation. With a knife, a small incision (no removal) would be made to the
clitoral upper part, and her teeth would be filed. This kind of ceremony has
disappeared in the past twenty years, so that girls are now circumcised by the
midwife, together with the piercing of her ears.
In Yogyakarta, the tetesan ceremony is still carried out with pomp among
the well-to-do priyayi. Among the Javanese santri, discretion continues to be
the rule as in the early 20th century. It is either not celebrated at all or
celebrated very low key, at most with a selamatan kecil, over a reading of
Bismillah and doa. One Muslimat woman in Situbondo (East Java) said it
occurred together with the Cukuran (hair cut) ceremony ; another woman in
the area called the ceremony Seraweh, which included ear piercing. A Nyai
(wife of an ulama) in Jombang told of a ceremony where the child was
358
diaqiqahi at 7 days : a goat was slaughtered, the Selawar prayer was

chanted, and the child's hair was cut. In Semarang, a small ceremony at the
age of 40 days is called Rasulan. These small ceremonies tend to disappear,
however, as girls are circumcised directly after birth at the hospital or the
clinic.
Overall, the secrecy surrounding the practice continues, as reported by
Snouck Hurgronje and Schrieke. Female circumcision is no occasion to
celebrate and is coupled with other rituals like hair cutting. Some men noted
it was a secret (rahasia) or it was done discreetly (sembunyi-sembunyi).
Others were visibly embarrassed by the question (Semarang and Lombok).
The secrecy surrounding the practice may be best illustrated by the fact that
Abdurrahman Wahid was incredulous when he learned the practice existed in
Indonesia. An anthropologist who asked his Acehnese friend about the
existence of female circumcision in his region saw how the man wrote to his
wife to inquire candidly about the matter, and later received an abrupt
answer that this was none of his business. It is also most remarkable that
many women (in their thirties and forties) interviewed did not know whether
they had themselves been circumcised, saying they would ask their mothers.
If one assumes that the practice is established, at least in average santri
milieus in Sunda and Java in the post-independence period, this would tend
to show that female circumcision is being done at a very early age and
quietly.
In contrast to this secrecy, abangan families in search of a more
"orthodox" (Islamic) profile celebrate female circumcision with ceremonial
meals (selamatan) and even pomp, something disapproved of by Javanese
santri women.
Outside Java, girls are still circumcised at a later age. In Banjarmasin, one
respondent spoke of a ceremony at the age 3 or 4 years ; a Buginese living in
Sumbawa Besar spoke of circumcision at 3 years with a ceremony called
Matoba.
In Bukittinggi, Minangkabau, the age mentioned was 4 or 5 years with
the circumcision being performed in a discreet manner. A 73-old woman
from Bukittinggi said she was circumcised at the age of 7.
In Ujung Pandang, most young families said they had their daughters
circumcised at an early age in the clinic, but in villages, it was done at a later
age.
In Jambi, Bungotebo, one NU activist said that a girl marrying a Muslim
had to be circumcised - at the age of 17, just before marriage. This was the
oldest age mentioned by all respondents. More systematic research needs to
359
be done on the outer islands. However, given the increased movements of

population following the transmigration program of the New Order, the
picture emerging might be more blurred than in the 1920s.
The operation
The way girls are circumcised today differs little from the descriptions
given in Schrieke's reports, except that more is done to prevent infection by
the use of Betadine, which has replaced tumeric (kunyit) in most cases. A
variety of terms were used to describe the removal of the clitoral part.
Cutting (memotong) off the tiny upper part of the clitoris. This is the most
frequent method in and outside of Java : to remove " with a knife, it has to
bleed to prove sincerity (ikhlas) " (Pekalongan) ; " a tiny part is cut off, just to
make it bleed" (Probolinggo) ; "with a knife or a Gillette, the part that is in
excess is cut off, not too much, one has to be very careful" (Jombang,
Denanyar); "to extract a small part of it" (Madura); "to cut off one gram
compared to the 10 grams for the boy" (Lombok); "some people say it is
enough to rub with a small knife or, in earlier days, with a bamboo, the
extremity is being cut off" (Banten); "to cut off the size of a finger nail"
(Jambi, Bungotebo, Wedi, north of Klaten) ; " to get rid of what should not be
there"
(Jember) ; " with a small knife, a part is cut off, blood comes out a bit,
symbolically, to throw away what is not clean in the vagina, the part that
emerges" (Gresik); "with scissors, the clitoris is being slightly cut open" (a
midwife in a NU clinic in Gresik) ; " to remove a part of the clitoris as big as
a grain of rice" (Jakarta, NU circles). In Sukabumi, the paraji comes on the
40th day after birth for a last massage to the mother and then, with a small
knife, he cuts off {mencungkil sedikit saja ujung clitoris) without bleeding.
Tearing off (mencokel, nyokel), in Cianjur (Sunda) and Jakarta. A curved
needle is entered into the upper part (ujung) of the clitoris and the needle is
then pulled up, tearing a small part of the clitoris (a midwife in a Jakarta NU
clinic).
Rubbing off (dikorek) the slem or lendir (Jombang) or the skin (Tegal,
Jember, Sepanjang, Situbondo, Madura) of the clitoris. "Rub the extreme
part of the clitoris with pincers, without cutting off any part of it, without
bleeding" (a nurse in a Muhammadiyah clinic in Gresik). In villages outside
Ujung Pandang, it was rubbed (dikerik bakai betung), with the skin of a
bamboo.
Piercing with a needle (menusuk jarum) or the edge of a knife to extract a
single drop of blood : " with a knife, a tiny wound is made so that a drop of
blood comes out, but nothing is cut off" (Yogyakarta) ; "a needle is pointed
360
at the clitoris like a thorn into the skin, and it produces one drop of blood,
that is enough " (Yogyakarta) ; " with a needle, the clitoris is slightly touched,
without bleeding, while a prayer is being read" (Jakarta, a government clinic
where the female medical doctor disapproves of the practice).
Asked about the pain of the child, most answered it was only slight
(perih), if not absent, the child crying "out of fear". The event is then
described as "a token" {buat syarat), an operation without any impact on the
body. Since it is mostly practiced on babies, the amount pain inflicted is
indeed hard to measure. Two persons spoke of real pain : an elder nurse who
circumcises in a clinic in South Jakarta, and a Central Javanese man from
Pemalang whose wife had told him of her real pain when she had been
circumcised at the age of 7. In one operation witnessed by Lies Marcoes in
Sukabumi, there was no bleeding when a tiny clitoral part was cut off, but
the child was screaming and crying {nangis keras se kali). A woman from the
Bukittinggi area remembered how painful her circumcision had been, when
she was 7 years old. She was ordered to lie down and saw the old "Tuo
Isah" with her knife {pisau lipat). She could feel the pain and cried. Then
she was helped to stand up and walk. Her genitals were so sore that she
walked clumsily, and rearranged her dress so it would not touch the sore
part. She did not dare go to the toilet for hours.
The motives
Confirming the reports by Schrieke in the 1920s, religious motives are
cited by all respondents in 1997-1998 to explain female circumcision. For
most of them, moreover, there is no secondary motive like hygiene or sexual
libido restriction. The religious motive is thus the main argument, but with
an interesting variation : whereas men and women in santri circles know
female circumcision is only sunnah (recommended but not obligatory), the
population group with less religious knowledge or the more newly Islamized
(abangan in Java) firmly believe that it is obligatory (wajib). When asked
why their daughters were circumcised, they replied : "to follow the Prophet"
(Sumbawa Besar) ; "to apply Islamic tradition" (Pati) ; "to purify, special for
Muslims" (Cirebon). In Cianjur, the respondent was surprised that Muslim
girls in other Islamic countries were not circumcised and commented : " Tos
parentahna kitu " (sudah perintahnya begitu, these are the orders from
religion).
Thus female circumcision seems confirmed as one basic element of
religious faith, as seriously observed as the abstention of pork and maybe
more so than the five-prayers in certain population groups. This confirms
361
some of Schrieke's reports. There, we find its function as an "Islamizing"

practice, equal or more important than the five pillars. More research is
needed to know how widespread is this primordial importance given to
female circumcision.
It is also mostly in santri circles (including from Banten, Denanyar,
Jombang, Sepanjang-Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Jember) that the restrictive
effect of female circumcision on a woman's sexual libido (syawat) is cited.
Nyai Achmad Siddiq thus has started recommending that baby girls be
circumcised in the Muslimat-managed clinic in Jember, as a prevention
against the increased " aggressiveness " of young women she was noticing
around Jember. In Cianjur (Sunda), a middle-aged man knowledgeable in
Sundanese traditions said that if not removed, the upper part of the clitoris
would make the girl unable to control her sexuality. But his wife countered
immediately that female circumcision would allow women to feel more
sexual pleasure, which would in turn please her husband.
These kinds of contradictory statements came frequently in interviews.
Many Muslimat women said female circumcision had to be done in " a very
careful way " so as not to disturb the girl's sexual pleasure when grown up.
Women from Pasuruan, Cilacap, Tegal, Pemalang, Probolinggo and
Semarang denied girls were circumcised to lessen their libido. One NU
activist from Probolinggo argued that, if it was really so, " nobody would
want to do it". Some women even countered that the practice increased a
woman's pleasure (Jember, Jambi, Mojosari, Situbondo-Madura). One man
responded it was meant to increase the man's satisfaction (Jambi).
An argument that had a greater consensus was that girls had to be
circumcised for purification and reasons of cleanliness (kebersihan). The
clitoral part removed is thought to be impure (najis) and has to be removed
{membuang najis). This necessity to purify appeared in interviews of
women, but more frequently of men (in Jambi, Tegal, Bengkulu,
Tambakrejau-Semarang, Lampung). In Cianjur (Sunda), the upper part of the
clitoris that is removed is called lalamadna or kulit ari, and it is considered
an impurity (kekotor or kotoran).
There is one interesting remark to make about these interviews : it is far
from clear in the minds of many whether female circumcision comes from
custom (adat) or from religion (Islam), this despite the fact that it is known
as a religious obligation. Thus, men and women in Blitar, Gresik, Solo, and
Pemalang thought it was hygienic and pre-Islamic. A Muslimat activist from
around Banjarmasin said that female circumcision was "adat, from early
days, not Islam". An elder abangan woman of lower class from Pekalongan
362
made no difference : "This is to Islamize (mengislamkari), this is adat." A

book published by the Ministry of Education and Culture on religious
ceremonies in Yogyakarta sultanate circles defines adat sunatan (the custom
of circumcision) as a rite of passage obligatory for both boys and girls before
adulthood, according to Javanese adat ceremony {adat upacara Jawa
umumnya). (35) This blurring of boundaries between adat and Islam may be
based on the parallel with male circumcision which, in its form as "incision"
was pre-Islamic, as we have seen earlier.
Today, motives are various and often pragmatic, as can be seen from this
Modernist Islamic family where both the married son and the married
daughter of Dian, the 73-old woman from Bukittinggi, had their daughters
circumcised in a clinic, soon after birth. None had witnessed the operation.
Dian's son said he had his daughter circumcised because it was " sunat",
whereas his wife argued it was cheaper this way : as a clinic package, the fee
would be paid directly by her husband's employer. Dian's daughter said she
let her daughter be circumcised to follow the directives of the hospital. Her
husband did not know of the circumcision.
The point of view of Muslim organizations
The confusing divergence of views exposed above actually reflect those
of the Indonesian official and non-official Islamic organisations.
The Nahdlatul Ulama
The largest Islamic organization, the traditionalist Nahdlatul Ulama, has
issued afatwa on circumcision only once in its 72 years of existence. At its
first congress in Surabaya, October 21, 1928, it answered a question on
whether khitan was allowed to be performed a few days after birth, and said
it was permitted. There was no precision on whether it was meant for boys or
girls. (36)
NU's current religious council secretary (khotib Syuriah), Kyai H. Maaruf
Amin, said in an interview that female circumcision is only recommended
(sunnah). He cited as reference the yellow book (kitab kuning) Fath al-mu'in
35. M. Jandra, et. al., PerangkatlAlat-alat dan Pakaian Serta Makna Simbolis Upacara Keagamaan di
Lingkungan Keraton Yogyakarta, Depdikbud, Ditjen Kebudayaan Direktorat Sejarah dan Nilai-nilai
tradisional Proyek Inventarisasi dan Pembinaan Nilai-Nilai Budaya, 1991 : pp. 50-54. See also Siti
Jumeiri Rumidjah, Adat sunatan di Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta dan Jawa Tengah, Yogyakarta, Balai
Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya, 1979-1980.
36. Masalah Keagamaan, Hasil Muktamar Dan Munas Ulama Nahdlatul Ulama Kesatu-1926 s/d Kedua
Puluh Sembilan 1994, by K.H.A. Aziz Masyhuri, published by PP RMI bekerjasama sama dengan
Dinamika Press Surabaya, 1997, p. 19.
363
(which means " opening assistance ") from Zainuddin Malibari, a fiqh
authority in Shafi'ite Islam, who worked in the second half of the XVIth
century. But the current Nahdlatul Ulama executive chairman, Abdurrahman
Wahid, expressed disapprobation as a non-religious custom. However, a
recent survey shows that 5 of 8 NU-linked ulama interviewed in Jakarta held
it was obligatory for girls as, otherwise, impurity would make their praying
and fasting not valid (37).
This variety of opinions is also to be found among NU's women leaders.
The Fatayat chairwoman Sri Mulyati Asrori defended female circumcision
because "no part of the body is damaged in Indonesia". But Muslimat
Chairwoman Aisyah Hamid disproved of it, and added it was not practiced
in her family. For her, it can only be permitted if "it brings no pain nor
infirmity to the girl". Mrs. Syakruni, a former Kalimantan-born Muslimat
chairwoman, justified it as part of adat. The paradox that it is widely
practiced despite the non compulsory character of the practice was noted by
one former activist. Thus, in Malang, Fatayat cofounder Chuzaimah said :
" Some people say it is not compulsory, but in my family, it is". (38)
The Muhammadiyah, al-Irsyad and Persis
It seems that the practice is not - or was not - as widespread in reformist
circles.
A nurse in a Gresik Muhammadiyah clinic explained that it was more
often women close to the NU who asked that their daughters be
circumcised : "I tell them it is not necessary for the girl's health, that it is
useless, but they answer that they do not feel good if their daughter is not
circumcised".
Conflicting statements are also the norm in Muhammadiyah circles. The
former 'Aisyiyah chairwoman Baroroh Baried said it was not compulsory :
" It is done for health reasons, for hygiene. At our clinic, we do it after birth,
without ceremony. But one has the right not to do it. In our family, we used
to do it. It is the tetesan ceremony. A tiny piece is removed ". The
chairwoman of 'Aisyiyah, Elyda Djazman, who comes from North Sumatra,
37. This survey was made by Anita Rahman, a researcher at Universitas Indonesia's Center for Women
Studies.
38. Th. W. Juynboll notes in his Handbuch des Islamischen Gesetzes nach der Lehre der Schdfiitischen
Schule, E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1910, p. 161 : "Although some fiqh schools do not consider circumcision
obligatory, but only recommendable, yet, in practical terms, no Muslim will decline it. In popular
consciousness (Volksbewusstsein), circumcision is a necessary ceremony at the time of conversion into
Islam, if the new convert was not yet circumcised. "
364
said female circumcision was obligatory : "Otherwise, one is not complete

as God's being".
The Bandung-born strict reformist movement of Persatuan Islam (Persis)
is more specific, and proscribes female circumcision as a pre-Islamic
practice (kebiasaan jahiliyah). Al-Irsyad, a reformist educational
organization created by Achmad Surkati, an ulama from Sudan, a country
where cliteroctomy is a mutilating operation, apparently made no specific
mention of the practice in its teachings in Indonesia. Thus female
circumcision went on as usual in these circles.
The Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI)
The official national ulama council (MUI) has issued no fatwa on the
subject since its creation in 1975. The MUI's only woman member, Zakya
Darajat, said in an interview that female circumcision was a religious
obligation for girls : " If one does not do it when the girl is small, one regrets
it later. " She did not know whether it was for hygiene reasons or to lessen a
woman's sexual libido, but conceded that in her "personal opinion", it was
"no sin not to do it".
New literature
The Indonesian ulama increasingly have to compete with Middle Eastern
ulama whose fatwa are directly translated into Indonesian in cheap books
easily available on the market. Opinions there vary from moderate
recommendation to outright advocacy.
In 1987, a collection of fatwa was published which said that female
circumcision was "sunnah", that is not obligatory but recommanded, as a
purifying pracice (kesucian). It added it should be done in the lightest
possible way. It was a translation from a. fatwa issued in the 1960s by the
Egyptian scholar Prof. Dr. Ahmad Syarabashi, an al-Azhar scholar (39). In
1994, in a book called Fatwa-fatwa Mutakhir^40) another famous Egyptian
al-Azhar scholar Dr. Yusuf al-Qardhawi (born 1926) writes that to remove a
small part (of the clitoris) is the best way to proceed. But he adds that
everything depends on the parents of the girl : " If they think that their
daughter should be circumcised, they should do it, if they think it is not
this
39. Ininformation.
Himpunan Fatwa, al-Ikhlas, Surabaya, 1987. We would like to thank Nico Kaptein for providing
40. The original title of the book is Hadyu Ai-Islam Fatw Mu'shirah. The book is said to be very
popular in Egypt and in other countries of the Middle-East, including the Gulf States. It was published in
Jakarta by Yayasan Al-Hamidy in 1994.
365
necessary, it is no sin either. "(41) Since 1994, the book has been republished
three times.
Another book that mentions female circumcision is Anda Bertanya Islam
Menjawab (You ask, Islam answers) by the Egyptian Prof. Dr. M. Mutawalli
Asy Sya'rawi, a popular television preacher. He cites the opinions of the four
schools of law and two others, which more or less discourage female
circumcision in the case of an absence of abnormalities. One jurisprudence
ifiqh) expert is quoted as saying that circumcision should be done "when
there is a growth on the clitoris, but it should not be done if there is
nothing. " (42) Later, Sya'rawi cites the Egyptian modernist Syekh al-Azhar
Mahmud Shaltout (d. 1963) as condemning female circumcision as a
" cruel " practice. (43) These three scholars represent mainstream Egyptian
Islam.
The only booklet dealing exclusively with the subject was found in a
Jakarta special Islamic bookstore in 1997. The booklet by Dr. Saad Al
Marshall (there is no biography of the author who, at the very least, does not
have the reputation of the two former authors) (44) explains that female
circumcision is not compulsory according to Islamic law, but recommends
that it be practiced this way : "to remove the upper part of the skin of the
clitoris ".(45) He adds that this khifadh is "one way" to bring about the
perfect family (46) and recommends performing it at the age of 7 days
because at that age, " the baby will not feel any pain, as the parts of its body
are still young. "(47> Dr. Al Marshafi concludes : "I appeal to all Muslims to
revive this part of Islamic law which has disappeared, female circumcision,
whenever the clitoris is excessively large so that the girl will not be
disturbed. Those who are normal do not need to undergo the operation. You
have to know that this kind of khifadh is very useful for them. Relations
tua "Barangkali
41.
anak perempuan
mengkhitan
masing-masing.
sedikit itulah
Jika berpendapat
yang paling cocok.
anak perempuannya
Namun semuanya
perlutergantung
dikhitan, silakan,
pada orang
jika
berpendapat anak perempuannya tidak perlu dikhitan, pun ia tidak berdosa" (p. 554).
42. " apabila ada kelebihan yang menonjol (clitoris). Apabila tidak ada kelebihan itu, tidak usah
dikurangi".
43. "mengkhitan kaum wanita alah perbuatan zalim dan penganiayan kepada wanita".
44. Published by Gema Insani Press, Jakarta, 1996.
45. "memotong sebagian kulit yang ada pada bagian farji paling atas..." (p. 47).
46. "merupakan salah satujalan mewujudkan keluarga akinah, penuh mawadah dan rahmat" (p. 48).
47. " karena saat itu bayi tidak akan merasakan sakit yang berarti dan anggota tubuhnya masih muda
untuk dikhitan" (p. 56).
366
between husband and wife become tighter, free sex diminishes ". (48) The
book was originally printed in Kuwait. (49>
The women activists
A few Muslim feminists have started to condemn the practice with the
argument that it is a pre-Islamic custom promoting sexual discrimination.
Sita Aripurnami of Kalianamitra says people should be honest about the real
objectives of female circumcision and cites the Indonesian saying " coming
home late as if never circumcised". Feminists argue that it is merely a local
Arab custom mistakenly imported together with Islam into the archipelago.
Human rights lawyer Nursyabani Katjasungkana comments : " Which
authority would take the decision to wound a child? This is criminal". She
adds that the idea that female circumcision in Indonesia is merely symbolic
is misleading " as some operations are real ". The official family planning
agency (BKKPM) has started financing research on the subject.
But feminists may have a hard time convincing both men and women as
Islamic symbols enjoy great popularity. In a magazine published in 1996, an
Indonesian researcher in medicine in Ujung Pandang advocated female
circumcision in the conclusion of an interesting expos of the practice in
South Sulawesi : "This tradition should continue to grow and develop in
society ". (5) A reputed ulama in Jakarta, Kyai Ali Yafle, then vice-president
of the counselling board of the semi-official Association of Muslim
Intellectuals (ICMI), responded firmly to Indonesian sociologist Wardah
Hafidz, who had challenged the practice : female circumcision should
continue "according to current directives", he answered simply. (51)
In conclusion, the pattern of frequency for female circumcision as
reported by Schrieke's observers in the 1920s seems to have changed twice
over this century. First, a tendency can be noticed among the intellectual elite
to abandon the practice as non-Islamic but merely Arab, but the source and
exact timing of this reversal, and the eventual polemics that preceded it, need
48. "Saya serukan kepada segenap umat Islam agar menghidupkan kembali syiar Islam yang hampir
pudar yakni masalah khitan bagi orang perempuan jika klitoris (kelentit)-nya berlebihan agar ia tidak
terganggu. Adapun yang normal tidak perlu disayat lagi. Ketahuilah bahwa khifadh seperti itu sangat
berguna bagi mereka. Jalinan suami isteri semakin erat, pergaulan bebas akan berkurang, dan
terciptalah hakikat fitrah yang Allah turunkan kepada wanita " (p. 84).
49. Alhadits al-Khitan Hujjiyatuha wa Fiqhuha, published by Kuwait University.
50. M.N. Bustan, "Arti Sirkumsisi Wanita (Katte/Kattang) dalam Masyarakat Bugis-Makassar di
Sulawesi Selatan",/wma/./yV3, 1996, pp. 25-32.
51. Ummat, No. 10, tahun 1, 13 November 1995, p. 81.
367
to be further researched. Today's trend favoring standardization of the

practice - through medicalization, urbanization, and the fashion of Islamic
symbols - can be traced to the 1990s. The widespread notion that female
circumcision is in Indonesia a "purely symbolic" gesture, producing neither
scar nor pain can only encourage this trend.
More questions remain unanswered. Under which process was female
circumcision accepted in Indonesia ? Did this take place already in the early
period of Islamization, or later, given that the earliest testimony we have
dates back to the end of the 17th century? How was girls circumcision
accepted although it was foreign, different from the male case ? Does the
answer lie in the two different patterns of female circumcision, i.e. secrecy
for more bloody operations (Sunda, Aceh for ex.), ceremonies for
"symbolic" operations (Yogyakarta) ? More research is needed, maybe in
the vein of that done for the Batavia 1921 exhibition, to assess more
precisely the extent of the practice in remote places and among the urban
elite.

Female Circumcision in Indonesia: To "Islamize

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Female Circumcision in Indonesia : To " Islamize " in Ceremony or

Citer ce document / Cite this document :

Andre FEILLARD & Lies MARCOES

Female circumcision in Indonesia has received little attention in the past

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998, pp. 337-367

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

So far, female circumcision has been dealt with as a theme of research

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

attach any other significance to the practice". Referring to 19th century

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

First of all, it is striking that female circumcision was reported in almost

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Banjarnegara (Central Java), incision (not full circumcision) was reported

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

knew any feeling of shame. Seno Sastroamidjojo's description of the

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Tasikmalaya (Sunda), a Dutch school (HIS) teacher says that out of 18

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

In a second part, the Indonesian medical student answers the question of

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Muslim from a non-Muslim. "According to some ulama, girls also have to

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

diaqiqahi at 7 days : a goat was slaughtered, the Selawar prayer was

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Female Circumcision in Indonesia

be done on the outer islands. However, given the increased movements of

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998

Andre Feillard & Lies Marcoes

Archipel 56, Paris, 1998