Andrée 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 pre- Islamic 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. (!)

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