The Sifon Culture (The Practice of Traditional Circumcision) of the Soe People, in the Aspect of Law and the Risks of the Female Reproductive Health

Abstract

This research talks about women in the sifon tradition (the practice of circumcision) among the Soe people,
Central Timor Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The sifon tradition is seen as an element
with a cultural value on reproduction, where it is implemented through the practice of circumcision for
men of the Timor tribe. In this ritual, women are the object for the sake of the men’s sexual vitality, where
afterwards, the men undergo intercourse with women. This practice is believed to have a magical and a
religious sense. The sifon tradition is produced through a traditional ritual, in which a circumcisiond man
undergoes intercourse with a minimum of three women as a process to heal the circumcision wounds. In the
religious aspect, the sifon tradition becomes a belief for women to obtain values of propriety and compliance
by sacrificing themselves for the sake of having the circumcisiond men healed. Sifon is a symbol of the
men’s masculinity towards their status in the society, with an ignorance of the women’s rights of their
reproductive health and also is a crimes.