Pigs (wam) sacredness as traditional medicine in the balim valley of Papua
Keywords:
Pigs, Traditional medicine, Traditional rituals, Traditions, DiseaseAbstract
The Balim people in Papua, Indonesia, call pigs in their native language as wam. They place pigs as important and sacred animals in their lives. The pig is a symbol of identity found in every aspect of their life. Pigs are used in all traditional ritual processes. In addition, the pig is a treasure for the Balim people, which shows their self-esteem and social status. The pig is a dowry for marriage and a symbol of family ties. Furthermore, the pig is a symbol of peace when there is conflict. The pig solves any problem that occurs. On the other hand, as a sacred animal in traditional medicine, the pig is believed to be a medium to discover someone's illness and can heal people suffering from pain due to black magic.
Downloads
References
Age, M. Y. C. (2023, May). The Tradition of the Use of Pig's Blood in the Traditional Rituals of the Islamic Community in the Mole Ethnic. In ICEHHA 2022: Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education, Humanities, Health and Agriculture, ICEHHA 2022, 21-22 October 2022, Ruteng, Flores, Indonesia (p. 187). European Alliance for Innovation.
Bell C. M. (1992) Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice. Oxford University Press, USA.
Bell, C. M. (1997). Ritual: Perspectives and dimensions. Oxford University Press, USA.
Della Costa, F. (2020). The Sacred Pig. Ritual food-sharing on the feast of Saint Anthony in Celano, Italy. Journal of Modern Italian Studies, 25(5), 570-591.
Durkheim, É. (1995). Les Formes élémentaires de la vie réligieuse: Le système totémique en Australie (Paris: Alcan, 1912); English translation: The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, trans. Karen E. Fields.
Eliade, M. (1959). The sacred and the profane: The nature of religion (Vol. 81). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Hamilakis, Y., & Konsolaki, E. (2004). Pigs for the gods: burnt animal sacrifices as embodied rituals at a Mycenaean sanctuary. Oxford journal of archaeology, 23(2), 135-151.
Heider, K. G. (2017). The Dugum Dani: A papuan culture in the highlands of West New Guinea. Routledge.
Kim, J. J. (1972). Hierophany and history. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 40(3), 334-348.
Miller, J. L. (2010). Practice and perception of black magic among the Hittites. Altorientalische Forschungen, 37(2), 167-185.
Mircea, E. (2002). Mitos Gerak Kembali yang Abadi, Kosmos dan Sejarah. Yogyakarta: Ikon Teralitera.
Patasik, S. (2022). Occultism and disease healing in lani tribe papua. The International Journal of Social Sciences World (TIJOSSW), 4(1), 155-165.
Turner, V., Abrahams, R. D., & Harris, A. (2017). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Routledge.
Vats, R., & Thomas, S. (2015). A study on use of animals as traditional medicine by Sukuma Tribe of Busega District in North-western Tanzania. Journal of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, 11, 1-11.
