Chiffon, the tradition of circumcision using bamboo which can be life threatening

Circumcision is not required medically, but can be done for a variety of reasons - religious, cultural, to personal preference. Circumcision can also lower a man's risk of contracting HIV. Circumcision traditions can vary in each region. For example, the chiffon ritual in NTT which practices circumcision using bamboo. Although the values of the customs and culture are sacred, the impact of chiffon rituals can be very fatal to health.

What is chiffon tradition?

Sifon is a circumcision tradition that has been practiced from generation to generation by the Atoni Meto tribe in the East Nusa Tenggara region. If circumcision is generally performed when boys are young, chiffon is intended for male adolescents after turning 18 years of age.

Chiffon is usually carried out during the harvest season and lasts from three weeks to a month.

What's a chiffon procession like?

Before being circumcised, the young man will be asked to collect and count stones according to the number of women who have had sex with him. After that, the circumciser called ahelet would ask the young man to soak in the flowing river water.

The chiffon procession was carried out in the river to prevent the young man from losing a lot of blood after being circumcised. The reason is, ahelet will perform circumcision using a sharpened bamboo instead of using a laser or a sterile scalpel.

The circumcision will begin by pinching the foreskin with bamboo. After that, the wound on the penis will be wrapped with kom leaves (the leaves used to preserve corpses) with the aim of reducing bleeding. To replace the blood that came out, ahelet would ask the young man to drink chicken blood mixed with coconut water.

The ritual is then closed with sexual intercourse with the aim of healing the wound and getting rid of bad luck. Sexual relations are carried out with foreign women who are not related to the man's family or relatives. This is because the woman is believed to receive "heat" from the man who is circumcised, so that she is not allowed to have sex with the same man again.

Apart from getting rid of disease and bringing bad luck, the term "heat" also refers to the renewal of the soul to become pure as it was first born, as well as asking for the blessings of natural fertility. Sexual intercourse with unfamiliar women is also believed to speed up the healing process of circumcision wounds.

Why is circumcision using bamboo dangerous?

Circumcision using bamboo is an action that is not sterile. The most obvious risk is infection. The reason is, the bamboo used has already been exposed to bacteria and germs from the surrounding environment before being used near your vital organs. It is also possible that bamboo contains pesticides or other pollutants that are not intended for the penis.

Even though it has been brushed or cleaned first, germs can still move from the surface of the bamboo skin to the skin of your sex organs. As a result, circumcision in this way will increase the risk of irritation, bacterial infection, and even fungal infection.

In addition to increasing the risk of bacterial infection, it is not impossible that bamboo can be crushed into sharp shards that can tear and injure the skin of intimate organs. Moreover, the wound from the suture of circumcision using bamboo will continue to be left open without stitching. This action can risk the owner of the body to lose a lot of blood which can cause death if treated too late. Even if you make it through the procession, the chiffon circumcision wound can cause prolonged pain.

Chiffon circumcision increases the risk of transmitting venereal diseases

Because the circumcision wound is not sterile, it can develop into an infection which results in tissue damage to the penis area. Then because the young man has to have sex immediately after being circumcised, this will increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, both syphilis, gonorrhea, and even HIV - both for men and for women.