THE UNIQUENESS OF NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR

THE UNIQUENESS OF NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR

There is a very old tradition in Nusa Tenggara Timur that has been passed down from generation to generation, for as long as the residents of NTT can remember. It is still practiced today and is known by the name of Sifon Tradition.

Generally, circumcision is usually done when boys are still young, still at a small age. But in Nusa Tenggara Timur, it can only be done when boys have reached manhood; when boys have reached a minimum age of seventeen. They can even decide to do it at an age much older than seventeen, when they have married and started a family. In other words, circumcision can be done anytime after passing the age of seventeen. Thus, for the people living in NTT, circumcision is not considered as something that must be done in order to enter adulthood.

This tradition requires each male who had been circumcised to engage in sexual intercourse within seven days, beginning from the very day that they had been circumcised. This is the reason why the residents of NTT do not exercise circumcision on boys; young boys have not had the experience of being with another woman whilst the tradition necessitates the males to have sex immediately within seven days from the day of circumcision. They also have reasons to believe that if you circumcise at a young age, it will hinder the growth of the body, resulting in the boys not reaching their normal heights but rather making them short. Also, the skin which is cut during circumcision may grow again if it is cut at a young age.

In NTT, circumcision cannot be done just on any day. It is a tradition which can only be done during particular seasons such as the rainy season, when the crops start to grow and the corn flowers start to blossom, from January till April when Turi Trees springs forth. Another season would be the summer season, from July till September when the Dadap Trees, Kapuk Trees and Buni Trees springs from the ground. The residents believe that if circumcision is done during these said seasons, their health will be guaranteed and their faces will radiate life showing rosy cheeks.

As Nusa Tenggara Timur is a dry province, the rainy season enable them to have easy access to large bodies of water which is a necessity in the process of circumcision ala Sifon Traditon