Potong gigi, also known as mesangih or mepandes,[1] is a form of ritual body modification of adolescents, typically teenagers, in parts of Bali that involves the filing of the canine teeth.[2] Traditional Balinese belief states that "protruding canines represent the animal-like nature of human beings";[3] the purpose of the ritual is to sever ties with these animal instincts and show others that the individual is old enough to marry.[4] Considered a generational ritual, parents of adolescents performing it consider it their "final duty" in being a parent before their child becomes an adult.[4] Reasons adolescents take part in the ceremony are mixed, as they must take into consideration the impacts of globalization with traditional Balinese ritual.[5]
![](http://up.wiki.x.io/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Potong.jpg/220px-Potong.jpg)
References
edit- ^ "Asia in Pictures". The Wall Street Journal. 2011-09-07. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
- ^ "Potong Gigi, the symbolic transition from teenager to adult". Teak Bali. 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
- ^ Gottowik, Volker (2010). "Transnational, translocal, transcultural: some remarks on the relations between Hindu-Balinese and ethnic Chinese in Bali". Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia. 25 (2): 178–212. doi:10.1355/sj25-2b. S2CID 145106478.
- ^ a b VICE Asia (2018-10-30), Grinding Teeth: The Wild Indonesian Coming Of Age Ritual, retrieved 2019-02-13
- ^ Nyoman Wiranti, Ni (June 2012). "How Balinese adolescents consider the importance of ritual in maintaining their social identity: Indigenous psychology approach". International Journal of Psychology. 47: 230. doi:10.1080/00207594.2012.709095.