Extreme Culture, Cut Off fingers As An Expression of Sadness in Papua

Crying, perhaps it is most often encountered. For the general public and especially the central mountain Wamena expressions of grief of losing a family member not only to cry alone.Usually they will be smearing themselves with mud to a certain period. But what makes them different cultures with many tribal cultures in other areas are cut off their fingers.

Almost the same as what is done by the Yakuza (Criminal Organization known in Japan) if they have violated the rules set by the organization or fail to execute their mission.

As an expression of remorse, they must cut one of their fingers. For the people of the middle mountain, cutting a finger made where immediate family members such as husband, wife, father, mother, son, brother, or sister died.Cutting finger symbolizes the pain when losing a loved family member. The phrase is so profound, even should have lost limbs.

For the people of BAliem in mountains Jayawijaya, the family has a very important role. For people Balim Jayawijaya togetherness in a family has its own values.

Finger cutting is generally done by the mother. But did not rule out cutting the finger performed by family members of the parent male or female. Cutting finger can also be interpreted as an effort to prevent the 'recurrence' doom that has claimed the lives of someone in the family is grieving.

Like the story of a mother from Moni (a tribe in the area Paniai), he told me that his little finger bitten by his mother when he was born. It had to be done by the mother because some children who were born before always died.

With the right pinkie finger decided he had just given birth to a child, the mother hopes that what happened to the children previously,do not happened to this baby.
This sounds very extreme, but in reality this is so, a woman from Moni has provided many grandchildren and great-grandchildren to the mother.

Cutting finger done in various ways. There was a cut finger by using sharp tools such as knives, machetes, or ax. Another way is by tying finger with a rope for some time so the network is bound to be dead and then cut.