Though not introducing original material, Van Praag ([1934])[3] offers a convenient review of Indonesian courtship and sexuality as observed by the Dutch (henceforward "vP"). A further overview is found in Mallinckrodt (I, p412ff, cit. infra). Riedel (1885, 1886a,b)[4] found that premarital sexual freedom was marked for a range of societies. Wilken (1883[5]/1886[6], 1889:p435-60)[7], who offers a rich discussion of customs associated with the premarital dyad and sexuality, observes that this freedom would be only partially prevalent (1889:p440-1, 443-4; cf. Koloniaal Instituut te Amsterdam, 1921:p379-84). For an overview of circumcision customs, one is to consult Wilken (1885)[8].

On Ambon, for instance, the young girl is, "van kinds af gewoon de grootste onzedelijkheid, hetzij van vader of moeder, hetzij van broeders of zusters rondom zich te zien en daardoor overprikkeld, geeft zich, nauwelijks de schooltucht ontwassen en tot maagd gerijpt, steeds over aan haar prikkel tot zinnelijken lust en werpt zich in de armen van den eersten den besten jongeling, die haar bevalt, om aan die neiging te voldoen"[9] (Van Hoëvell, 1875:p126-8)[10]. De Vries[11] notes that Amahei (south coast of Ceram) children until marriageable age cohabit with permission of their parents, being given explicit freedom at the lĕpas-kain-kadu (which entails a menarchal symbolic defloration) "om een ontuchtig leven te leiden".

In selected societies, artificial defloration ("stupratio officialis", officium deflorationis) would have been customary (Wilken, p441 and refs.)

Ploß (Die Frau, I) learned from Van den Burg that in the Dutch East Indies, "children surrender themselves to the sexual passions even before maturity, and coitus between brothers and sisters aged 5 to 6 is no rarity". This seems to be interesting given the observation that girls are "[…] often betrothed at birth and married at six [years?], although they remain with their parents" (Wilken, as cited by Sumner, 1906:p383)[12]; the custom, however was declining at the time of writing. Smith and Wiswell (1982:p69-73)[13] sketch a childhood sexuality in Suye Mura characterisable as expressive and joking. Vatter (1932:p122)[14]:

"[…] eine besondere Belehrung über sexuelle Dinge scheint nicht stattzufinden. Vorzeitiger Geschlechtsverkehr under Kinderen soll selten sein; sexuelle Unarten zwischen kleinen Jungen haben wir gelegentlich beobachtet, doch wurden sie ihnen, vielleicht mit Rücksicht auf unsere Anwesenheit, von älteren Kinderen oder Erwachsenen verwiesen".

[Additional refs: Pangkahila, W. I. / Elkholy, R. (2001) Indonesia , in Francoeur, R. T. (Ed. in chief) The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. New York: Continuum. Vol. 4, p247 et seq. Expected online ed. Some material would have been offered in unpublished notes by Kennedy[15] according to HRAF listing.]

Male Age Stratified Patterns [see it discussed in GUS Vol. II, §14.2.2.1] [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Its perverse nature being debated, institutional prostitution of 9 to 12-year-old boys was prevalent among the Lampong of southeast Sumatra (Karsch-Haack, 1911:p189-90[16]; Davis and Whitten 1987:p85)[17]. The boys were called Sedattis who waited upon men and danced to entertain them. A comparable custom prevailed on Bali (ibid., p210; also West, 1977:p135-6)[18]. Further observations suggest the practice of pederasty among the To Bada' (Woensdregt, as cited by Van Praag, p508). De Zwaan (1910:p176-9)[19] states that in Solok, the natives admitted that among the Singkara Lake, little boys were used for pederastic purposes. In Sidjoendjoeng the author was insured that "a man keeps a boy to practice pederasty. Such a boy is called anak djawi (cow boy?). Further, boys would have pederastic intercourse among themselves, which was suggested to me in Goenoeng too". The author further cites Jacobs[20] in the observation "that on Bali little boys of ten to twelve years, dressed as girls, offer themselves for such practices. Hardeland [?] noted such lads, the basirs, among the Olo-Ngadja Dajaks, while Meyer [[21]] writes about this occurring in the Philippines. […] According to Kruyt [vide infra], most Adjeh chiefs possess some sedatis, children of 9 to 12 years who are used for pederasty and are also trained to entertain their lords in alternative ways ["om hunne heeren op andere wijzen te vermaken"]". Kruijt (1877:p63, 65-6)[22] speaks of "jeugdige dansjongens, sedatti's," being "kinderen van negen tot twaalf jaar, de meesten waarschijnlijk van Nias afkomstig, die fraai in zijde getooid, met gouden en zilveren arm- en voetbanden versierd, door zang en dans de avonden en nachten der mannen opvroolijken. De meeste hoofden bezitten eenigen dezer sedatti's in eigendom [sic], en geven er gewoonlijk aan de bevolking hunner afgelegen peperplantages een paar tot amusement", including "de ruwste en onnatuurlijkste onzedelijkheid"[23]. Jacobs (1894, I:p234-7[24]; cf. 1883:p13-4, 134)[25], a high official of military health, however, writes that this picture is quite exaggerated: "as soon as such a sedati [sadati] might reveal inclinations for perverse sexual acts, he ceases to be a sedati and is dismissed" (p235). Nevertheless, "[a]lmost no Atjeh chief, when on an official trip, goes out unless accompanied by a half or whole dozen of sadatis, catamites, as is claimed, who are recruited [aangeworven] by […] that chiefs for perverse inclinations". The Bali boys would be called gandrungs, would be required in other ways of "corpere quastum facere" after their hour-long dances (Jacobs, 1883; also cited by Wilken, 1889:p458; cf. Van Eck, p169[26]; Duff-Cooper, 1985:p415)[27].

Chabot (1950:p156)[28] speaks about a dance titled masri in which boys of 8-12 years perform dances for apparently highly enthusiastic men. "De sexuele prikkel, die van de combinatie van vers, rhythme en de half als vrouw verklede jongetjes uitgaat is de hoofdzaak"[29]. The dance was temporarily forbidden by the Government.

Williams (1990:p579-80)[30] states that in the Ponorogo area of Eastern Java, boys were used by men, traditionally by waroks (spiritually and physically powerful masculine adult men) as a gemblakan, some as young as seven, but mostly in their teens. These gemblak[an]s (Wilson, 1999; Permadi, 1991:p64-5, as cited by Utomo, p13[31]; Weis)[32] date back to the 15th century, and survived until recently in Ponorogo, a small town east of Yogyakarta:

"Warok [students of Ki Ageng Kutu, the court poet of the last king of the Majapahit kingdom, Bra Kertabumi,in the fifteenth century] were said to follow a strict regime of ascetic discipline, one of the parguron's rules being that they were forbidden to have sexual intercourse with women. This prohibition was predicated on the belief that the resulting loss of sperm would deplete their supernatural powers. To aid them in their endeavour, each warok enlisted the aid of a young boy known as a gemblak who acted as a "substitute" woman. […]As a 'substitute' for a wife the warok chose a beautiful young boy, who acted as his companion as well as a jatilan dancer in his reog troupe. The beauty of the gemblak, in the eyes of the warok, came from their androgynous like features, grace, and poise. The boy was chosen from a neighbouring area and usually aged between eight and sixteen years. The warok would send a delegation to the home of the boy's parents to 'propose', the patterns of ritualised speech employed being very similar to that used in proposals for heterosexual weddings. […] Warok are reputed to use magical powers obtained through extended periods of fasting to 'seduce' [ merayu] reluctant gemblak. […] For many young boys, being a gemblak was accepted as a certain stage in the journey to manhood and the majority of gemblak stayed with their warok until their late teens" (Wilson).

Petkovic(1999)[33]:

"Gemblak help the warok maintain the state of abstinence by providing companionship and a kind of woman substitute. For this reason, gemblak are selected for their grace, pose and beauty. While, publicly, sexual activity between warok and gemblak is not condoned, some petting and kissing is allowed. There is usually an intense relationship between warok and gemblak and there have been many instances when different warok have fought one another over the possession of their favorite gemblak. […] The warok's relationship with their gemblak companions is amplified by their 'sexual games' on the one hand, and moderated, in the end, by professed abstinence".

While the relationship was said to be innocent (as elderly say, "with gemblak the most that can happen is a bit of harmless kissing and cuddling. But close association with women will definitely lead to sexual intercourse which will result in the warok losing his powers"), local government regarded the warok/gemblak relationship as "morally offensive and in conflict with the 'national personality' [kepribadian bangsa]. The relationship is deemed to be unacceptable because it is considered to be nothing more than 'socialised homosexuality', and a potential threat to public order".

Oetomo, one of the leading gay-rights activists in Indonesia and an academic at Airlangga University, East Java, marks its essentialist character[34]:

"I think what they do sexually, we have to call homosexual acts. This is widely known all over Java. Anybody who is in touch with the traditional way of life in Ponorogo, knows that there are these older men called warok who, instead of having sex with their wives, have sex with younger boys - eight to fourteen, fifteen - and they do that as part of looking for prowess. Whether we can call them a homosexual community is questionable. They don't call themselves homosexuals; they don't identify themselves as homosexuals, such as one finds in the West or in modern Indonesia. They would call themselves warok-gemblakan".

[For contemporary Dutch studies on Indonesian homosexualities, see Oostvogels, R. (1990) Gaai, Waria, Liefhebbers en Schandknapen in Jakarta: Een Indonesische Constructie van Homosexualiteit. [study available from Homodoc]; Buitendorp, B. (1995) Javaanse Jongens en Gudang Garam: Een Onderzoek naar Homoseksualiteit in Yogyakarta, Indonesië. Wageningen [Holland]: LUW, Vakgroep Huishoudstudies]

Early Betrothal / Marriage [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

In the "Indian Archipelo", marriage could take place at puberty (Wilken, 1886:p141, 143), including cases concerned with (elaborate) additional regulations, and of child marriage and betrothal (detailed and referenced in ibid., p161-7)[35]. Early betrothal before 1900 used to be fairly common in Indonesia[36], at least in the case of Java[37], Buru[38], Savoe[39] (petaga), and among the Bataks, Sundanese[40], and other Malay peoples[41]. An very detailed historical literature overview of Indonesian prepubertal betrothals and marriage was offered by the Amsterdam Colonial Institute (1921[IV]:p467-506)[42]. Mallinckrodt (I, p436-8) further mentions the Kajan (pre- and neonatal), central tribes (Badhau: gen. strat.), Ngadjoe (gen. strat.), and Tajan (Schadee). Commenting on the Borneo case, Schwaner (1853, I:p194, as cited by Sumner, op.cit.)[43] mentions that children are betrothed and married in their childhoods, their intimacies "left to chance". Mallinckrodt[44] (I, p423-4, 436, as cited by Van Praag, p392-3) speaks of prenatal betrothal on Borneo, while Nieuwenhuis[45] and Schadee[46] report on generationally stratified marriage among the Kajans and Dayak (very rare)[47], respectively. Child marriages among the Minahassa of Celebes, as mentioned by Graafland[48], were banished in 1861.

Some further data are collected in Lebar (1972)[49]. The Bisaya (Borneo) practice informal "pairing" of eight- and nine-year-olds. Premarital chastity, however, was of great concern and sexual initiation was determined by the mother-in-law associated with future residence. Child betrothal was reported for the Muruts in the Trusan-Lawas districts (p161)[50]. Prenatal and infant betrothal was occasionally practiced by the Timugon (p157), was the rule on Wetar (p111), and formerly customary among the Sumatra Niasans (p39) and Batak (p21). Among the Toradja child betrothal was customary (Adriani, 1951 [II]; vP, p521). Dusun children would be betrothed when "still young" (Straal, 1923/4:p129)[51]. The Atjeh practiced child marriage (Jacobs, 1894, I:p74-5; cf. Van Praag, [1934:p7, 9-10]). In Indonesia, sexual intercourse would take place with the girl child-bride among the Bantam and the Atjeh (Fischer, 1952:p116-7)[52].

Wealthy parents controlled their children's marriage arrangements in some parts of Southeast Asia where Islam was very influential (Utomo):

"In Southeast Asia, too, the elite were anxious to avoid unacceptable liaisons by their daughters or doubtful parentage for their grandchildren, and therefore sought betrothals with appropriate spouses at an early age. In the wealthy trading cities most firmly committed to Islam-Aceh, Banten, Brunei, and Patani-the habit of arranging marriages for daughters at the age of puberty appears to have spread through a wider sector of society, in reaction to the prevailing premarital sexual permissiveness. Aceh and Banten were notorious for exceptionally early female marriage in the nineteenth century (Reid, 1988:p159)"[[53]].

The contemporary pattern of premarital courtship on South Sulawesi occurs at the interface of traditional and modern curricula (Ford et al., 1997:p253-4)[54].

Current Age of Consent [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

According to ECPAT[55], the age of consent is 15 years for girls and 18 years for homosexual relations.

Colonialism [up] [Contents][Ethnographic Index]

The Dutch warned the Indonesian mother for "ontegenzeggelijk slechte gewoonten" [irrefutably bad habits] as caused by sibling co-sleeping, and by nursemaids[56].

Ethnographic Particularities [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Pangkahila and Pangkahila (1997)[57]: "Sexual exploration and sex rehearsal play are common among children as a natural part of their psychosexual development. However, many parents are afraid of such behavior, believing that it results in sexual abnormalities. […] Homoerotic or homosexual activities are not common among Indonesian children, although some sexual exploration involving exhibiting the genitals is known to occur". [In his intimate study of Indonesian homosexual development, Howard (1996)[58] did not cover, or does not mention, childhood (homo-)sexual behaviour, nor do autobiographical accounts]. "School curricula do not offer students any education on sexual topics or issues". Furthermore, "[s]ex education is not generally given at schools and parents are reluctant to talk about sex to their children"[59].

The use of courtship dwellings is only occasionally mentioned[60].

Mentawaians (Indonesia) (eHRAF) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Schefold (1976)[61] remarks: "Sexual relations during puberty are […] tolerated without comment on these islands. Only the father of the girl ought not to notice anything".

Schefold (1988)[62]:

"Vor allem die Spiele der Jungen untereinander erhalten früh eine erotische Komponente. Sie beobachten die Neckereien der Männer beim gemeinsamen Baden und werden von ihren etwas älteren Gefährten zu sexuellen Handlungen angeleitet. Mit der beginnenden Pubertät kommt es zu emotionellen Beziehungen, die auch Freunde aus der Nachbarschaft betreffen können und dann oft selbst nach der Heirat noch andauern. Manchmal münden sie in Freundschaftsbündnissen (siripo'), die die betreffenden uma als ganze einander annähern. Zärtlichkeit zwischen Gleichgeschlechtlichen gilt bei Jungen und Mädchen als normal und wird auch in aller Öffentlichkeit zur Schau gestellt. Von ausschließlicher Homosexualität hatten die Sakuddei jedoch nie etwas gehört. Sie fanden die Vorstellung nicht unmoralisch, aber absurd. Nur Mann und Frau zusammen können erzeugen, was man zum Leben braucht".

Hansen[63] (also cited by Van Praag), remarks that "[r]eeds op 13 à 14 jarigen leeftijd leeft het Mentaweische meisje in vrije liefde en wisselt meermalen van minaar. Krijgt zij kinderen bij één of meer mannen, dan is dit volstrekt geen schande; haar vader verheugt zich zelfs daarover. […] De vader […] moedigt zijn dochter tot geslachtsgemeenschap met verschillende mannen aan"[64] (Hansen, p177, 210-1; vP., p148, 152-3).

Iban (Indonesia) (2,2,2+,2+,3,3;8,8) (eHRAF) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

According to Padoch (1982:p92-3)[65]:

"The exact age of Iban at first sexual union is a topic difficult to explore, partially because of the usual reticence of women to discuss the subject, but mostly because of the impossibility of determining precise chronological ages. It is probable that among women in the Engkari region, courtship commences at about sixteen or seventeen years of age, while among men a somewhat later age, of eighteen or nineteen, is indicated. I have found no reason to assume that ages at which courtship begins in Bintulu are different. Whether there has been any change over time in the ages at which young Iban begin to court is uncertain. Several older women assured me that the age at first courting has declined, but there is no possible way of verifying this allegation".

Gomes (1911)[66]:

"The mode of courtship among the Dyaks is peculiar. No courting goes on by day, but at night, when all is quiet, a young lover creeps to the side of the curtain of his lady-love, and awakes her. The girls sleep apart from their parents--sometimes in the same room, but more often in the loft. He presents her with a roll of sireh leaf, in which is wrapped the betel-nut ingredients the Dyaks love to chew. […] This nightly courtship is, in fact, the only way a man and woman can become acquainted with each other, for such a thing as privacy during the day is quite unknown in a Dyak house. If the girl be pleased with her lover, he remains with her until close upon daybreak, when he leaves with her some article as a pledge of his honour, such as a bead necklace, or ring, or a headkerchief, or anything else which he may have about him. This act of leaving some gift with the girl is considered as a betrothal between the two parties, and the man who refuses to marry the girl after doing so is considered guilty of breach of promise of marriage, and liable, according to Dyak law, to a fine".

Komanyi (1973:p81-2)[67]: "An Iban girl may marry when she is fifteen or sixteen years old. Now, however, as educational opportunities improve, marriages tend to occur at a slightly later age, such as eighteen to twenty-two. A period of courtship, called ngajap , which is a uniquely Iban custom, precedes the betrothal".

Padoch:

"The traditional Iban patterns of courtship (ngayap) , which involve nocturnal visiting of women by men, are a topic mentioned frequently by earlier writers (Roth 1896,I:109-11)[[68]], among whom there is disagreement on the frequency or occurrence of sexual intercourse during the visiting. A more recent account of the practice (Beavitt 1967)[[69]], and all informants I encountered, concurred that sexual relations take place often, although not always. It is reported that ngayap is now being replaced among some Iban groups, particularly those converted to Christianity, by other forms of courtship not involving sexual union (Beavitt 1967:p409-10)[[70]]. However, the traditional form prevailed in all the communities that were studied during the period of field research".

"[…] when a girl reaches maturity, and if there is a suitor, her parents will arrange for her to settle down. Normally, an Iban girl marries when she is seventeen years of age. When a girl attains her spinsterhood, her mother teaches her the ways employed to protect herself. She must be taught to behave and speak courteously to boys who court her at night. She is aware that it has been a tradition for a boy to court a girl. However, the question of getting her to offer herself to the boy depends very much on the girl herself, because he cannot force her to give consent unless they love each other through his kindness and winning ways. These are secretly explained to her by her mother. The mother also emphasises the methods in which her daughter can judge whether or not the boy is sincere enough to marry her"[71].

Belu (Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Among the Central Timor Belu, premenarchal intercourse is considered a shame (Vroklage, 1952, I:p217)[72].

Borneo (Indonesia) (Kayans, Dusun, Rungus Dusun, Dayak) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Penis pins are normally installed at puberty or later (see Brown, [1991:p437][73]; Burns, 1849:p149)[74] (cf. Kayans).

Kayans (Borneo, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Hose and McDougall[75]:

"About the age of ten years the Kayan boy begins to wear a waist-cloth-- his first garment -- his sister having assumed the apron some two or three years earlier; we are not aware of any ceremony connected with this. […] There is little or no attempt made to impart instruction to the children, whether moral or other, but they fall naturally under the spell of custom and public opinion […]. It is difficult to say exactly at what age puberty begins with the youths. The girls mostly begin their courses in the fourteenth or fifteenth year. By this time the girl of the better class has the lobes of her ears distended to form loops, which allow her heavy ear-rings to reach to her collar-bone or even lower, and she is far advanced towards completion of her tatu on thighs, feet, hands, and forearms […]. The process is begun at about the tenth year, and is continued from time to time, only a small area being covered at each bout, owing to the pain of the operation and the ensuing inflammation and discomfort. […] The youth goes through no elaborate rite of initiation to manhood […]. When the youth begins to feel strongly the attraction of the other sex, he finds opportunities of paying visits, with a few companions, in friendly houses. It is then said in his own house that he has gone "to seek tobacco", a phrase which is well understood to mean that he has gone to seek female companionship[76].

We must not pass over without mention a peculiar mutilation which is practised by most of the Kayan youths as they approach manhood, namely, the transverse perforation of the GLANS PENIS and the insertion of a short rod of polished bone or hard wood.

A youth of average presentability will usually succeed in becoming the accepted lover of some girl in his own or another house (cp. Chap. V.); and though he may engage himself in this way with two or three girls in turn before deciding to "settle down", he is usually not much over twenty years of age when he becomes accepted as the future husband of a girl some years his junior. A Kayan youth who has rendered pregnant a girl with whom he has kept company can be relied upon to acknowledge his responsibility and to marry her before her time comes".

Dusun (North Borneo, Indonesia) (Williams) (unrated) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Williams (1965:p83)[77]: "Most girls are initiated to sexual intercourse before 12, usually by boys of 14 to 16 years of age, and sometimes by men, [while, usually,] boys of 12 to 14 are initiated to sexual activities by a girl of 15 to 17 who is the regular partner of a group of boys of that age". Williams (1966:p34)[78] stated that the Dusun parent quiets the girl by stroking the labia, and boys by pulling the preputium:

"[…] mothers often examine the anal region carefully and permit family dogs to lick the anus of an infant after defecation. […] Parents regularly stimulate genitals of infants and young children. Female infants are soothed by stroking the labia, while male infants are quieted by pulling at the foreskin. Older children are teased verbally by relatives of the opposite sex, particularly fathers, brothers and sisters, concerning precocious sexual development and likely powers in intercourse. Mothers often hold infant boys aloft in the course of singing magical growth songs, blowing softly on the penis, while noting aloud sexual powers to come at maturity. Aged and unrelated women often threaten to castrate four to sex year old boys, making pretended cuts in the direction of the genitals with a field knife, then pulling suddenly at the penis with the other hand, all to the great amusement of onlookers. Unrelated and aged males occasionally threaten young girls in a similar manner, and, while making a cutting motion at the labia comment loudly that such an act does no good since the girl has "already lost her penis" ".

The same stimulation, and with the same purpose, is done with domestic animals (p35). Williams (1969:p101-4)[79] states that Dusun parents believed that copulation is best learned by observation and that they take no special precautions in its domestic practice. Children watch adolescent coitus, and sexual activities of babytenders. "In the absence of adults from the household, sex play between younger children regularly occurs, but usually only as an aspect of other play. A momentary attention is given to some openly sexual activity and then play moves to other, nonsexual concerns. […] Older children are severely censured by parents if discovered in display of their sexual anatomy and acts of mutual sex play and intercourse. If parents happen to discover older children engaged in sex play or having intercourse, they may take a bamboo stick to drive them apart. Nonrelated adults would scold the children involved, then ignore them". The expression "animal intercourse" is used by attempts at censorship. Adult or adolescent homosexuality was said to be very rare.

Rungus Dusun (Borneo, Indonesia / Malaysia) (Appell) (eHRAF) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Among the Rungus Dusun of Sabah (Appell, [1991a])[80] a girl receives no instruction from her mother about sexual matters. "All she knows is that if she were to engage in sex prior to marriage it would have disastrous consequences. A Rungus mother, furthermore, does not inform her daughter about menstruation" (p19, 28; Appell, 1988[81]). Flirtation and courtship must follow accepted forms, including riddles and poems with disguised meanings and special vocabularies. Apparently (p27), at least in the adult generation, marriage would occur at age 12, two years prior to menarche. A young girl refrains from being seen alone in the company of a male even before she begins to wear a sarong to cover the breasts, this taking place a year or so before she becomes "pubescent" (Appell, [1991b])[82].

"Parents may at times play affectionately with their children's genitalia while they are still toddlers rubbing them, mouthing them, and shaking them. Occasionally older siblings do this to their younger siblings. Sometimes young boys have their genitalia tweaked by a male or female sibling, although by the time they are four or five they get rather irritated by this attention. Thus, during the early stages of child-rearing genitalia are not given an emotional loading of being potentially dangerous" (p100). Since childhood, a girl has been expected to avoid any close contact with males, so that prior to marriage, she is to express no interest in or knowledge of sexual matters, quite contrary to the realities of country life (p101).

"Usually at about ten years old—later if there are no sibling companions, earlier if there are congenial companions—a boy will begin to sleep on the apad in order to minimize the possibility of illicit sexual intercourse within the domestic family" (A., 1978:p156)[83]. "[…] a daughter receives no instruction on sex prior to her marriage" (A., [1965])[84].

Dayak (Borneo, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Among the Borneo Dayak, "[t]he need comes with puberty" (Geddes, 1968:p63)[85]. "Earlier than this the children, called singly and collectively baduput, go about clothed or unclothed at will. Little attention is paid to their distinguishing sexual characteristics save that those of the boys are very occasionally made the subject of teasing [[86]]. The children are soon aware of the nature of sexual activity, but regard it, fore the most part, as something into which they will grow. They have a modicum for modesty, or are taught it. They would be corrected if they played sexually in public, but they never seem to do so. No one worries about what they might do in private", which does not amount to much time. Informally, boy and girl groups are separated at play. Schadee (op.cit.) notes that in the rare case of prepubertal marriage, cohabitation is assumed "at the time of puberty" without ceremonial (p424). Premarital intercourse leads to fining and marriage (p422, 452-3).

Bawean (Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Van Praag cites Jasper[87] who documents marriage commitments resulting from a brief parentally supervised stays in a doeroeng. If affianced, they continue to frequent the doeroeng though with a code of mutual avoidance (J, p272-3).

Balinese (Indonesia) (2,2+,3,3+,2-,2-;8,8) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Karsch-Haack (1911:p210), Zwaan and Jacobs speak of a form of boy prostitution (vide supra).

A child in Bali "knows facts about which an adolescent in the West is totally ignorant, and we knew of children under five who could make erotic jokes" (Covarrubias, 1937 [1938:p132-3])[88]. They also smoked. Even contemporarily, "as there is no code of behavior separating children from adults, the child is treated as an equal. Birth, sex, and death are discussed openly and presented ceremoniously as sacred passages of life. Nothing is hidden from the child"[89].

Bateson and Mead (1942:p130-1)[90] give the following (illustrated) account on Balinese genital manipulation of the baby.

"This takes several forms; commonly the mother grasps the penis and gives it a quick tug while letting it slip through the fingers, as if "pulling it off". In other cases, the mother passes her hand repeatedly upward over the pubes and abdomen in such a way that the penis pressed upward by each passage of the hand; or she may ruffle the penis upward by repeated little flicks, using almost the exact gesture that a man uses when he ruffles up the hackle feathers of his fighting cock to make it angry […]. These behaviors are all play; they are not motivated by the desire to quiet the child, but by the desire to see the child respond".

Mead (1949 [1955:p62])[91] later recalls:

"[…] the Balinese place very early emphasis on the genitalia. A little boy's penis is being continually teased, pulled, flipped, flicked, by his mother, his child-nurse, and those around him. With the slight titillation go the repeated words: "Handsome, handsome, handsome", an adjective applied only to males. The little girl's vulva is patted gently, with the accompanying feminine adjective "Pretty, pretty, pretty". There is very little difference in the way in which a woman handles a male child and the way in which she handles her child's penis. The same flick, the same teasing, occur over and over again, while the bystanders also handle the baby in arms as they handle a small child's penis".

It may be inferred that this connotes little erotic significance, since until the child loses his first teeth, he "has a status of maximum innocence and purity; it is the nearest thing to God which man may know" (Belo, 1949:p15)[92]. According to a study by Angulo (1995)[93], only 41.9% of informants stated that "fondling a young boy on his genitals by an adult" was not considered by them as "child abuse"; for fondling young girl's genitals, this figure reads 32.6% ([p90-2]).

Jennaway (2001)[94] on adolescence:

"Given the emphasis Balinese culture places upon marriage, the courtship period – adolescence and young unwed womanhood - is culturally constructed as the most precarious and potentially dangerous time in a woman's career. If she gets it right, she will win a spouse and also – failing his premature death, polygynous urges[95] or divorce – material and social security for the rest of her days. If she mucks it up, however, her life circumstances will indeed be precarious, traumatic and insecure.

In Punyanwangi, good girls submit to paternal authority by never defying their father's wishes, by helping their mother with household chores, by learning the female arts of cooking and ritual preparations, and above all, by maintaining a reputation for sexual chastity. If they lose their reputation for chastity - irrespective of whether or not their actual chastity remains intact - they lose all. They will have brought down shame upon their father, and worse still, they will have compromised their chances of securing a desirable marriage. Hence young women must never go out alone, unaccompanied by family members or without the sanitizing presence of other females. Once she has a boyfriend a young woman must never date him publicly: meetings should take place in her home under the strict supervision of her father. Even when a couple is known to be courting, a young woman may maintain the fiction that she has no boyfriend for the sake of outward propriety".

In former times, the girl had to be abducted with her consent; this could not be done with minors, that is, before teeth are filed (Van Praag, p276, 277, 278-9). "Verboden omgang tusschen de beide geslachten, op zelfs zeer jeugdigen leeftijd, komt zeer veel voor, men noemt dit mĕmitra. […] Wordt het feit ontdekt en door getuigen bewezen, dan betaalt de eer-roover eene boete […]. De geslachtelijke omgang op jeugdigen leeftijd geschiedt niet altijd in het geheim, doch dikwijls met medeweten van de ouders der beide partijen" [96] (J., 1883:p133-4). Jacobs attributes impotence to the use of opium and "particularly also to "abusus in Venere" to which most are already given in their youth" (p110).

"Ook de masturbatie is vrij algemeen. De ketimoe en de pisang worden door de Balische meisjes veel als versnapering, doch niet alleen als versnapering gebruikt. In de kamer van menig Balisch meisje kan men een uit was vervaardigde tjĕlak-tjĕlakan malèm (tjĕlak beteekent penis, malèm beteekent was) vinden en menig uurtje wordt in stille afzondering met dien consolidator doorgebracht"[97] (also cited by Wilken, 1889:p457).

Javanese (Indonesia) (2,2,3,3+,2-,4;1,1) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

"Sex is never discussed openly; "Javanese equals and close friends, however, do discuss sex frequently, and this is how adolescent boys and girls learn about it. It is generally believed that that boys receive much of their early sexual experience from prostitutes in the towns who are associated with coffee stalls along the streets. I have never been able to find out how the adolescent boys of the villages where prostitutes are not available obtain their actual early experience. Village girls usually have only a very brief adolescence, as they marry between the ages of twelve and fifteen"[98], which according to Geertz is an exponent of control. Parents avoid sex talk and intercourse in front of children, but would leave room for "indirect observation, the overhearing of adult conversations, or the imparting of information by older people such as grandparents" (Koentjaraningrat, [1971:p98])[99]. Adolescents are said to have their "first" sexual experience with town prostitutes or a select group of girls or women who are "willing to be free with their favors" (Jay, 1969:p36, 44)[100]. Among the ®Sundanese, infants' genital region is "gelegentlich freundlich-neutral gestreichelt […] (Von Loh, 1996:p122)[101]. At the age of 40 days, the girl's clitoris is rubbed with a paste made of turmeric, which is believed to have healing properties. At least in the late 1950s, the organ was then slightly "incised" with no blood drawn (Jaspan and Hill, 1987:p22)[102].

[Additional refs.: Geertz (1961)[103] ]

Sundanse (Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Infants' genital region is "gelegentlich freundlich-neutral gestreichelt […] (Von Loh). Premarital intercourse is forbidden en incidental (Rikin, 1973:p20)[104]. Boys are circumcised at least partially based on sexuality or fertility motives (p117-20), women arguing "you don't go to bed with a child, do you?". The current timing, however, was as variable as 4 to 15 (p33-4). Moestapa[105], also documents a (former) sexological significance: "[…] zoolang de knaap nog geen verlangst naar het andere geslacht toonde en nog net tegen vrouwen durfde, werd hij niet besneden", that is, at age "15 or 18".

"Endeh" (Flores, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Van Praag cites Van Suchtelen[106] in that, in contrast to the Rokkas of Flores (Van Staveren, cited by vP, p347), "[d]e geslachtsrijpe jongeling vindt vrijwel onbeperkte gelegenheid tot bevrediging van het mannelijk instinct in het inderdaad zeer vrije verkeer der sexen. Zij, die dan ook aan onanie schuldig maken, worden door allen bespot. Sodomisme komt betrekkelijk weinig voor […]"[107]. The girl, however, has to be a virgin when entering marriage (vP, p340).

Ngada (Flores, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

An examination of male puberty rites was provided by Bader[108]. Boys and girls are circumcised.

Bonerate (Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

On Bonerate, children watch animal and parental copulation, and listen to adult conversations on sex. "Children are not banned from these events. However, I never observed evidence of children copying such life crisis incidents [sic] during play. Sex play between boys and girls seems absent. Adults have indeed told the children that they would not tolerate anything like that. When, however, small boys and girls touch and play with their genitals, this is ignored and not commented upon (Broch, 1990:p74-5, 105, 167)[109].

Batak (Toba-lake, Sumatra, Indonesia) (®Philippines) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Referring to unpublished data, Money and Ehrhardt (1973/1996:p130-1[110]; Money, 1977:p229-30)[111] relate that these Batak are known for a "homosexual phase" from about 9 to 19, the time they spend in either an all-male communal house, or with an old widow. This is so while "[i]n late childhood, it is not decent for children to stay sleeping in their parent's single-roomed house". The boys practice "primarily mutual masturbation of penis held against penis, maybe anal intercourse, but never fellatio. All members of the group may become one member's partner, in rotation. Relationships are not necessarily unobserved, but they are always in pairs, not in larger groups".

Premarital intercourse was a free product (Wilken, 1889:p439-40, op.cit., and refs.).

Toradja (Indonesia) (-,-,3-,3-,2,2;8,8; D4,1) (eHRAF) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Child betrothals being common, Nobele (acc. vP)[112] observed on Makale that betrothed children were allowed to live in a single residence but are forbidden to sleep as a couple until of marriageable age. Adriani and Kruyt (1912 [1951:p619])[113] note the following on the Toradja of Central Celebes (Sulawesi): "At an early age the child knows everything concerning sexual life, for all of these things are discussed freely by the parents in the presence of the children, and the latter are present at a confinement from the beginning to the end. From an early age the child is familiar with the secrets of sexual life, and as soon as its senses begin to speak and the impulse reveals itself from within, it yields to the act without any self-restraint"[114]. Downs (1956:p77)[115] agreed that "[…] it was not uncommon for girls to have sexual intercourse before they menstruated for the first time". Hollan and Wellenkamp (1996:p72)[116] quoting a mother: "Often when a boy is sleeping with other children, …he may put his legs around [another child] or pillow, and he does it [thrusts as in intercourse]… but he doesn't even know what he's doing […] We don't say anything […] If he's just pretending, you know?".

Two accounts of Toradja puberty are given:

"Boys and girls reach sexual maturity inconspicuously. There is no festivity or ceremony in connection with the transition to marriageable age. When a girl has her teeth shortened (among the To Poe'oe-mboto the teeth are knocked out), this is evidence that one may have a love affair with her. This does not apply to boys: they do not have their teeth shortened until a later age, when they are seriously considering marriage. Before this time they have already enjoyed the free association with girls that the adat permits them. […] For girls the onset of menstruation is certain evidence of their sexual maturity, but many have already had love affairs before that time. No special notice is taken of the onset of the menses" (Adriani & Kruijt).

"Boys were incised (montindi, mopatindi) anywhere from their sixth to fifteenth year. If a boy had had sexual intercourse before the operation, however, it was thought to be dangerous both for him and the operator and could have harmful effects on the rice plants. […] Boys had their teeth shortened when they felt they had grown up, at any rate after they were incised and before they were married. It was more dangerous, however to operate on a boy who had already had sexual intercourse, and therefore only some one who had killed an enemy could safely do it" (Downs).

Among the Sigi-Toradjanamed To Bada', as described by Woensdregt[117], a girl begins to seek social intercourse with equally aged boys after her teeth have been knocked out. "According to some the girl begins to socialise with young men after her second menses. However, according to others menstruation would be a cause of the making out" ["Volgens anderen zouden de menses juist een gevolg zijn van de vrijage"] (p246; cf. Atjeh). Child marriage (p256-7) per se is inexistent, though parents do negotiate marriages at this age. As is sexual life concerned (W., p265-6), it is observed that "Het grijpen van een jongen naar de genitaliën van zijn kameraad (mombekoko) is een gewoon verschijnsel. Evenzoo de meisjes onderling. Maar ook meisjes en jongens doen dit wederkeerig, en vaak blijft het niet alleen bij mombekoko. Meestal gaat de verleiding uit van het meisjes"[118]. The elderly argue that "Ze spelen wat met elkaar; ze moeten toch iets hebben aan hun verloving!"[119]. Another form is called mombekatehoebe'i, translated as "met elkaar ergens tegenaan komen, over struikelen" (to stumble upon something together, DJ). When the boy "pays" her (e.g., a mirror), he cannot be fined afterwards.

Atjeh, Adjeh (Sumatra, Indonesia) (unrated) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

The sedati custom has been discussed. The Atjeh practised child marriage (Jacobs, 1894, I:p74-5; Van Praag). At a very early age, mixed play is forbidden (ibid., p223). "Onanism has to be frequent in children of both sexes". Older girls use a dildo made of wax (mĕdilin-dilin), and girlhood tribadism would not be rare (p210-1; cf. 1883:p134-5). Spinner (1931:198)[120] noted: "Bei den Atjehs auf Sumatra werden die Kinder sehr früh verheiratet und beisammen gelassen. Da sie noch nicht koitieren können, befriedigen sie sich gegenseitig durch Ipsation bzw. Masturbation.". The same case was attributed to Jacobs in Ploß and Bartels (p274-8)[121]. This was also noted by Metschnikoff[122]: "Die Gatten schlafen zusammen, indem sie Versuche zum Coitus machen, bis es ihn gelingt, ihn wirklich zu vollziehen". And, lastly, by Van Praag, citing Jacob:

"Laat ons thans overgaan tot een korte beschrijving van het intieme leven van het jonge paartje, waarbij we dan natuurlijk niet mogen vergeten, dan het vrouwtje in den regel nog kind is en dus nog absoluut niet geschikt voor normalen omgang. Zij heeft soms zelfs nauwelijks haar tanden gewisseld. En ook van menstruatie is in den regel nog geen sprake geweest. Aangezien haar man ook slechts enkele jaren ouder is dan zij zelf, maakt de immisio penis plaats voor wederzijdse masturbatie. Eenige jongelingen gaan echter al op vroegtijdigen leeftijd tot de eigenlijke handeling over; ze gebruiken daarbij veel geweld, waardoor niet zelden verwondingen ontstaan. Het arme kind beklaagt zich dan in den volgenden dag natuurlijk bij de moeder. […] Zoodra de eerste immisio penis heeft plaats gehad ontvangt ze van haar man een buikband van goud of zilver alsmede een geschenk van geld"[123] (p18-9).

The Atjeh believed that menarche was hastened by marital consummation. Jacobs (1894, I:p209) stated that on Atjeh it was commonly known that menstruation occurs earlier the earlier she is married and thus has had sexual intercourse"[124] (cf. Toradja). Jongejans ([1939])[125], however, could only report that coitus would be delayed until puberty (p88). Jongejans states that at age ten, the Atjeh girl is nuptial and is segregated from all amusements; she is excused from working at the sawah, "the preferred spots for amourettes […]. The boys are more free and search their bons plaisirs at an early date, even with older women" (p108-9).

Alorese (Indonesia) (2,2,2+,2+,3,3;4,4;BE) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

DuBois (1944, [1960, I:p69-70])[126] on the Alorese: "The masturbation that little boys pursue so casually and freely during early childhood seems to disappear after the acquisition of a loincloth. At least it is no longer observed, and adults say that "children forget about it". […] Sex play during this period is frowned upon by adults, but it undoubtedly occurs, both in heterosexual and homosexual forms. […] It is said that if [homosexual] behavior comes to the attention of any adult the children are scolded. […] Play groups of boys often join groups of girls in field houses for several days at a time. Adults are usually suspicious of such alliances and are inclined to warn the girls against the boys. These play groups usually imitate adult relationships. This may at times take the form of attempted intercourse, performed either secretly in pairs of within a group of age-mates. As one informant puts it, "Children hear their mothers and fathers having intercourse. Then they say to each other, "Our parents do this, so let us also" "[…]. Such behavior is not approved by adults, but when reported or discovered it is likely to be shrugged off as mere play". Parents, and children, may masturbate infants to quiet them (DuBois, 1944:p37; DuBois, 1945 [1956:p131, 148])[127]. Early childhood masturbation (penile manipulation) is public (1944:p45). Nicolspeyer (1940:57)[128] agrees that virginity is a virtue, but only in theory.

Engano Island (Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Walland (1864:p103-4, 105, as cited by Ronhaar)[129] states that sexual intercourse before marriageable age is free. Thus: "De omgang der beide geslachten onderling in zeer vrij. Voordat het meisje den huwbaren staat bereikt, heeft zij gewoonlijk reeds omgang met mannen gehad, waarin men geene schande, noch iets strafbaars ziet. […] De vroegtijdige vermenging der geslachten is waarschijnlijk oorzaak der zoo algemeene onvruchtbaarheid van de vrouwen […]"[130].

Sula Island, Sulanese (Maluku, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Riedel (1885:p395)[131]:

"Op deze eilanden worden de huwelijken, bakai, gesloten zonder op den leeftijd der betrokkenen te letten. Alleen is het bobosiof verboden, wanneer de jongelingen voordat zij mataveu zijn, - of haar op den pubes hebben, zich copuleeren. De meisjes kunnen evenwel vóór het intreden der menses, sambasaa, de conjunctio venerea uitoefenen. Het geslachtsverkeer is voor beiden vrij en overlet, mits dit slechts zonder in 't oog te vallen geschiedt"[132].

Boys and girls are circumcised (p404).

Tabaru, Tobaru (NW coast of Halmahera, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Fortgens[133] argues that "nauwelijks hebben de teekenen van puberteit zich bij den jongen aangekondigd, of hij zoekt zich een meisje, dat, in denzelfden toestand verkeerende, niet ongeneigd is een liaison met hem aan te gaan" (The signs of puberty hardly having become apparent, the lad seeks himself a girl who, in an alike state of [maturity?], is not opposed to a mutual commitment, DJ.). When secret arrangements are consequently become publicised, parents take over customary matters.

Tobelorese (-,-,-,-,-,-;-,-) (Tobelo, North Maluku, Indonesia) [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Hueting (1921:p305)[134] argues that "[…] de manier, waarop men met de kinderen speelt, niet naar onzen smaak [is], men houdt een jongetje b.v.b heel kalm zoet, door met zijn geslachtdelen te spelen!" [135] [ital. in orig.]. Nudity is continued until the (variable) age the child begins to feel ashamed. "Het maagd worden der meisjes wordt wel niet feestelijk gevierd, maar het gaat ook niet onopgemerkt voorbij. Volgens sommigen onderwijst de moeder haar, in wat zij weten moet omtrent het sexueele, en waarschuwt haar voor vertrouwelijken omgang met het andere geslacht"[136] (p307). She is appointed a separate bedroom, where she can receive boys; this need not result in marriage. Boys delay marriage, which would contribute to the not seldom occurring "tegennatuurlijke ontucht" [unnatural vice], or so it is said. The boys would later suffer from looking awful due to its practice (p308).

Contemporarily Uncovered SCCS Societies: Indonesia [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

Badjau (2-,2-,2-,2,-,-;-,-)

Additional References: Indonesia [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]

-- Hull, T. H. & Hull, V. J. (1987) Changing Marriage Behavior in Java: The Role of Timing of Consummation, Southeast Asian J Soc Sci 15,1:104-19

-- Moelino, L. (2002) Sexual Risk Behaviour of Out-of-School Young Males in an Urban Slum: The Case of Duri Utara, Jakarta. Poster presented at IUSSP Regional Population Conference, Bangkok, Thailand, June 10-13

-- Wilcox, H. (1949) White Stranger: Six Moons in Celebes. London: Collins

[1] De Vries, G. (1927) Bij de Berg-Alfoeren op West-Seran. Zutphen, The Netherlands: W. T. Thieme & Cie, p101 [Dutch]

[2] Woensdregt, cit. infra, p265

[3] Van Praag, S. ([1934]) Sexualiteit en Huwelijk bij de Volkeren der Aarde. Amsterdam: De Gulden Ster [Dutch]

[4] Riedel, J. G. F. (1885a) The island of Flores, Rev Coloniale Int, I, p67-8; Riedel, J. G. F. (1885b) The Sawu group, Rev Coloniale Int, I, p305; Riedel, J. G. F. (1886) De Sluik- en Kroesharige Rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua. The Hague [Holland]: Martinus Nijhoff, p41-2, 67, 370, et passim [Dutch]; Riedel, J. G. F., Die Landschaft Dawan oder West-Timor, Deutsche Geograph Blätt X, p229. Cf. Wilken (1889:p436-8), cit. infra

[5] Wilken, G. A. (1883a) Over de verwantschap en het huwelijks- en erfrecht bij de volken van het Maleische ras, De Indische Gids [Dutch] 5,I:656-764 [Verspreide Geschriften, I, p287-406]; Wilken, G. A. (1883b) Over de Verwantschap en het Huwelijks- en Erfrecht bij de Volken van het Maleische Ras. Amsterdam

[6] Wilken, G. A. (1886) Plechtigheden en gebruiken bij verlovingen en huwelijken bij de volken van den Indischen archipel, Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] XXXV:140-219

[7] Wilken, G. A. (1889) Plechtigheden en gebruiken bij verlovingen en huwelijken bij de volken van den Indischen archipel, Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] XXXVIII:380-460. Both articles (1886, 1889) reprinted in Ossenbruggen, F. D. van (Ed., 1912) De Verspreide Geschriften van Prof. Dr. G. A. Wilken. Semarang, Soerabaja, The Hague: G. C. T. Van Dorp & Co. Vol. I, p447-609

[8] Wilken, G. A. (1885) De besnijdenis bij de volken van den Indischen archipel, Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] 10:165-206. [Verspreide Geschriften, IV, p203-46]

[9] The young girl "from childhood on being accustomed to the greatest immorality, as is being witnessed from the example of either father or mother, or brothers or sisters, and barely having outgrown scholastic duty and ripened into maidenhood, will surrender herself to the call of sensual lust and to this end will throw herself in the arms of any first youth that may please her" [DJ].

[10] Wilken; Van Hoëvell, G. W. W. C. (1875) Ambon en Meer Bepaaldelijk de Oeliasers. Dordrecht [Holland]: Blussé en Van Braam [Dutch]

[11] Tijdschr v Ind T L Vk [Holland] 22, p236-8

[12] Sumner, W. G. (1906) Folkways. Boston [etc.]: Ginn & Co.

[13] Smith, R. J. & Wiswell, E. L. (1982) The Women of Suye Mura. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press

[14] Vatter, E. (1932) Ati Kiwan: Unbekannte Bergvölker im Tropischen Holland. Leipzig: Bibliographisches Institut AG.

[15] Kennedy, R. (1949-50) Field Notes on Indonesia. New Haven: HRAF. Relevant pages include p256, 266 (South Celebes), 379-80 (Ambon and Ceram), and p617, 221, 256, 321 (West Borneo)

[16] Karsch-Haack, F. (1911) Das Gleichgeschlechtliche Leben der Naturvölker. München: E. Reinhardt

[17] Davis, D. L. & Whitten R. G. (1987) The Cross-Cultural Study of Human Sexuality, Ann Rev Anthropol 16:69-98

[18] West, D. (1977) Homosexuality Re-Examined. London: Duckworth

[19] De Zwaan, K. (1910) De Geneeskunde der Menangkabau-Maleiers. Amsterdam: Meulenhoff [Dutch]

[20] Jacobs, J. (1885) De Geneesheer in Ned. Indie. Batavia [Dutch]

[21] Meyer, Über die Perforation des Penis bei den Malayen, Mitth. Athropol Ges Wien 7,9

[22] Kruyt, J. A. (1877) Atjeh en de Atjehers. Leiden [Holland]: G. Kolff. Also cited by Wilken (1889:p460), op.cit.

[23] That is, "youthful dancing lads, sedatti's, [being] children aged nine to twelve years, most probably originating from Nias, who, attractively dressed in silk and beautified with golden and silver arm- and foot straps, lighten up the men's evenings and nights by song and dance. Most chiefs keep a number of such sedatti's as a personal asset, and as a habit donate some of them to the folk of their remote pepper plantations for amusement sake [including] the rawest and most unnatural immorality" [DJ].,

[24] Jacobs, J. (1894) Het Familie- en Kampongleven op Groot-Atjeh. Leiden [Holland]: Brill. Vol.1 [Dutch]

[25] Jacobs, J. (1883) Eenigen Tijd onder de Baliërs. Batavia: Kolff. As cited by Van Praag, p281: "Paederastie (mĕnjélit) wordt op geheel Bali in erge mate bedreven en evenmin met den sluier der geheimzinnigheid bedekt" ["Pederasty (mĕnjélit) is practiced on the entirety of Bali to a considerable extent and it is not veiled in secrecy either"].

[26] Van Eck, R. [1878-1880] Schetsen van het Eiland Bali. Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië [Dutch]; NS jrg. 7 [1] - 9 [2]. Zaltbommel

[27] Duff-Cooper, A. (1985) Notes about some Balinese ideas and practices connceted with sex from Western Lombok, Anthropos 80,4/6:403-19

[28] Chabot, H. Th. (1950) Verwantschap, Stand en Sexe in Zuid-Celebes. Groningen/Djakarta: J. B. Wolters [Dutch]

[29] "The sexual stimulus, originating from a combination of verse, rhythm, and the little boys being partially dressed as women, is the main attraction".

[30] Williams, W. L. (1990) Indonesia, in Dynes, W. R. (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. New York & London: Garland Publ. Inc. Vol I, p597-9

[31] Wilson, I. D. (1999) Reog Ponorogo: Spirituality, Sexuality, and Power in a Javanese Performance Tradition, Intersections 2, May; Permadi (1991) Seks dan kebathinan, Prisma (7):61-65

[32] Weis, J. (1974) The Gemblakan: Kept Boys among the Javanese of Ponorogo. Paper presented at the American Anthropological Association Meeting, Mexico City. Cited by Davis and Whitten, p85

[33] Petkovic, J.(1999a)Waiting for Karila: Bending Time, Theory and Gender in Java and Bali (With Reflections for a Documentary Treatment), Intersections 2, May

[34] Petkovic, J.(1999b)Dédé Oetomo Talks on Reyog Ponorogo, Intersections 2, May Cf. Oetomo, D. & Emond, B. ([?]) Homoseksualita di Indonesia, Prisma [Indonesia]. 1991 transl. [from the Bahasa Indonesia] "Homosexuality in Indonesia" by Sidhu Suyana. Avail. from Homodok, Amsterdam

[35] The latter would be prevalent in Lampong districts, Bali, Batak, Sumatra, Malay, Adjeh, Sundanese, etc.

[36] Westermarck, E. ([1901]) The History of Human Marriage. London: MacMillan. 3rd ed., p214n8

[37] Das Ausland, 1881, p569; Vollenhoven, C. van (1923) Javaansch Adatrecht. Leiden: Brill [Dutch], p66

[38] Riedel, p21

[39] De Wetering, F. H. (1926) De Savoeneezen, , Bijdragen […] 82:485-575, at p495-6. A girl is not required to be intacta.

[40] E.g., Jacobs, J. & Meijer, J. J. (1891) De Badoej's. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, p73: "Ik heb onder deze meermalen meisjes ontmoet, die naar schatting nauwelijks 10 à 11 jaar oud, en wat lichaamsontwikkeling aangaat nog volkomen kind en toch reeds gehuwd waren. Het meisje wordt van kind onmiddellijk vrouw en dikwijls moeder" ["I have repeatedly met girls, of a estimated mere age of 10 or 11 years, and entirely prepubescent as is concerned somatic development and nonetheless married already. The girl at once becomes a woman, and often a mother" [DJ]. Jacobs denies the existence of child marriage among the Badoejs (p75).

[41] Hickson, p270; Wilken, in Bijdragen […] I, p161-7

[42] Koloniaal Instituut te Amsterdam (1921) Pandecten van het Adatrecht. Mededeeling no. IV. Amsterdam: De Bussy [Dutch]

[43] Schwaner, C. A. (1853) Borneo. Vol. I. Amsterdam: P. N. Van Kampen

[44] Mallinckrodt, J. (1928) Het Adatrecht van Borneo. Vol. I. Leiden [Holland]: M. Dubbeldeman [Dutch]

[45] Nieuwenhuis, A. W. (1904-7) Quer durch Borneo. Leiden [Holland]: Brill. Vol. II, p98; Van Praag, p393. Cf. Nieuwenhuis, A. W. (1900) In Centraal Borneo. Leiden [Holland]: E. J. Brill. Vol. I, p76 [Dutch]

[46] Schadee, M. C. (1909) Het familieleven en familierecht der Dayaks van Londak en Tajan, Bijdragen […] 63:390-485, at p421, 423-4; Van Praag, p393

[47] Cf. Mallinckrodt, J. (1925) Ethnografische mededeelingen over de Dayaks in de Afdeeling Koealakapoeas (Vervolg), Bijdragen […] 81:62 et seq., at p80

[48] Graafland, N. (1867-9) De Minahassa. Rotterdam [Holland]: Wyt & Zonen. Vol. I, p463-4 [Dutch]; Van Praag, p434

[49] Lebar, F. M. (1972) Ethnic Groups of Insular Southeast Asia. New Haven: HRAF Press. Vol. 1

[50] See Pollard, F. H. (1933) The Muruts of Sarawak, Sarawak Museum J 4:139-55, especially p151-4; Sandin, B. & Siran, B. (1963) A Murut wedding in Kalimantan, Sarawak Museum J 11:88-93

[51] Straal (1923/4) The Dusuns of North Borneo (cont'd), Anthropos 18/9:120-38

[52] Fischer, H. Th. (1952) Huwelijk en Huwelijksmoraal bij Vreemde Volken. Utrecht [Holland]: De Haan [Dutch]

[53] Reid, A. (1988) Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680, the Lands Below the Winds. New Haven: Yale University Press

[54] Ford, N., Siregar, K., Ngatimin, R. & Maidin, A. (1997) The hidden dimension: sexuality and responding to the threat of HIV/AIDS in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, Health & Place 3,4:249-58

[55] http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online_database/index.asp, Nov. 1, 2002. "Age of consent is 15 years for girls and 18 years for homosexual relations. […] Sexual intercourse with a girl under 15 years of age outside of marriage is a specific offence, for which a formal complaint within 12 months of the occurrence of the act is required for prosecution if the victim is older than 12 years of age".

[56] E.g., Pigeaud, J. J. (1896) Iets over Kinderopvoeding: Raadgevingen voor Moeders in Indië. Samarang: Van Dorp & Co., p2, 14 [Dutch]

[57] Pangkahila, W. & Pangkahila, J. A. (1997) Indonesia, in Francoeur, R. T. (Ed.-in-chief) The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality. New York: Continuum. Vol. 1. Quoted from the online edition

[58] Howard, R. S. (1996) Falling into the Gay World: Manhood, Marriage, and Family in Indonesia. PhD Thesis, University of Illinois

[59] Utomo, I. D. (2001) Sexuality and Relationships Between the Sexes in Indonesia: A Historical Perspective. Paper for presentation at the 3rd IASSCS Conference in Melbourne, 1-3 Oct. 2001

[60] E.g., Jongejans, as cited by Mallinckrodt (I, p414). See also ®Baweans and ®Batak

[61] Schefold, R. (1976) Religious Involution: Internal Change, and Its Consequences, in the Taboo-System of the Mentawaians. Leiden [Holland]: E. J. Brill

[62] Schefold, R. (1988) Lia: Das Grosse Ritual auf den Mentawai-Inseln (Indonesien). Berlin: D. Reimer

[63] Hansen, J. F. K. (1915) De groep Noord- en Zuid-Pageh van de Mentawei-eilanden, in Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] 50:113-219

[64] "At the early age of 13 or 14 years, a Mentawaian girl leads a life of free love and changes lovers a number of times. If pregnant with one or more men, this is not considered a disgrace at all; her father even looks forward to such occasion. […] The father […] urges his daughter to have sexual intercourse with various males" [DJ].

[65] Padoch, Ch. (1982) Migration and its Alternatives among the Iban of Sarawak, The Hague [Holland]: M. Nijhoff

[66] Gomes, E. H. (1991) Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo. London: Seeley & Co., Ltd.

[67] Komanyi, M. I. (1973) The Real and Ideal Participation in Decision-Making of Iban Women. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms

[68] Roth, H. L. (1896) The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo. London: Turslove & Hanson

[69] Beavitt, P. (1967) "Ngayap", Sarawak Museum J 15:407-13

[70] Ibid.

[71] Sandin, B. (1976) Tusun Pandiau. English / Iban Way of Life: A Translation from Tusun Pandiau. Kuching: Borneo Literature Bureau

[72] Vroklage, B. A. G. (1952) Ethnographie der Belu in Zentral-Timor. Leiden: Brill. Vol. 1

[73] Brown, D. E. ([1991]) The penis pin: an unsolved problem in the relations between the sexes in Borneo, in Sutlive, V. H. (Ed.) Female and Male in Borneo. Williamsburg: Borneo Research Council, p435-54

[74] Burns, R. (1849), in J Indian Archip & Eastern Asia 3:[p149]

[75]Hose, Ch. & McDougall, W. (1912) The Pagan Tribes of Borneo: A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition With Some Discussion of their Ethnic Relations. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited. Vol. I

[76] It came into use, no doubt, through the hospitable offering of cigarettes by the women of the household. [orig. footnote]

[77] Williams, Th. Rh. (1965) The Dusun, A North Borneo Society. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

[78] Williams, Th. Rh. (1966) Cultural structuring of tactile experience in a Borneo Society, Am Anthropol 68,1:27-39

[79] Williams, Th. Rh. (1969) A Borneo Childhood. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston

[80] Appell, L. W. R. ([1991a]) Sex role symmetry among the Rungus of Sabah, in Sutlive, V. H. (Ed.) Female and Male in Borneo. Williamsburg: Borneo Research Council, p1-56

[81] Appell, L. W. R. (1988) Menstruation among the Rungus of Borneo: an unmarked category, in Buckley, Th. & Gottlieb, A. (Eds.) Blood Magic. Berkeley: University of California Press, p95-115

[82] Appell, L. W. R. ([1991b]) Individuation of the drives of sex and aggression in the linguistic and behavioral repertoire of the Rungus, in Sutlive, V. H. (Ed.) Female and Male in Borneo. Williamsburg: Borneo Research Council, p57-120

[83] Appell, G. N. (1978) The Rungus Dusun, in King, V. T. (Ed.) Borneo Societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p143-71, 234-41

[84] Appell, G. N. ([1965]) The nature of social groupings among the Rungus Dusun of Sabah, Malaysia. [eHRAF]

[85] Geddes, W. R. (1968) Nine Dayak Nights. London [etc.]: Oxford University Press

[86] At puberty, the boys become entitled to impose a fine upon anyone who even speaks jokingly of this genitals.

[87] Jasper, J. E. (1906), in Tijdschr Binnenlandsch Bestuur

[88] Covarrubias, M. (1937) Island of Bali. London: Cassell & Co.

[89] Brandeis-McGunigle, G. & Rahman, Z. (1991) Childhood and ritual in Bali, Mothering, Fall, 61:38 et seq.

[90] Bateson, G. & Mead, M. (1942) Balinese Character: A Photographic Analysis. New York: The New York Academy of Sciences. See also Ussel, J. van (1968a) Geschiedenis van het Seksuele Probleem. Meppel [Holland]: Boom [1971 ed.,p170]

[91] Mead, M. (1949) Male and Female. 1955 Mentor Book ed., New York

[92] Belo, J. (1942) Bali: Rangda and Barong. New York: J. J. Augustin

[93] Angulo, R. C. (1995) Cross-Cultural Study of Child Abuse on the Island of Bali, Indonesia. Thesis, California State University

[94] Jennaway, M. (2001) Displacing Desire: Sex and Sickness in North Bali. Paper for presentation at the 3rd IASSCS Conference in Melbourne, 1-3 Oct. 2001

[95] I have analysed polygyny in depth elsewhere (Jennaway 2000). [orig.footnote]

[96] "Forbidden intercourse between both sexes, even at a very youthful age, is a frequent occurrence called mĕmitra. […] When discovered and proven by witnesses, then the violator is to pay a fine […]. Sexual intercourse at a young age does not invariably take place in secret, yet often with parental of both parties" [transl., DJ].

[97] "Masturbation, too, is fairly common. The ketimoe and the pisang are utilised by the Balinese girls often, but not solely, as a snack. In the room of many a Balinese girl one can find a wax tjĕlak-tjĕlakan malèm (tjĕlak signifies penis, malèm signifies wax) and many hours are passed in silent solitude with this consolidator" [transl., DJ].

[98] Koentjaraningrat (1985) Javanese Culture. Oxford [etc]: Oxford University Press, p120

[99] Koentjaraningrat, R. M. (1960) The Javanese of South Central Java, in Murdock, G. (Ed.) Social Structure in Southeast Asia. Chicago Quadrangle Books. 1971 reprint, p88-115

[100] Jay, R. R. (1969) Javanese Villagers. Cambridge, Mass. [etc.]: The MIT Press

[101] Von Loh, S. (1996) Frühe Kindheit der Sundanesen auf West-Java, Indonesien, in Gottschalk-Batschkus, Ch. E. & Schuler, J. (Eds.) Ethnomedizinische Perspektiven zur Frühen Kindheit. Berlin: VWB, Verlag fuer Wissenschaft und Bildung, p115-26

[102] Jaspan, H. & Hill, L. (1987) The Child and the Family. University of Hull, Centre for South-East Asian Studies

[103] Geertz, H. (1961) The Javanese Family: A Study of Kinship and Socialization. New York: Free Press of Glencoe

[104] Rikin, W. M. (1973) Ngabersihan: Als Knoop in the Tali Paranti. Dissertation, Leiden, The Netherlands

[105] Moestapa, H. H. / Kern, R. A. (1946) Over de Gewoonten en Gebruiken der Soedaneezen. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, p54

[106] Van Suchtelen, B. C. C. M. M. (1921) Endeh (Flores). Weltevreden: Papyrus

[107] "A sexually mature boy encounters a near infinite occasion for satisfying the male instinct given the indeed very liberal intercourse between the sexes. Those who give themselves to the practice of onanism, are ridiculed by all. Sodomy is a comparatively rare thing" [DJ].

[108] Bader, P. H. (1953) Die Reifefeiern bei den Ngada (Mittelflores, Indoenesien). Mödling bei Wien; St. Gabriel Verlag

[109] Broch, H. B. (1990) Growing Up Agreeably. Honolulu, Hawai'i: University of Hawai'i Press

[110] Money, J. & Ehrhardt, A. A. (1973/1996) Man & Woman, Boy & Girl. London: Aronson

[111] Money, J. (1977) Bisexual, homosexual and heterosexual, J Homosex 2,3:229-33

[112] Nobele, E. A. J., Tijdschr Indische Taal-, Land- & Volkenk [Dutch] 66; Van Praag, p521-2

[113] Adriani, N. & Kruijt, A. C. (1912) De Bare'e-Sprekende Toradja's van Midden-Celebes. Batavia: Landsdrukkerij. Translated (1951) as The Bare'e-Speaking Toradja of Central Celebes (the East Toradja). Amsterdam: Noord-Hollandsche Uitgevers Maatschappij. Vol. 2

[114] "For girls the onset of menstruation is certain evidence of their sexual maturity, but many have already had love affairs before that time" (p385).

[115] Downs, R. E. (1956) The Religion of the Bare'e-Speaking Toradja of Central Celebes. The Hague [Holland]: Uitgeverij Excelsior

[116] Hollan, D. W. & Wellenkamp, J. C. (1996) The Thread of Life: Toradja Reflections of the Life Cycle. Honolulu: Hawai'i University Press

[117] Woensdregt, J. (1929) Verloving en huwelijk bij de To Badja' in Midden Celebes, in Bijdragen […] 85:245-90; Van Praag, p494

[118] "Boys' grabbing at their comrad's genitalia (mombekoko) is a common occurrence. The same for girls amongst each other. However, boys and girls practice the same mutually, and often the thing doesn't end with mombekoko. The initiative lies often with the girls" [DJ].

[119] "They play a little among each other; they've got to profit from their engagement somehow!" [DJ].

[120] Spinner, J. R. (1931) Die Jungfernschaft: Die Virginität und Defloration als Kulturproblem. Leipzig [etc.]: Verlag für Sexualwissenschaft

[121] Die Frau […]

[122] Metschnikoff, E. ([1910]) Studien über die Natur des Menschen. Leipzig: Von Veit & Co., p117-8

[123] "Let us next proceed with a short description of the intimate life of the young couple. In doing so, one should not forget the female in general is still a girl and thus incapable of normal intercourse. At times she has barely lost her primary teeth. Menstruation, too, has not commonly occurred yet. Given the fact that her husband, likewise, is only a few years her senior, mutual masturbation takes the place of penile penetration. Some youths, however, proceed to the proper practice at an early age; they thus use a high degree of force, and vulneration is no infrequent an occurrence. Of course, the poor child complains to her mother the next day. […] As soon as the first penetration has been effected, she receives a waist belt made of gold or silver together with a monetary offerance" [DJ].

[124] Op.cit. "Het is op Atjeh van algemeene bekendheid, dat de menstruatie zooveel vroeger intreedt, naarmate het kind eerder gehuwd is en dus geschlachtelijke gemeenschap heeft gehad".

[125] Jongejans, J. ([1939]) Land en Volk van Atjeh Vroeger en Nu. Baarn [Holland]: Hollandia

[126] Du Bois, C. ([1944] 1960) The People of Alor: A Social-Psychological Study of an East Indian Island. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. See vol. 1, p37, 45, 69-73, 79; Ford, C. S. & Beach, F. A. (1951) Patterns of Sexual Behavior. New York: Harper & Row, p187; Whiting, J. & Child, I. (1953) Child Training and Personality: A Cross-Cultural Study. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, p79, 88, 90-1

[127] Du Bois, C. (1945) The Alorese, in Kardiner, A. (Ed.) The Psychological Frontiers of Society. New York: Colombia University Press. 1956 reprint, p101-45ff

[128] Nicolspeyer, M. M. (1940) De Sociale Structuur van een Aloreesche Bevolkingsgroep. Rijswijk [Holland]: V. A. Kramer

[129] Walland, J. (1864) Het Eiland Engano, Tijdschr v Ind Taal, Land & Volkenk [Dutch] 14:93-124; Ronhaar, J. H. (1931) Woman in Primitive Motherright Societies. Groningen, The Netherlands: Wolters / London: D. Nutt, p332

[130] "The social intercourse between the sexes is marked by a considerable freedom. Prenuptially, the girl commonly has had intercourse with men, which is regarded shameful nor a object for retribution. […] The premature mixing of the sexes is the probably cause of the universal infertility of women" [DJ].

[131] Riedel, J. G. F. (1885) De Sulaneezen, hunne gebruiken bij huwelijken, geboorte en bij het mutileeren des lichaams, Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] 10:394-405

[132] "On these [Sula] islands marriages, bakai, are arranged without a reference to the ages of those involved. Bobosiof, however, are forbidden to copulate, when not yet mataveu, pubescent. Girls can nevertheless practice the conjunctio venerea before the onset of menstruation, or sambasaa. Sexual intercourse is free and unchecked for both [sexes], lest this it does not draw the attraction of the eye" [DJ].

[133] Fortgens, J. (1916) Het Adat-huwelijk onder den Tabaroe-stam, Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] 71:425-46

[134] Hueting, A. (1921) De Tobeloreezen in hun denken en doen (eerste gedeelte), Bijdragen Taal-, Land-, & Volkenk Nederlansch-Indie [Holland] 77:217-357

[135] "The way the child is played with [is] beyond our [Dutch] taste, a boy, for instance, is kept calm by toying with his genitals!" [DJ]

[136] "The arrival of maidenhood is not celebrated, but it doesn't pass over unrecognised either. According to some, the mother instructs the girl in what is to be known of things sexual, and warns her for intimate association with the opposite sex" [DJ].

Indonesia [IES]

Ethnographic Index

Alorese, Adjeh, Balinese, Batak, Bawean, Belu, Bonerate, Dayak, Dusun, Endeh, Engano Island, Iban, Javanese, Kayans, Mentawaians, Ngada, Sula Island, Sundanese, Tobelorese, Toradja [SCCS uncovered]

Contents of Section [up] [Ethnographic Index]

General Impressions [up] [Contents] [Ethnographic Index]