Potong gigi, also known as mesangih or mepandes, is a form of ritual body modification of adolescents, typically teenagers, in parts of Bali that involves the filing of the canine teeth. Traditional Balinese belief states that "protruding canines represent the animal-like nature of human beings"; the purpose of the ritual is to sever ties with these animal instincts and show others that the individual is old enough to marry. Considered a generational ritual, parents of adolescents performing it consider it their "final duty" in being a parent before their child becomes an adult. Reasons adolescents take part in the ceremony are mixed, as they must take into consideration the impacts of globalization with traditional Balinese ritual.
References
- "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.
- ^ 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.