Witches Oppose Women’s Emancipation In Indonesia

Grey River Argus, 11 October 1949, Page 8

Witches Oppose Women’s Emancipation In Indonesia

/By Hugh Laming, AAP-Reuter Correspondent in Indonesia).”

Witches chant occult incantations to weaken women’s education and emancipation in Indonesia.

Leaders of Indonesian feminist organisations and Indonesian women doctors say that one of the most powerful forces opposing their efforts to raise the status of women in Indonesia and to promote child and maternal welfare, are the “doekoen”, exorcists and medicine-women, who claim to be “friends of ghosts” in which millions ’ of uneducated Indonesians commonly believe. “It is easy to laugh at such beliefs,” said an Indonesian doctor who conducted a health education campaign in West Java, "but they are deeply rooted in the minds of simple villagers whose Moslem overlays far older and more primitive beliefs in devils and ghosts, to be placated or exorcised.” She said that in every Indonesian kampong —bamboo and matting made village—the “doekoen” and the “obat” combining the functions of exorcist and witch-doctor, campaign secretly against efforts by Dutch and Indonesian Republican health officials to educate the villagers. “They are opposed to the emancipation of women,” she added, “and play upon the fears and suspicions of uneducated Moslem men wishing to retain absolute masculine domination of society in the traditional Islamic manner.” Her statement was supported by the Dutch public health officials. One of them said that repeated attemps by Dutch authorities, in conjunction with educated Indonesian local government officials, to improve health services and housing conditions in native kampongs in the Batavia district since 1945 had been hindered by the “doekoen” who regarded modern medicine as interfering with their vested interests. “They work against us secretly,” lie said, “by urging a policy of passive resistance to reform upon the villagers.” An example of this was explained by an Indonesian lady who specialises in child welfare work and, as a prominent republican feminist, played a leading part in the recent congress of Indonesian women’s organisations at the republican capital of Jogjakarta. “The political nationalist movement,” she said, “stimulated the growth of women’s organizations which were joined by educated women, Christian and/Moslem. At first, many of ; our menfolk were critical of women playing any part in public life —the Moslem traditionalists are still critical —so we confined our efforts chiefly to feminist work such as child and maternal welfare. “We found we were up against a whispering campaign emanating from the ‘doekoen’ and ‘obat’ when we called meetings of village women and told them of such welfare work overseas. “It was whispered that we were immoral and mad and we found that many women were frightened to speak to us.” “Clinics were set up in several centres where poor people could receive free treatment, for themselves and their children. “The good results from them are slowly having an effect, but the “doekoen” are still powerful as they are associated with every phase of Indonesian village life, being consulted about births, weddings and funerals. Few villagers, including many men with some education, would even begin building a house without consulting ‘doekoen’, who is usually an old woman with, so they claim, occult wisdom handed down through the ages,” she said. When a European inquires into the activities of Indonesian “witches” he is usually met with an uncommunicative gesture politely implying “mind your own business.” A leading republican official questioned on the subject said: “We are ashamed that silly people believe in these things.” Asked how many “silly people” put faith in the “doekoen”, he replied: “About 65,000,000.”

“The emancipation of Indonesian women, being based upon Western ethical conceptions, had startling results upon at country with only six per cent literacy and geared emotionally and mentally to Moslem conceptions of a stable social order. All the forces of reaction, political and ‘magical’ opposed it.”

A student of Indonesian folklore said that village witches for a small fee paid in currency or kind would cast a spell upon any man or concoct a "love potion” to win the favours of a reluctant maiden. “Faith can move mountains, it is. said, so maybe it can move maidens,” he commented. ■ A Dutch police official, with many years service in Indonesia, said that police investigation into sudden inexplicable deaths in villages often led to the “doekoen.” but there was rarely sufficient evidence to justify an arrest on charge of murder. “The longer one lives here the more one begins to think there may be something in the stories of magic,” he added.

Dr. W. H. Van Helsdingen, former Chairman of the East Indian People’s Council, and Dr. 11. Hoogenberk, distinguished member of the East Indian Civil Service, examined the relation of magic to politics and agriculture. In their recently published book “Mission Interrupted,” they pointed out that in Java rice is reaped with “a tool no more lit for the purpose than a pair of nail scissors.” The reason, they stated was magic-religious. Ric e is reaped witii a small knife concealed in the hand of the reaper so not to frighten the “sumangat” or rice soul. Reapers do not shout in the ricefields for fear of annoying the mysterious “sumangat.”