Religious and Cultural Practices of Menstruation Banjar Ethnic Women, Indonesia

Abstract

Menstruation is a gendered biological process, comprising the essence of the feminine body. However, hygiene and public health perspectives that are rooted in the medical science dominate the current approach on understanding menstruation, and the development practitioners commonly adopt these perspectives. This medical approach overlooks the complexities of menstruation as a biological process that is influenced by the socio-cultural contexts and the web of gendered relations within which women live. Nevertheless, how do we interpret the cultures around menstruation? Conventionally, the cultural perspective has created a binary view in which menstruation pertains to the dirty and unclean state of the body, a passing phase during which the feminine body is seen as impure. In this thesis, I argue that the everyday practices of women challenge this simplistic binary on menstruation as a matter of either purity or impurity. To substantiate my argument, this thesis focuses on the religious and cultural practices surrounding menstruation among women within the Banjar ethnic group in South Kalimantan, Indonesia. It captures the day-to-day experiences of menstruation in order to show different interpretations of cultural and religious rules, myths and taboos by women in managing their menstruation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty women from different ages and class backgrounds. These women from Banjarbaru and Martapura shared their experiences of managing menstruation, and stories of menarche and menopause. As these women belonged to different ages and socio-economic backgrounds, their personal experiences revealed complexities that are difficult viii to be translated through a medical and biological approach. Further, I suggest that in understanding menstruation as a gendered process, the anthropological perspective can robustly capture the underlying socio-cultural contexts of menstruation management practices.