maaf email atau password anda salah

Foretelling with Pig and Cow Hearts

Monday, September 20, 2021

Many Matotonan have embraced Islam. Yet, customary rituals sacrificing pigs led by a sikerei continues. People believe sikerei can make predictions using the heart of pigs and cows.

arsip tempo : 176580233012.

Pig offering at the traditional ritual of Paeruk Sainak led by the sikerei (traditional healer) in Matotonan village, South Siberut, Mentawai Islands, West Sumatra, in August. Tempo/Febrianti . tempo : 176580233012.

IN a darkened room, a sikerei sat on the floor while chanting a mantra. In his hands were a bunch of white simakkainuk blooms with the leaves intact. His head was tied with colorful beads adorned with hibiscus blooms and leaves. Both his cheeks were painted with black dots. He was also wearing a bead necklace. From the necklace were aileleppet leaves which the sikerei—or the traditional healer—used for healing rituals.

That morning,

...

Subscribe to continue reading.
We craft news with stories.

For the benefits of subscribing to Digital Tempo, See More

The Best Choice

Rp 750.000/12 months

  • *Flexible payment methods
  • *Unlimited access to Tempo Plus & Tempo Magz

Rp 386.280/6 months

  • *Auto-renews every 6 months
  • *Cancel at anytime
  • *Unlimited access to Tempo Plus & Tempo Magz

See Other Packages

Already a Subscribed? Log in here
To receive daily news by Email, Sign up for Tempo ID.

More Articles

More exclusive contents

  • December 15, 2025

  • December 8, 2025

  • December 1, 2025

  • November 24, 2025

Independent journalism needs public support. By subscribing to Tempo, you will contribute to our ongoing efforts to produce accurate, in-depth and reliable information. We believe that you and everyone else can make all the right decisions if you receive correct and complete information. For this reason, since its establishment on March 6, 1971, Tempo has been and will always be committed to hard-hitting investigative journalism. For the public and the Republic.

Login Subscribe