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| Figure 1: Older Dani woman posing with her amputated fingers (Source: Lichtefeld) |
Experiencing an enormous loss, such as a death of a loved one, can be a gut-wrenching experience. Psychologists recognize that there are several stages associated with grief. Lay people will often describe the pain as unbearable, providing no recognition of those aforementioned stages or processes of experiencing grief. Cultures around the globe have specific rituals and rules associated with what is considered the appropriate means of handling these emotions. Some cultures around the world practice rituals that are viewed as extreme compared to Western cultural standards. Today’s blog post will address one of those examples: the Ike bulge (grief ritual) of the Dani of Papua New Guinea.
The Dani tribe can be found on the island of Papua New Guinea. They practice a variety of mortuary traditions, including mummification of the dead and a grief ritual known as Ike bulge. This ritual is no longer practiced today (as it has been outlawed, citing human rights violations). The prohibition of this ritual is recent so older generations of Dani women still exhibit the results of this tradition. The Ike bulge ritual occurs among women who lose a family member, such as a child. To demonstrate and assuage their grief they will remove the tip of a finger (Figure 1). This practice is also observed as a means of banishing the deceased’s spirit so it does no harm to the living.
The process of removing the fingertip has been described in various ways, but there does seem to be some care taken to ensure that it is as painless as possible. The woman will have her finger tightly wrapped with string, which is left there for at least 30 minutes. This may be to stop the blood flow to the fingertip, as well as to cause a numbing of it. There are some reports that claim that the ulnar nerve in the elbow is hit to cause numbing of the arm, hand, and fingers. The fingertip is removed by way of ax, and the wound is immediately cauterized. The attached finger is covered with ash and clay and wrapped with leaves, which is what is locally available to the Dani people.
The number of fingertips removed on any woman can vary, but each is symbolic of a loss of a family member. Those who have suffered more loss in their lifetime would have more fingertips removed than others who had not. Again, this practice is outlawed, but older Dani women will exhibit this tradition in their modified hands. From this we know that there is some loss of dexterity in their affected hands, but nothing so detrimental to cause them to be unable to practice everyday necessary actions.
For those who may feel that this ritual is very extreme you are encouraged to view it through a culturally relativistic lens. The loss of a loved one can be very great, and extreme sadness and anger are normal reactions. A desire to cause harm to others or oneself is something that many who grieve have reported, as well. While in your culture such actions may not be permissible it is among the Dani, who perform this sacrifice out of respect for their loved one who they believe would otherwise be trapped on the mortal plane with no option of escape or relief.
Works Cited
Ayu, Andira Devi Dwi, et al. "THE TRADITION OF CUTTING THE FINGERS OF THE DANI TRIBE AS A SYMBOL OF MORNING LOCATED IN PAPUA." Omnibus Law Journal 2.1 (2022): 34-44.
Kirkup, John. "Ritual, Punitive, Legal and Iatrogenic Causes." A History of Limb Amputation. London: Springer, 2007. 35-44. Print.
Lichtefeld, Chandler. "Grief: Ritual Finger Amputaion." 24 February 2017. Anthropological Perspectives on Death. Electronic. 10 July 2023.
8 comments:
This grief ritual does seem a little extreme to me, however, I know that things like this are not unheard of among many cultures. Though it is not as permanent, Native American people have a similar ritual when mourning loved ones or expressing grief. Native Americans tend to only cut their hair when stricken with great grief. Though I might not agree with this specific ritual that Dani tribe previously practiced, I do understand that it is much like the American tradition of things like balloon releases.
Reading this blog post I began to cringe at the Ike bulging ritual that women who have lost a family member go through. To remove their fingertips as a manner of grieving seems severe to me, but understanding about cultural relativism has changed my perspective on their practice, which you also mentioned in the blog post to approach it from a culturally relativistic lens.
Everyone experiences grief in various ways. Different cultures have a different way of experiencing and dealing with grief than we are used to. In our society we deal with grief by having funerals or celebrations of life and family members come together. After reading this blog post and learning about the Dani tribe and their Ike bulge ritual I found it interesting in how different cultures can experience the same feeling, the loss of someone. From their point of view I can see how cutting off the tips of fingers gives meaning to the amount of pain they are going through. Although I do not believe that this ritual is painless I do appreciate the fact that they try their best to ensure that it is as painless as possible. Being someone who has lost many close people in my lifetime I can appreciate this ritual and the symbolism behind it.
-Annabelle Bonnot
There are so manty different cultural rituals and practices and we all can't agree on the same things. I don't necessarily agree with cutting off fingertips, but I respect that is what that culture does. People grieve in different way how would typical do it in my cultural is have a funeral and then a celebration for the life we have lost. -Serenity Henderson
I feel like it would be a very difficult thing to outlaw cultural practices surrounding the death of a loved one. I understand that it could violate human rights, but I also understand why cultures feel the need to practice certain things. If someone was raised knowing that if they did not cut their tip of their pinky off that their loved one would not be able to pass to the other side, then it would be very difficult to hear that you legally cannot do that anymore.
The post emphasizes the variety of cultural customs related to mourning. Funerals and memorial ceremonies are common in many societies, but more severe and physically taxing rites, like the Ike bulge ceremony, are practiced by tribes like the Dani. This variability highlights how crucial it is to comprehend cultural relativity to appreciate and understand various grief philosophies. Significant ethical questions are raised when the Ike bulge ceremony is mentioned concerning human rights violations that prohibit its continuance. These kinds of rituals could be important culturally, but they might also be dangerous for people's physical and mental health. The difficult matter of striking a balance between the protection of human rights and cultural preservation calls for much thought.
When discussing the Ike bulge ritual of the Dani tribe, it is crucial to approach the topic with sensitivity and an understanding of cultural relativism and the Posted an amazing job of doing that and shedding light on the way that they treat their dead it was Interesting to find out they believe in mummification and they mummify a lot of their dead.
-Ahmesha Johnson
This was a very informative post. Everyone experiences grief differently and has a different way of grieving the loss of a family member. My questions for this blog post are: What happens if the Dani of Papua New Guinea experience more family losses than they have fingertips? Another question that I have is, how soon after the family member passes does the woman have to remove her fingertip? Is it something that must be done right after they pass, or is it done after burial?
-Kaitlyn Wilbers
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