In Reply to: Genital female mutilation in Lombok posted by Ail on Tuesday, 27. April 1999 at 08:44 Bali Time:
Dear Ail,
I read your message with astonishment because I have never read such thing regarding Lombok before. I do know this is performed on African young girls and it is forbidden by law. It is a tribal practice that was incorpored into Islam. The Sasak are Muslim, they do practice circumcision on boys (I have seen a report about this on Indonesian TV, and it was hurtful to see young boys crying and trying to move away, parents were holding them). My advice would be to contact me at my hotmail address because I do have a friend married to a Balinese from Lombok. Maybe they could tell you more.
Regards from bali
Ni Luh
P.S : In Bali if you see a boy and a girl carried on a wooden platform, this is for a ceremony linked to the Ancestors' worship,often performed after a cremation ceremony. The boy and the girl represent the Nenek Moyong (the Ancestors couple of the family), and sometimes they carry the ashes of the deceased which would be brought to the sea.