Between Islam and Custom: The Role of Pigs in Dani Muslim Weddings

Abstract

In diverse Indonesia, the use of pigs as dowry in Dani Muslim marriages is a culturally significant practice; it serves as a powerful medium of confluence between Islam and local custom. Although pork consumption is considered haram in Islam, Dani Muslims still raise pigs and use them in various rituals. This article specifically discusses the cultural reasons for using pigs as dowry in Dani Muslim marriages. The data used for analyses were collected through ethnographic methods, including observations, interviews, and literature study. The study findings show that Dani Muslims use pigs as matrimonial dowry on account of three underlying reasons. First, a cultural reason in which pigs are considered an inseparable part of Dani culture and regarded to have close cultural ties with human beings, where they are even viewed as a sacred animal. Second, a political reason wherein pigs serve as power of identity that can be employed as a tool of intertribal diplomacy and conflict resolution. Third, an economic reason in which pigs hold a significant function for maintaining the tribe’s daily life sustenance and as a tool of transactions, particularly for paying dowries. This article emphasizes that the use of pigs as dowry is a middle ground in the attempt at combining two practices: religious and customary. The resilience of Dani Muslims in preserving their custom of using pigs proved dilemmatic when they face conditions imposed by their professed religion, i.e., pigs are prohibited by Islam.