Jakarta, IO – The East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) community in Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) conducted an Etu (ancestral traditional boxing) competition, at Gate V Gelora Bung Karno (GBK), Jakarta, on December 16, 2023. Featuring 20 fighters from the Nagekeo and Soa regions, this traditional martial art showcased skillful martial arts among adult men. The boxers from each group fitted themselves up with chest pads, waist belts, and headbands before entering the fighting arena. During the fights, each boxer was assisted by a “Sike” to guard the fighters, preventing them from brutality, and was supervised by three “Moi Seka,” or referees and judges.
The fighters do not use any boxing gloves as in modern boxing sports, as the Etu fight serves as a traditional ritual that employs a guard made from woven palm leaves in an elliptical shape the size of an adult’s hand grip, known as a “Keppo.”
The match lasts over three rounds or more, depending on the agreement between the fighters. There is no fixed rule on the number of rounds, so the match can stop any time a fighter seems to have suffered serious injuries or given up. Fighters often bleed and suffer serious facial injuries from Keppo blows. A senior shaman, as a traditional leader, would wipe the fighters’ wounds to heal the injuries.
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Despite attacking each other, fighters would embrace one another after completing a match. They are prohibited from harboring a grudge against each other that could lead to fighting outside the arena. They harbor a belief that they would face misfortune if they fought for personal reasons.
The Etu tradition is regularly conducted to express gratitude for harvesting the crops and to serve as a praying ceremony for crop fertility in the following year. It also motivates social solidarity among the East Nusa Tenggara community members.
(IO/Septo Kun Wijaya)