Potong Gigi is an Indonesian term referring to the Balinese Hindu religious tooth filling ceremony. The ceremony is symbolic for Balinese Hindu  teenagers who are ready to pass into the world of maturity and adulthood. This ceremony is one of 11 coming-of-age ceremonies the Balinese recognize including the Birth Ceremony, the 3 months old ceremony, the marriage ceremony etc. In the Balinese language, this ceremony is also known as Mepandes, Mesangih or Metatah. Metatah is intentioned to ease the ‘Sad Ripu’ factors. Sad Ripu means the six enemies or evil sides of the human psyche including: anger, jealously, foolishness, lust, greed, and intoxication.

 

The Balinese believe that this ritual helps protect themselves from the invisible forces of evil and avoid punishment from hell by the lord of Yamadipati. The filing of the 6 canine teeth is symbolic of the change from animal to human. Teeth are symbols of lust, greediness, jealousy, insobriety and anger. Balinese Hindu’s believe that the filing of these teeth makes a person more attractive both spiritually and physically. It also represents the passage of a teenager into world of adulthood. Since the person who is having their teeth filed are considered extremely vulnerable to the influences of evil spirits during the time leading up to the ceremony, they are surrounded by family members to protect them before and during this sacred event.

 

All  Hindu parents in Bali must provide and arrange  the Potong Gigi ceremony for their children. This is to show respect to their ancestors who the Hindu’s believe will reincarnate again.  Usually this important ritual will occurt after a girl has her first menstruation and for males when their voices begin to change. The tooth filling ceremony must be done by every Balinese Hindu preferable before marriage. In some Balinese villages, this ritual will occur during the wedding ceremony to save on costs.  If a person passes away before he or she had the tooth filling ceremony, the ritual will still need to be done at the day of the cremation. Some villages in Bali even hold mass tooth filings for anyone in the village who has not yet had the opportunity to partake in this important ceremony as to share the costs for this expensive ritual.

 

 In some parts of Bali, there is the belief that the person having their teeth filed must remain in isolation indoors for the whole day prior to the ceremony. The isolation keeps them protected from the negative influences of black magic as they are still considered immature and vulnerable to the dark energies. This doesn’t mean that other people will not able to witness a tooth filing as the ceremony itself is usually well attended by extended family. The teeth filer is a priest of the Brahmin caste known as Sangging in the Balinese Language. They use simple tools to conduct the ritual, a file, a small hammer and a carving tool. These items are purified with holy water before the ceremony. Other items provided by the priest include a mirror, a piece of sugar cane and a young coconut. The sugar cane is used to keep the mouth opened during the ceremony. The Potong Gigi ceremony is usually held before the sun rises and is accompanied by religious prayer and song. The Coconut shell which contains the filings and saliva from the ceremony must be thrown into the sea or into the river if their places are far away from the sea within 3 days after the ceremony. After the tooth filing ceremony, the teenager is then considered to be a mature adult.