Dog meat a delicacy in Yogya

Gigin Kurniawan, Contributor, Yogyakarta

The Special Region of Yogyakarta deserves to be called an area of sengsu (a dish prepared with cabbage and dog meat). Foodstalls selling this particular dish are ubiquitous.

Among its lovers, this dish is also known by its euphemistic name, medicinal skewered meat as dog meat is believed to possess tonic properties.

Foodstalls may sell this dish openly or covertly. In the case of the former, the stall will label it B1, to refer to dog meat or B2, to refer to pork. Many foodstalls, however, do not use any labeling at all.

Sengsu foodstalls are found not only in the city of Yogyakarta but also in remote villages in Bantul, Sleman, Kulonprogo and Gunungkidul regencies. In the city of Yogyakarta, sengsu food vendors are found in several places such as the area around Umbulharjo bus terminal, Jl. Magelang, Jl. AM Sangaji, at Terban market and near Yogyakarta State University campus.

Even at Jl. Malioboro and Jl. Jend. Sudirman you can find "Toba Nauli", a foodstall owned by a North Sumatran and selling sangsang, which is the Batak name for sengsu. In the Gowongan and Demangan areas, you can find a "Kawanua" foodstall, which offers North Sulawesi dishes, including dog meat rica-rica.

Although sengsu foodstalls are spread in many places in Yogyakarta, Bantul regency may boast the greatest number of such foodstalls across the province. Bantul has about 70 sengsu foodstalls spread across almost all of its districts.

The great number of sengsu foodstalls has drawn the attention of Uminto Giring Wibowo, chairman of Commission C of Bantul legislative assembly. A member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), he has proposed that Bantul regency administration issue a bylaw on dog slaughter.

He said a dog-slaughtering business could financially contribute to the coffers of Bantul regency administration. He proposed that every dog slaughtered should be subject to a fee of Rp 1,500. If 1,000 dogs were slaughtered every day, the regency administration could earn Rp 1.5 million per day.

"That income would be sufficient," he added.

Uminto also said that his data showed that a major sengsu foodstall owner slaughters an average of 15 dogs per day. "If the regency has some 70 foodstalls selling sengsu, more than 1,000 dogs are killed every day," he stressed.

This proposal has led to debate among the councillors. Those against this proposal argue that Muslims are not allowed to eat dog meat.

Uminto, however, did not proceed with his proposal. He said he was under some pressure from fellow councillors and also from the central board of his party in Jakarta. He was told that this matter was a sensitive issue.

Regardless of the pros and cons, the dog meat business is now quite lucrative. Those slaughtered are usually mongrels, not purebred dogs. The supply of mongrels comes from regencies outside Yogyakarta.

The price of a mongrel varies, depending on its size. A small dog weighing some 6 kilograms (kg) costs Rp 35,000 to Rp 40,000. Larger ones (12 kg to 20 kg) are obtainable at Rp 50,000 to Rp 80,000. Dog meat costs Rp 10,000 to Rp 12,000 per kg. A helping of sengsu plus rice cost Rp 3,500 to Rp 4,000.

At first, sengsu was popular only among people from outside Java who lived in Yogyakarta. Today, however, even indigenous residents of Yogyakarta like this dish. That's why sengsu foodstalls are found even in the remotest villages.

"Many people believe that you'll get stronger after eating sengsu," said Maryadi (45), a sengsu vendor in Madukismo, Bantul.

It is interesting to note that to double the tonic property and attractiveness of sengsu, these unfortunate mongrels are not slaughtered conventionally.

"If a dog is slaughtered in the normal way, blood will ooze out. Dog meat is more delicious if the blood is not spilled," said Jumanto, 41, a mongrel butcher residing in Bambanglipuro, Bantul.