Ethnic body odor

Ethnic body odor

From Pikiran Rakyat

Many stories have been told in the aftermath of the bloody ethnic unrest at Sampit, Central Kalimantan. One of them is the story about the ability of the Dayaks to distinguish a particular ethnic group from other ethnic groups, including the Madurese.

At that time, the Dayaks conducted sweeping searches of everyone and every vehicle traveling on the road only by relying on their sense of smell.

The ability of the Dayaks to distinguish an ethnic group from other ethnic groups by relying on their sense of smell is interesting and has been widely commented upon.

In accordance with the law of nature, our body organs will develop and function properly if they are activated and used well in accordance with their functions.

At Merauke, Irian Jaya, during the dry season, the swamps that virtually surround the town of Merauke completely dry up. In that situation, Merauke's civilians, in particular people of Marind ethnic origin, are able to discover subterranean water sources by using their sense of smell.

Accordingly, the ability of the Dayaks to distinguish a particular ethnic group from another by means of their sense of smell is merely a matter of training and nothing to do with magical powers. Furthermore, is it correct that every ethnic group has a typical body odor by which their origin can be identified?

Every ethnic group does have its own typical body odor. A typical body odor of a certain ethnic group is not found however in people born from inter-ethnic marriages (Bierhorst et al. 1950). So, a person born from parents of different ethnic groups will not have a typical body smell of either parent.

WILLIBRORD D.U.F.

West Java