Women’s Ethnobeauty: Exploring Socio-Cultural Practices in Women’s Body Care

Abstract

Objective: This research explores the ethnobeauty of Banjar women, particularly delving into their perceptions of beauty within the context of Banjar culture, and how these perceptions influence their practices of body care.   Theoretical Framework: Study of ethnobeauty among Banjar women as part of ethnoscience is an exploration of Banjar women's knowledge about beauty concepts and beauty care, which includes various categories in beauty care, Banjar women’s classification systems in beauty care, and various factors that shape their knowledge about beauty such as beliefs, myths, beauty care behaviors, and the dynamics accompanying their knowledge about beauty.   Method: The study adopts qualitative research methods with a feminist ethnographic approach. Informants for this study were selected purposively, focusing on individuals knowledgeable about beauty, history, and culture within the Banjar community.   Results and Discussion: The findings of the research reveal that Banjar women's perspectives on beauty can be categorized into two main themes: physical or external beauty, and inner beauty. Physical beauty pertains to the outward appearance of women, emphasizing attributes such as cleanliness, fragrance, and radiance of the skin. In the Banjar language, beauty (bungas) is synonymous with a woman possessing immaculate, fragrant, and luminous skin. Hence, maintaining cleanliness and fragrance to achieve a radiant and fresh appearance is the primary objective of their body care practices. To attain physical beauty, Banjar women engage in various beauty treatments aligned with their beauty ideals. These treatments aim to achieve clean, smooth, and radiant skin.   Research Implications: From the presentation of the research results above, several conclusions can be drawn as follows: First, Banjar women's views on beauty are generally divided into two meanings: physical or outer beauty and inner beauty. The first meaning, physical or outer beauty, refers to a woman’s beauty directed towards her physical form. Beauty (known as “bungas” in Banjar language) for Banjar women is interpreted as having clean, fragrant, and radiant skin. Cleanliness and fragrance of the body, making the body appear radiant and glowing, are their main goals in performing body beauty care to look beautiful and fresh. Second, to achieve physical (outer) beauty, Banjar women engage in beauty care with various forms of beauty treatments according to their conception of beauty, which is to obtain clean, smooth, and radiant skin. The practices performed by Banjar women are related to their beliefs or faith.   Originality/Value: As part of ethnoscience, the study of ethnobeauty, which combines the words “ethno” and “beauty,” literally means the beauty of a particular society or ethnic group. Thus, ethnobeauty research can be defined as an effort to describe a society’s knowledge system regarding beauty and beauty care practices, including myths, beliefs, culture, and beauty care practices along with their dynamics. As an ethnobeauty study of the Banjar community, this research provides a comprehensive depiction of the Banjar society's knowledge of beauty and body beauty care practices. Generally, this ethnobeauty study delves deeply into the phenomenon of Banjar women's beauty, covering several aspects including beauty concepts, values embedded in beauty care, myths and beliefs associated with beauty care practices, various forms of beauty care along with their benefits for the body such as balulur, batimung, bapupur, and other beauty treatments commonly practiced by Banjar women.