Traditional Metaphors of Indonesian Women’s Beauty

2.1 Ethnosemiotics of Beauty

This study integrates two methods, namely, ethnography and semiotics, and is called ethnosemiotics (Herzfeld, 1983; MacCannell, 1979). Ethnosemiotics is a convergent method that was originally based on anthropology; however, in its development, ethnosemiotics is also used in various fields (Acuña, 2019; Faudree, 2012; Fiske, 1990; Herman & Moss, 2007; Kozin, 2014).

As a convergent method, ethnography and semiotics are theoretically one unit. However, at the technical level in this article, ethnography is more focused on the collection of empirical data from sources in the field. The ethnographic data referred to are not entirely derived from oral sources but also from various written documents. In other words, data on the traditional beauty of women among the Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau ethnic groups were extracted from written documentation, oral folklore, community behavior, informal dialogue with informants, and others (Hammersley & Atkinson, 2007; Spradley, 1979).

Furthermore, ethnographic work synergizes with semiotic interpretation. The ethnographic data are treated as a set of semiotic signs, and in interpreting that data, we use Barthes’ semiotics (1985). According to Barthes (1985), the data regarding the description of beauty are understood as a way reality is transferred into two levels of language, i.e.,

1. At the first level, there is a transfer of “real” reality into language reality which is called “denotation” (Barthes, 1985). At this level, the meaning that emerges is literal (denotation). The “real” reality that is denoted in the construction of traditional Indonesian women’s beauty is generally the reality of nature. Thus, the sign that appears is a sign that is motivated by or refers to nature (Barthes, 1985).

2. At the second level, the sign of motivation rises to the level of connotation (Barthes, 1985), namely, a sign whose reference meaning is intertwined with culture. At this level, motivated signs lead to the formation of the community codes that belong to them – in this case, the context from which our informants come.

Regarding codes, Barthes (2002) formulates five generally accepted codes, namely, hermeneutic (codes that generate tension or curiosity), proairetic (narrative codes that are causal), semantic (codes with connotative messages), symbolic (codes with contradictory, antithetical, or discontinuous messages), and referential (cultural codes or collective views, often in the form of proverbs). At the practical level, these codes are not always verbal (textual) codes, but can also be visual, audio, behavioral, etc. These codes are also not always fully present in the object being analyzed. The important thing to emphasize is that the analysis of the language codes of beauty is a series that are interconnected and integrated in the ethnosemiotic method. We illustrate these methodological relationships in a chart depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Relationship chart and ethnosemiotic study strategy for traditional beauty of Indonesian women (Source: Authors).

3.1 Results

As already mentioned, this study of the traditional beauty of Indonesian women is focused on the Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau ethnicities. Aside from the fact that the three are major ethnic groups in Indonesia, they also have a unique relationship with each other in the history of Indonesian culture. The first two ethnic groups, namely, Sundanese and Javanese, live on the same island, namely, Java. The contact between the two ethnicities can be seen in the following ways:

• First, in several areas such as Cirebon, Indramayu, Banten, and Pangandaran, the contact appears explicit in the mixing of the languages of the two ethnicities, giving rise to separate dialects which can be called neither Javanese nor Sundanese (Indira et al., 2019; Robbiah, 2022; Zein et al., 2022).

• Second, the myth of the Queen of the South Coast (Nyai Roro Kidul) has developed and is believed by traditional communities in both ethnicities (Olthof, 2022; Pranoto, 2007).

• Third, they both make reference to the same mythological goddess, namely, Dewi Sri (Javanese) and Nyai Pohaci (Sundanese) (Aminoedin, 1986).

Meanwhile, Minangkabau is an ethnic group that has the character of wandering (Naim, 1973), and the island of Java is their main overseas destination. Migration to Java was common before Indonesia’s independence, and during the independence movement, many of the important figures on the island of Java were from the Minangkabau ethnic group. Naim (1980) refers to this historical fact as the domination of M (Minangkabau) culture which later, during the reign of Soeharto, was displaced by J (Javanese) culture. This strongly supports the occurrence of cultural encounters between the Minangkabau and both the Javanese and Sundanese people. Literary works written by authors from the Minangkabau region such as Hamka (1984) and Rusli (2013) show the intensity of their encounters with the people of Java (both the Javanese and Sundanese). The Javanese author, Umar Kayam, wrote the sociological romance novel “Para Priyai” (volume 1 and volume 2), which tells of how the meeting of these two cultures took place in a very intimate way through the marriage of their characters (Kayam, 1991, 1999). Marriages between Minangkabau people and the Javanese or Sundanese continue to be common to this day, resulting in both acculturation and cultural assimilation (Muchtar, 2015; Muluk & Murniati, 2007; Yulita et al., 2021).

These cultural historical facts lead to the assumption that the traditional concept of women’s beauty in the Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau ethnic groups has something in common. The way they describe beauty based on nature supports this assumption. Table 1 contains related written document data.

As shown in Table 1, the physical form of traditional women’s beauty in the three ethnicities studied is described using objects found in nature (flora, fauna, and celestial bodies) as a means of comparison (using simile and metaphor). Every written document does not describe all parts of the body as a whole. However, all documents have ties to each other. The Panji Semirang Hikayat, for example, is a story that originally appeared and developed on Java, but later became part of the Malay Hikayat. Thus, these stories support one other, with natural metaphors as a common thread. Therefore, when the whole is combined, it forms a “metaphoric anatomy” of the body as a whole.

Furthermore, through searching for data in the field, empirical data have been found that generally confirm the data above. We summarize the data from several of these informants in the following descriptions and excerpts of conversations. (In accordance with our agreement with the informants, their identities are not included here.)

Informant 1, a 76-year-old woman and resident of Sleman, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta (Javanese ethnicity)

Even at the advanced age of the informant, she still shows traces of her beauty in youth. She was slightly bent over, but she still looked tall for an Indonesian woman. “I used to be 172, you know, I don’t know now, hehehe,” she said in an informal conversation with us. She was very passionate about talking about women’s beauty. In the name of people’s evaluation of her, she tells her beauty.

“Lambeku iki, Ndo, jare wong mbiyen kaya pelem sing wis mateng, guluku kaya godhong gadung. Aku ora ngerti yen iku bener po ora. Tapi yo, seneng-seneng wae, hahaha.” (My lips, dear, were once said to be like ripe mangoes, and my neck like gadung leaves. I don’t know if that’s true or not. But, well, I’m happy anyway, hahaha.).

She also added, “Alisku njlarit rembulan nuju tanggal siji, tapi itu dulu, sekarang, yo, udah peot, hehehe” (My eyebrows are curved like the first/beginning of the month, but that was then, now they are wrinkled, hehehe). In addition, she said that beautiful women had slim calves like a locust, her nose was small but sharp, and her fingers were slender.

Informant 2, an 80-year-old woman living in Leuwi Liang, a village in the interior of West Java (Sundanese ethnicity)

When we met this informant, she was almost always in a state of indignation. Retirement means the chewing of betel nut (Areca catechu), lime, and gambier fruit (Rubiaceae) wrapped in betel leaves. This is a long-standing tradition and custom passed down from generation to generation. This custom specifically takes place on the island of Java (Raffles, 2019). Nyepah or also called nginang is done almost all day long. Chewing that is done continuously produces a blood-red liquid so that the lips become red. About this particular habit, this informant said:

“Nyeupah tos jadi kabiasaan emak ti bubudak, meureun ku sabab eta emak jadi panjang umur, nyeupah tos jadi ibadah keur emak mah, lain keur kasehatan jeung kageulisan wungkul” (“Nyepah” has been a habit of my mother since childhood. Perhaps because of that, my mother has a long life. For my mother, “nyepah” has become a kind of worship, not just for health and beauty.)

She admits to giving up the habit in an effort to maintain health and fitness. For her, giving up is also related to women’s beauty. She describes the beauty of women with the expression:

“Mojang geulismah pamenteuna ngadaun seureuh, rambutna galing muntang kawas ranggeuyan buah jambe, bitisna kawas tangkal pare anu rek buahan” (The beautiful girl has a face like a betel leaf, curly hair hanging like a string of “buah mayang” (a type of fruit), and her calves are like a rice plant that is about to bear fruit.)

On another occasion she added:

“Awewe dulang tinande kudu tuhu ka alam. Awewe nu kitu geulis lain jijigaan. Awakna jangkung lenjang. Halisna ngajeler paeh, gadona endog sapotong, bujurna siga papanting, biwirna kuwung-kuwungan, pipina duren sapasi, leungeun letik ngagondewa, waosna kawas gula gumantung” (The woman must submit to nature. A truly beautiful woman (not just superficially beautiful) is tall and slender. Her eyebrows are like dead jeler fish (Nemacheilus chrysolaimos), her chin is like half an egg, her waist is like a wasp’s, her lips are red like a rainbow, her cheeks are like a slice of durian, her arms are like a bow, and her teeth are shiny and neat like half-cooked brown sugar.)

Informant 3, a 45-year-old female who lives in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra (Minangkabau ethnicity)

This informant is a teacher at a junior high school. As a teacher, of course, she must always look beautiful but still be polite to her students and treat them with dignity. Generally, women of her age care for their beauty by using modern beauty products. However, she does not like that. She prefers traditional ingredients from nature, including the consumption of herbs. Bunda Kanduang and Sabai Nan Aluih are two female figures in Minangkabau mythology who have become her idols. “Women must be beautiful but not weak,” she said in conversation. Furthermore, she describes the beauty of women as follows.

“Perempuan cantik itu, wajahnya bersinar bak bulan purnama empat belas, matanyapun bersinar, bulu matanya semut beriring, dagunya bak labah hinggok, bibirnya asam seulas, pinggang ramping, langannyu bak lilin dituang, betisnya bak paruik padi, tumitnya bak telur burung. Jika ia berjalan bagai itik pulang patang, lebih surut dari maju.”

(The beautiful woman’s face shines like a full moon on the fourteenth day. Her eyes sparkle, and her eyelashes are neatly arranged like a line of ants. Her chin is like a resting swan, her lips are sour, her waist is slim, her legs are like wax poured into a mold, her calves are like rice paddies, and her heels are like bird eggs. She moves back more than forward when she walks, like a duck returning home.)

“Perfect, yo. But, there are no women like that now, hehehe”, she concluded.

As with data from written documents, oral data from these informants are also only partial. The interesting thing is that the information from the informants confirms that of the written-documents, yet none of the informants who provided information had ever read any of those documents. This fact seems to confirm that the construction of traditional beauty related to nature has become shared knowledge in Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau societies.

In Table 2, we identify in more detail and brief a combination of two types of data on the description of the traditional beauty of Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women, based on these natural objects or varieties.

4.1 Nature as a Source of Metaphors used to Describe Beauty

Nature has become a source for the construction of language that describes the physical form of beauty. Referring to Barthes (2002), the concept of female body beauty is denoted by nature. We call this process a metaphor, namely, a process that relates (compares) the female body as one sign with nature as another sign (Guattari, 2000; Levesque, 2016). Because nature has a position as the reality being referred to, it can be stated that nature is the source of the metaphors used to describe the traditional beauty of Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women.

The nature-based metaphors for describing the traditional beauty of the female body can be divided into two categories, namely, categories based on similarity in form and those based on similarity in nature or character. Tables 3 and 4 present these two categories along with their object forms or natural varieties.

Table 3

Categories of metaphorization based on similarity in shape

Parts of body	Metaphor source
	Name	Forms of natural varieties
Hair	Unraveled Mayang (young palm fruit) (Arenga pinnata)
Eyebrows	Mimba leaf (Azadirachta indica)
	Jeler fish (Nemacheilus chrysolaimos)
	Crescent moon
	Spurs
Eyelashes	The ants walk in a row
Nose	Jasmine
	Garlic
Face	Betel leaf (Piperaceae)
	Bodhi leaf (Ficus religiosa)
Chin	Hanging bees (Apidae-Hymenoptera)
	Half an egg
Lips	Rainbow
Ears	Giyanti flower
Breasts	Twin gading coconut (the newly grown coconut fruit which is yellowish white)
Waist	Wasp (Vespidae)
Calves	Budding rice stalks (rice buds beginning to grow in them)
	Fragrant Pudak leaf (Pandanus tectorius)

Table 4

Categories of metaphorization based on similarities in nature or character

Parts of body	Metaphor source
	Name	Forms of natural varieties
Hair	Moss
	Cricket feathers
Eyebrows	Stamens
Skin	Half cooked prawns
	Sugarcane
Cheeks	Durian fruit (Durio)
Lips	Ripe mango (Mangifera indica)
	Rainbow
	Tamarind
	Cracked pomegranate
Eyes	The eyes of a baby deer
Tongue	Ripe mempalam fruit

The two categories of metaphors above appear to complement each other. If the metaphor based on the similarity of form constructs the outer layer (shape) directly, the metaphor based on the similarity of nature or character constructs the shape indirectly through the creation of images according to the object mentioned. In the metaphor of form, we are immediately guided to connect the part of the body that is being metaphorized with the object or variety of nature that is referred to as the source. In character-based metaphors, we must first imagine the nature or character of the object being referred to so that an image of a certain form appears. This character metaphor also creates emotive images. From this point of view, a metaphor based on nature or character constructs the sensuality aspect of the beauty of the body as a whole.

The substitution in this metaphor is partial. The description of the figure of Sri Tanjung (Table 1) is more complete than the others. However, it remains incomplete and comprehensive. This means that the type of metaphor it constructs can be categorized as metonymy, in this case, synecdoche pars pro toto (a part represents the whole). Only certain parts of the body are described when referring to someone as beautiful. These parts, as seen in all the data found, are the parts that arouse sexual attraction (hair, eyebrows, eyes, lips, breasts, calves, etc.).

Therefore, at the real level, it is difficult to find one complete metaphorical description of this nature in all three ethnicities studied. It is interesting to note, however – and this is specifically for the Javanese ethnicity – that there are three representative figures in history, namely, the relief of the figure of Sri Tanjung on the wall of the pavilion of Surowono Temple, located in Kediri, East Java; the statue of Ken Dedes, found in Situbondo forest, East Java; and the statue of Loro Jonggrang, located at Prambanan Temple in Yogyakarta. The relief of Sri Tanjung is a visualization of a character in the Sri Tanjung manuscript, which explicitly states that Sri Tanjung is very beautiful (Aminoedin, 1986), while Ken Dedes and Loro Jonggrang are often referred to as the ideal female figures of their time (Winaya & Munandar, 2021)

The following is an analysis to show metaphorical relationships even though they are solely based on the similarity of forms and the parts of the body that appear explicitly.

In Figure 2, it can be seen that nearly all parts of the body are metaphorized. Parts of the body are compared to natural forms. The interesting thing is, even though the representative figure has Javanese ethnicity, the metaphors that apply in Sundanese and Minangkabau can also be applied. In Figure 3a–d, we clarify the metaphorical relationships and similarities between the three by cutting and enlarging certain parts that are most obvious (Figure 3).

Figure 2

Sketches of the metaphorical relation of beauty to the representative figures of Sri Tanjung, Ken Dedes, and Loro Jonggrang with natural varieties as their references. Source: Author.

Figure 3

Detailed beauty metaphors of (a) face, (b) eyebrows, (c) waist, and (d) breast by Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau.

4.2 Codes Behind Nature as Sources of Beauty Metaphors

In accordance with the anatomy of the body as a whole, the natural metaphors that cover it are automatically interconnected to form a unity or system of body metaphoric signs. Here the anatomy of the body becomes synonymous with a system of metaphorical signs originating in nature. In a semiotic perspective, the interconnectedness of signs is directly proportional to the formation of codes. In other words, the code is the relationship between signs that make up the system (Barthes, 2002). Based on this understanding, four codes can be found behind nature as the source of metaphors used to describe traditional beauty. The four codes in question are semantic, proairetic or narrative, symbolic, and referential or cultural.

4.3 Semantic Code

The process of denoting natural reality into language reality (denotation) at the next level creates connotation (Barthes, 1985). The denotative description of nature also forms the connotation of nature. Thus, the beauty of the female body which is described denotatively by natural varieties sends a connotative message that a beautiful woman is a woman who looks natural. In fact, this message has been agreed upon or accepted in Indonesian culture (Tilaar, 2017). Conversely, an artificial body (Hansen, 2006) or a body that is overly coated with “artificial attributes” is generally understood as a false body or a colonized body (Goldberg, 2004).

4.4 Proairetic or Narrative Code

Referring to written sources (Table 1), the metaphorical descriptions of traditional Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women, which are still alive and developing today, have been formed over a very long period of time and have passed through very long historical intervals. Based on these historical facts, the beliefs and characteristics of natural beauty have become a proairetic code or narrative code. The narrative is actually much older and can be traced to the myth of the presence of beautiful women on earth. It has become the essence of knowledge (Lyotard, 1989) that in Indonesian cultural narratives, the figure of ideal beauty for women always refers to creatures from heaven, namely, angels. Related to this, in some folklore that can be found throughout Indonesia, several angels who have descended to earth and transformed into humans use a process that involves nature (Wiyatmi et al., 2021).

Among the mythological narratives of the beauty of an angel as it relates to nature, the mythology of Dewi Sri (Javanese) or Nyai Pohaci (Sundanese) is the most closely related, as both are central to this theme. The story, both in Java and in Sunda, has spread in different versions (Sumardjo, 2015; Wiyatmi et al., 2021). Nyai Pohaci is a figure who was born (or hatched) from an egg that was formed from the tears of the snake god, Antaboga. Nyai Pohaci grew into a woman of extraordinary beauty. This beauty, was considered very dangerous in the heavenly world, so she was killed by Batara Kala, who gave her a khuldi fruit. Nyai Pohaci’s body was then buried in the earth, and from the body parts that were buried, different plants grew. From the head grew a coconut palm, from her scalp grew grass, from her right eye grew white rice, from her left eye grew red rice, from her liver grew glutinous rice, from her intestines grew stilt roots, from her right thigh grew aur bamboo, from her left thigh grew rope bamboo, and on her calves grew palm trees (Holil, 2018; Kulsum & Rochaeti, 2005).Visually, the anatomy of Nyai Pohaci’s body is depicted and described in Figure 4.

In Figure 4, it can be seen that the beauty of Nyai Pohaci’s body is not analogous to objects in nature. Instead, it was from Nyai Pohaci’s body that nature was born (grown). However, the various trees that grew from parts of Nyai Pohaci’s body are representations of nature in general. Because of this, Nyai Pohaci is known as the Goddess of Fertility, an angel who makes nature fertile. As a result, if the concept of beauty for women on earth is nature and Nyai Pohaci is an angel who gave birth to nature, Nyai Pohaci can be said to be the source of beauty and thus, the source of traditional beauty metaphors. This means that the character that forms the basis of traditional beauty is the character of Nyai Pohaci, a character who exists as a subject of nature. Referring to Ponda (2021), Nyai Pohaci can be said to be the Indonesian version of Mother Earth (Toynbee, 1976) and as such is the source of the metaphor of Mother Earth, a term widely used for Indonesia’s homeland.

Figure 4

Sketch of the mythological body of Nyai Pohaci (Sundanese) or Dewi Sri (Javanese). Sketch made by the author (Source: Author).

4.5 Symbolic Code

The interesting thing about the proairetic code is the mythological event of Nyai Pohaci which narratively is a source for the formation of the character of the traditional beauty of Indonesian women. The growth of various types of plants from Nyai Pohaci’s body is an antithetical narrative, something that is illogical. This antithetical narrative is formed as the most subtle resistance of the woman’s body, a body which incidentally has died. There, the body resists by choosing nature, becoming nature’s biological mother. On this basis, the beauty attached to a woman’s body that causes her to be upheld and cast by men (the gods), eventually becomes power energy. Not just power before men, but also before nature. Women are the center of the universe, the center of life. In Indonesia, this mythological fact is still believed and experienced. Common sayings state that “behind the husband’s success there is a strong wife” and “the husband is afraid of his wife,” which are popular and believed in Indonesia to this day.

4.6 Referential Code (Culture)

The mechanism of substituting the similarity in shape and character of natural objects with the beautiful female body anatomy is a denotation of the “natural” to the “cultural.” In the beginning, the body is born as a natural biological entity. However, in its growth, the body becomes cultural (Synnott, 1993) because it is formed by aspects outside the body. In the context of traditional beauty of Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women, this is of interest because the body becomes cultural after it is subjected to natural traits and characteristics. Therefore, the body beauty of Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women is specific and unique: it is cultural when it is categorized as natural. This is the first referential code.

Next the relational fact of the beauty of the body and nature is in line with a saying of the Minangkabau ethnic group from West Sumatra, popular in Indonesia, namely, alam takambang jadi guru, or “nature can be a teacher.” This idealistic expression sends a message that nature is not an entity that must only be cared for, but more than that, must be learned from. One of the characteristics of nature – before being damaged by humans – is the balance of the forming elements and the mechanism or process of their continuity. Consequently, the natural beauty of a woman’s body is a balanced beauty (Tilaar, 2017). Physically, like nature, a woman’s body is formed by proportional and harmoniously related anatomical parts. The beautiful woman was not too thin and not too fat, not too tall and not too short, etc. “Fair yellow skin like half cooked prawns” also shows the character of the skin which is not white but also not black. In Indonesian culture, the balance point is in the middle, the middle siger (Sumardjo, 2015).

4.7 Beauty, Nature, and Women’s Power

Based on these data, it can be seen that nature is merely a source of beauty metaphors. There are no natural objects used to describe women who look unattractive (not beautiful). This fact sends at least two semiotic messages. First, the nature metaphors for beauty show an attitude of respect for traditional society toward the position of women’s beauty on the one hand, and nature on the other. Beauty is positioned at a higher level than ugliness such that “the beautiful” can be described using metaphors based on nature. This is identical to Synnott (1993), who put forward research data that beautiful women always represent good things, including good luck. On the other hand, nature is so highly regarded that it could only be used for metaphors describing beauty, and not for ugliness. Second, the fact remains that beauty is something exclusive, as with an attractive appearance or a beautiful body. This confirms what we have found, namely, that beauty is something that tends to refer to physical appearance.

It is interesting to note that the exclusivity of beauty in Indonesian culture has its roots in mythology. According to the myth, the beauty of Indonesian women is associated with the world of gods. This narrative has continued on earth, where beauty is intertwined with circles of power and growth in high social class (Brahmins). Dewi Nawang Wulan, who was “reincarnated,” became the Queen of the South Seas, and even married the Javanese ruler, Panembahan Senopati (Olthof, 2022). Other names such as Roro Jonggrang, Ratu Kaliyamat, Nyai Undang, Asung Luwang, Dewi Rengganis, Dewi Kencana Wungu, and Bundo Kanduang are beautiful female figures who were also rulers (Soediman, 1989; Wiyatmi et al., 2021). Many beautiful female figures in Indonesian mythology were also rulers or came from circles of power. In a wayang story, all the beautiful women who married Arjuna also came from circles of power or the upper social class. It is evident that beauty is held in high regard and is closely related to power in Indonesian culture.

There is an interesting side to the relationship between beauty and power, and that is that the lineage of beauty has become synonymous with the lineage of power. Contrary to the dominant discourse in feminism, in the tradition and history of Indonesian culture, the position of women is not subordinate to men, but rather ordinate. In the cases of Bundo Kanduang (Minangkabau) and Sunan Ambu (Sunda), women’s power is in full view, covering not only the social sphere but also the practical political realm. In the case of the Queen of the South Seas (Javanese and Sundanese), the power of beauty and socio-political power are explicitly integrated, subordinating not only life on land, but also at sea with a number of power labels (Pranoto, 2007, p. 54). In the case of Ken Dedes, Ken Arok struggled to seize Ken Dedes from Tunggul Ametung as a means to gain power (Mangkudimedja, 1979). In the case of Roro Jonggrang, the queen’s resistance to Bandung Bondowoso shows how the power of beauty subdues men on the one hand and how this power is firmly maintained on the other (Soediman, 1989). The context of power is in accordance with Indonesian culture which is in many ways different from the West (De Stuers, 2017; Handayani & Novianto, 2004; Nastiti, 2016).

In many cases, women’s beauty has become a kind of “inner force” that can undermine men’s existence. The beauty of women often drags men into emotional actions that can degrade them. The beauty of a woman’s body holds a powerful energy that attacks and paralyzes the roots of male power. Anderson (2000), who analyzed the “history of power” in Java from Ken Arok to President Soeharto, came to the conclusion that the power of kings in Java was largely determined by the energy possessed by women as companions. In Anderson’s notes, this power energy was spiritual-mystical in nature. However, in a broader (collective) scope, the emergence of matrilineal ideology in the Minangkabau shows that women’s power is present naturally as well as culturally. Mastery of land cultivation techniques (cultivation) by women affected the order of kinship, and both social and political relations so that women were at the center of power at that time (Soekarno, 1963).

For traditional Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women, therefore, being beautiful cannot be immediately understood as an unconscious mechanism of wanting to be at the “center of the gaze” of men. Instead, being beautiful can be seen as an effort to achieve a certain level in culture and social life. To be beautiful is to be strong; it is a mechanism to gain power, and in this case it means to exist and be noble in life, not just to exist and have power in front of men (Permanadeli, 2015).

However, the way to acquire beauty is not by exploiting the body. Beauty is still understood to be natural, a natural heritage that must also be nurtured by nature. Regarding treatment, the efforts made also rely on nature. Being beautiful and healthy is largely determined by to what extent nature is involved in or functions as the treatment (Beratha et al., 2020; Sibarani et al., 2021; Silaban & Sibarani, 2021). Natural objects are sources of beauty metaphors and, in fact, many can be used for beauty treatments. Mayang fruit (areca nut) and betel leaf, for example, are commonly used for chewing and spitting. Consumed separately (not for seasoning), betel leaves can eliminate mouth odors due to bad breath, mouthwash, and venereal diseases (syphilis). Referring to the information from Informant 1, water from boiled betel leaves can also be used to treat the vaginal lining and make female genitalia smell good. Meanwhile, betel nut can strengthen teeth and gums (BP3I, 2019). As a result, nature is not just a linguistic tool (a source of metaphor) to describe beauty, but also a grower and caregiver. Pasiak (2020) states that 25% of the medicines in modern medicine come from nature and 70% of the cancer drugs are natural or synthetic products whose inspiration comes from nature. It can be said, then, that caring for the body is synonymous with caring for (providing for) nature, and caring for nature is the same as caring for the body. In the study of neuroscience, the body and nature cannot be separated. Nature’s health undoubtedly leads to health of the body, and damage to nature can cause damage to the body.

At this point, it is clear that the traditional beauty of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Minangkabau women’s bodies originates entirely from nature. The beauty of the body becomes the beauty of nature itself. This is the ontological as well as epistemological basis of traditional women’s beauty in the three ethnicities. Beauty is not about the body being exploited, but rather being understood as the result of an intimate relationship with nature. With this understanding, beauty is not a myth that ultimately makes women suffer due to the fear of not being beautiful as Wolf (2002) points out. Culturally, in natural beauty, there is the energy of power.