Indonesian man confronts cheating wife by handing her to lover in exchange for money and cow
Centuries-old dispute settling process aims to let couples put infidelity behind them, foster a sense of peace, maintain dignity
A man from southern Indonesia who caught his wife cheating handed her to her lover under a centuries-old tribal custom and accepted a cow and some cash in return.
According to the local media outlet Tribunnews Sultra, a man known as SRH from Puudombi village in Konawe Regency had been married to his wife, NS, for five years.
The region is home to the Tolaki people, known for their traditional clothes and deep-rooted values of peace and unity.
In September, SRH reportedly caught his wife with another man in a boarding house.
He took a motorcycle and other evidence to the police, and the pair admitted to the affair.
The lover was later identified as an employee of a mining company.
After the incident, SRH turned to local elders and asked them to settle the matter through Mowea Sarapu, a traditional Tolaki ritual that literally means “letting go and making peace”.
The centuries-old ceremony serves as a mutual reconciliation for marital conflicts.