GAMBARAN KEPERCAYAAN TENTANG KHASIAT MENYIRIH PADA MASYARAKAT PAPUA DI KELURAHAN ARDIPURA I DISTRIK JAYAPURA SELATAN KOTA JAYAPURA

Indonesian people has long know the, betel leaf, areca nut, and lime is material to betel chewing. Chewing the betel leaf is believed can care teeth by ancestors. They are convinced that slacking can strengthen teeth, cure small cuts in the mouth, eliminate bad breath. Indigenous Papuans engage in slaughtering behavior because of the belief inherited from the ancestors. The frequency of betel chewing practiced by indigenous people of Papua is > 2 times a day by consuming more than two areca nuts and is believed to maintain good oral hygiene. Positive impacts which are felt when doing betel chewing namely; body feels fresh, elimination of bad breath, and restores solid teeth. While the negative impact shows thickness of the tongue, wound on the edge of the mouth, numbness of the tongue, and addicted to chewing betel. Beliefs about the efficacy from betel chewing make people do not take care of dental health. Communities experienced plaque build-up and dental caries. The purpose of this study is to determine the image of belief and the efficacy of betel chewing in Ardipura Village District of South Jayapura City. This study followed a qualitative design approach and study was phenomenology type, and descriptive through active participation, conducted interviews and observations using content analysis technique. The determination of informants in this study uses purposive sampling technique method. Results drawn from this study shows the behavior of betel chewing is believed to strengthen teeth, relieve toothache and drowsiness, eliminate bad breath and betel chewing as a from friendship. Keywords: Betel chewing, Belief, District of South Jayapura cit