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167 7 Suicide Case Studies The cases described in this chapter have been documented after the fact based on information from respondents who knew the victims well or had firsthand knowledge of the circumstances or a recollection of events as reported to them. I collected these data from interviews conducted during fieldwork from 1989 onwards. My main informant and collaborator, Taya Ransawi, provided himself much information, but he often had to inquire further and get data from other persons. Some cases that are recorded in the main list of suicide cases (see table 11) do not appear here for lack of more precise information. Some cases are better documented than others—Sumling’s suicide, for instance, discussed in chapter 6. On the other hand, cases that happened well before 1989 did not yield as many details. Only the reported motivations and general circumstances could be obtained. Such is the case with Merensinu’s suicide , which occurred in 1959. Cases that occurred in more distant areas such as Kedawan (see chap. 1, map 2) or just outside the Kulbi area tend also to be less completely documented. In some instances, contradictory indications are given on the manner or cause of suicide (see case of Umar later in this chapter). In most cases the age of the person is at best an approximation, since Palawan people do not measure their age in years. Only for children can they remember the number of harvests since birth. Things are changing, of course, and more “educated” people such as Taya Ransawi and his son Ruben keep an exact count of their own and their children’s ages.1 I cannot exclude some uncertainties on the dates of some suicides. I have ordered the cases in this chapter in several obvious categories, such as old age, jealousy, quarrel between husband and wife, love affairs, and the like. Those captions reflect the alleged motivations for the act of suicide, as reported by my informants. Let me stress that all these reasons and motivations are of course reported ex post facto, that they are always “alleged,” and that even if factually true, there can be other, less obvious reasons at work in the intricate 168 part t wo: suicide personal circumstances that lead to suicide. Most likely, what drives people to act is a complex combination of motivations, feelings, and emotions—not just one, although, again, one might be dominant. In any case the categories can be taken as a fair indication of what the precipitating circumstances were. The cases are presented chronologically within each category. The order of the categories is arbitrary. Old Age and Sickness Ranjew () Ranjew was a widower, aged 70. He was sick and suffered from almost total blindness. That is why, they say, he committed suicide. As the informant puts it, “He was in constant pain [or difficulty] because of not being able to see [Metiksaq lang et kaja meketuqun].” Arek and Telnang ( and ) Arek, a 70-year-old man (or thereabouts), suffered in his old age. He was weak (lama) and could not work anymore. He then killed himself. Likewise, his father Telnang committed suicide in the early 1960s (also at the age of 70) for the same reasons and also because he suffered from a bad leg. Comment Informants presented both suicides as typical and customary (adat) for old people unable to lead an active life. The motivation is not really the inability to support oneself, as children and grandchildren will provide for the disabled elder, but rather the suffering and discomfort (metiksaq) or pain (sakit) that often comes with old age. Sansiq () This older woman in her late sixties ended her life because she was crippled by sickness and half paralyzed since the age of 30. She was a widow, and her grandchildren took care (pegipat) of her. She used a piece of rattan and tied it to her neck and hanged herself in a sitting position. It happened in April. Musej () Musej was an elderly widow, aged 64. When I interviewed her on November 3, 1995, in Lilibuten, she looked lively and was apparently very healthy save for a problem with her eyesight. She said she could not see anymore and that her son-in-law was taking care of her. She actually expressed the wish to die, but, she said, “I cannot muster the courage to hang myself [Tekleq diki pegkeurem ku].” Hearing that, Taya, who was with me, then said...

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