mut

A vulture is used as the hieroglyph for mother, mut being the word for them both, and for the mother goddess of Thebes.

“Nikah mut’ah” — or “pleasure marriage,” as the temporary arrangement is known — has become an economic lifeline in the mountainous region of Indonesia called Puncak.

Instead nikah mut’ah has grown into an industry, with an extensive network of brokers, officiants and recruiters that thrives in the gray zone between church and state.

When Cahaya learned about nikah mut’ah, she had already been married once — at 13 to a classmate from her village.

A type of Muslim marriage, a mut’ah contract joins a couple for a fixed time period.