Druce, Stephen C.
(2016)
Orality, Writing And History:
The Literature Of The Bugis
And Makasar Of South Sulawesi
(Introduction To Special Issue).
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 12 (1).
pp. 1-5.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
The Bugis and Makasar peoples are the two largest ethnic groups of South
Sulawesi, Indonesia, numbering about 4 million and 1.7 million
respectively. Many people think of them as sailors and adventurers who
traded and settled throughout the Indonesian-Malay Archipelago. While this
is true of some Bugis and Makasar, such activities were undertaken by a
relatively small number of individuals and no earlier than the 17th century.
As Christian Pelras (1996: 3–4) remarks, the Bugis have long "been among
the most imperfectly known of the Insulindian peoples," while the Makasars
have been identified mainly with inhabitants of the port city, Makassar.1
However, most Bugis and Makasar are farmers, and for centuries the
organised cultivation of wet-rice has played a central role in their economic
and cultural lives. The Bugis and Makasar did not convert to Islam until the
early 17th century, and while Islam is an important part of their cultural
identity, both groups have retained significant elements of their indigenous,
pre-Islamic heritage. Both also have a rich literature, some of which
contains historical information dating from about 1400 CE and records the
development by these two Austronesian-speaking peoples of large agrarian
kingdoms based on indigenous cultural and political precepts.
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