Jakarta – The Bugis or Buginese people make up two-thirds of the 9 million-plus population of South Sulawesi, an island in the east of Borneo in today’s Indonesia. The Bugis are the most dominant ethnic group in the region renowned as traders and fearless sailors since the early 16th century. Dubbed as “the Vikings of Southeast Asia” and reputable builders of the wooden sailing ships known as phinisi, they have sailed in the Indonesian archipelago, from Singapore to New Guinea and from the southern Philippines to northwestern Australia, even wandering across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar.
The arrival of the Dutch military and the arrival of Islam to South Sulawesi in the 17th century forced many of the Bugis to leave their homes due to so much conflict. Many left their lands in search of a better life. At present, their population stretches to other parts of Indonesia and Southeast Asia, as well as eastern Sumatra, Singapore, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Riau islands, Flores, Ambon, and Buru. Many of the Bugis occupy the coastal and fertile lowland areas and earn their living as rice farmers, traders, or fishermen. Their ability to adjust to the new lands they settled in allowed them to survive for centuries. A great number of successful business owners have dominated the economic life in Jakarta and Surabaya.
Islam, the official religion of Bugis people, is an essential part of their culture. Many of them converted when the Islamic preacher from Minangkabau sent by Sultan Iskandar Muda of Aceh arrived in South Sulawesi in the 17th century. Prior to Islam, animism was widely practiced, in which a Bissu holds the highest authority regarding religious matters. Cremation of departed loved ones was performed, especially on aristocrats. Those occupying the Malay Archipelago adopted numerous Indian customs, including a hierarchal society and the Indian form of writing. Later, most of the Bugis, along with their neighboring groups in the region, converted to Islam, although much of their pre-Islamic traditions are still preserved.
Among all the ethnic groups in South Sulawesi, the Bugis population is higher, because for centuries, inter-ethnic marriage was encouraged to widen kin connections for economic and political reasons. As a result of these intermarriages, people from South Sulawesi still consider themselves Bugis, thus, they identify themselves as Bugis-Makassar, Bugis-Mandar, or Bugis-Toraja. Siri, which can be translated as “dignity, honor, or courtesy” is a fundamental element in life and still woven into the Bugis social fabric despite their conversion to Islam. Regarded as the soul and spirit of each individual in the society, it is a must to protect Siri at all times.
The early Bugis were merchants of spices and incense. They were also brave warriors and feared pirates famous for their phinisi, a wooden two-masted boat with seven sails of different sizes. It is used to sail in deep oceans both for trading purposes and as a means of transportation. As once part of a powerful sea trading empire, the Bugis have a 500-year history of trading and cultural links with the Australian Aborigines until British colonizers banned Indonesian seafarers at the land of Northern Territory. The Bugis then spread to Borneo, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia, gaining a reputation for being the merchants, sailors, and warriors who relentlessly wander the Straits of Malacca. Today, many phinisi boats are used for tourist excursions, and most of them are made in Tana Beru and Bira in Bulukumba Regency located in South Sulawesi.
The significant contributions of the Bugis continue to extend in the politics of both Malaysia and Indonesia at present. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the eldest son of Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Abdul Razak, has Bugis ancestry. Businessman and philanthropist Haji Ambo Sooloh, who co-founded the Malay newspaper Utusan Melayu, is also a proud Bugis descendant. In Singapore, a station located on the East West Line and Downtown Line of the MRT was named after the Bugis who sailed from South Sulawesi to trade with Singaporean merchants.
Image from Philippe Tarbouriech, https://www.flickr.com/photos/phitar/218985613/in/album-244401/
