Bugis

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The Bugis is one of the high-spirited, status-conscious nomadic tribes of Sulawesi, the fertile rice-belt of Indonesia. They are a Malayan people. In Sulawesi, there are three main sea nomadic groups, namely the Makassar, Bajau and Bugis (or 'the Buginese'). They capture the imagination of storytellers and travelers such as Captain Forrest, Joseph Conrad and Sir Stamford Raffles, all of whom described the exploits of these peoples with admiration, awe, and more than a touch of fear and misgiving.

The Bugis dominate the southwestern 'leg' of Sulawesi, one of Indonesia's major islands. They inhabit a lush, mountainous region of caves, waterfalls, and large, shallow lakes. Although many of the Bugis live in large port cities, the majority are located in small villages scattered along the coastline and along the rivers and major highways. They are a very proud people and view themselves as being superior to other people groups living on the island.

The word Bugis is a Malay word which derived from To Ugi which To means 'people' and Ugi refers to the first king of ancient Bugis kingdom, Cina.

The Bugis speak a distinct language called Basa Ugi. They are known by others as being very fierce, war-like, and industrious. Honor, status, and rank are of great importance to the Bugis. They are a very self-sufficient people who have a positive self image and are very confident of their own abilities. As one of the major groups in the region (more than 5 million), they have had considerable influence on their neighbors.

History

Dutch colonialism in the 17th century led to their entry into the politics of peninsular Malaysia and Sumatra.

Sea Exploration

Respected and feared as pirates, sailors, traders and adventurers, the seafarers of southern Sulawesi looked outwards, seeking their fortunes over the horizons, throughout the Indonesian archipelago and beyond. So feared were they that the word bogeyman, some say a corrupted form of bugis man, was coined to describe these fighters.

While trade was the seafarers' main goal, the Makassar, Bajau, and Bugis often set up permanent settlements, either through conquest or diplomacy, and often married and blended into local societies wherever they found themselves. Throughout eastern Indonesia, the kings and sultans of a hundred minor courts are the descendants of these sailors and traders, as are the fishing folk who live on the coastlines.

Bugis Mark At Northern Australia

Long before European colonialists extended their influence into these waters, the Makassar, the Bajau, and the Bugis built elegant, ocean-going schooners in which they plied the trade routes. Intrepid and doughty, they travelled as far east as the Aru Islands, off New Guinea, where they traded in the skins of birds of paradise and medicinal masoya bark, and to northern Australia, where they exchanged shells, birds'-nests and mother-of-pearl for knives and salt with Aboriginal tribes. The products of the forest and sea that they brought back were avidly sought after in the markets and entrepots of Asia, where the Bugis bartered for opium, silk, cotton, firearms and gunpowder.

The extraordinary history of the interaction between the Bugis and the Australian aboriginals is little known. The Bugis sailors left their mark and culture on an area of the northern Australian coast which stretches over two thousand kilometers from the Kimberley to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Throughout these parts of northern Australia, there is much evidence of a significant Bugis presence.

There are the remains of Bugis buildings on islands, Bugis words have become part of the Aboriginal languages and Bugis men and their craft feature in the indigenous art of the people of Arnhem Land.

Each year, the Bugis sailors would sail down on the northwestern monsoon in their wooden pinisi. They would stay in Australian waters for several months to trade and take trepang (or dried sea cucumber) before returning to Makassar on the dry season off shore winds. These trading voyages continued until 1907.

As Forrest wrote in Voyage from Calcutta, "The Bugis are a high-spirited people: they will not bear ill-usage...They are fond of adventures, emigration, and capable of undertaking the most dangerous enterprises."

Present Lifestyle

However, most of them now earn their living as traders, fishermen, or rice farmers. Women are expected to work in the homes by weaving silk sarongs and then selling them. (A sarong is a colorful skirt that is worn by both men and women in Indonesia.) Most of the household income is earned by the selling of these sarongs.

Most Bugis live in stilted houses, sometimes three meters (9 feet) or more off the ground, with plank walls and floors. During growing seasons some family members may reside in little huts dispersed among the fields.

Many of the marriages are still arranged by parents and usually take place between close cousins. A newlywed couple often lives with the wife's family for the first few years of their marriage. Divorce is a common occurrence among the Bugis, particularly between couples united in arranged marriages.

The Bugis' diet consists mainly of rice, fish, maize, coconut, bananas, and tea. On certain festive occasions, buffalo is served as a special dish. Visual and performing arts, such as dance and shadow puppetry, are a rich part of the Bugis culture.

Religion

The Bugis were converted to Islam in the early 1600's. Since that time they have become a strong Sunni Muslim people. They celebrate Islamic feasts and fasts, as well as praying fives times a day. Their Islamic practices, however, are heavily influenced by spiritism (belief in many unseen gods) and ancestor worship (praying to deceased ancestors).

One well-known group of Bugis practice what they call Tuanni. This involves the worship of several gods such as the "potato god," the "rice god," and the "god of the kings." They also believe that certain illnesses and misfortunes are inflicted on people by the "spirits" of fire, air, earth, and water.

External link

The history of Bugis and Makassarese

Ethnic groups in Malaysia | Ethnic groups in Indonesia

Suku Bugis | Bugis | Bugi