The Makassar or Makassarese people are an ethnic group that inhabits the southern part of the South Peninsula, Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) in Indonesia. They live around Makassar, the capital city of the province of South Sulawesi, as well as the Konjo highlands, the coastal areas, and the Selayar and Spermonde islands. They speak Makassarese, which is closely related to Buginese, and also a Malay creole called Makassar Malay.
Makassar people have a history of migration and exploration beyond their homeland in South Sulawesi. Makassar sailors were skilled navigators and traders who ventured out into the vast waters of the Indonesian archipelago and beyond. One notable area of Makassar migration was to the northern coast of Australia, particularly what is now known as the Northern Territory. They established trade relationships with the Aboriginal communities, primarily for the purpose of harvesting and processing sea cucumber. Makassar sailors also engaged in trade and exploration throughout Southeast Asia. They established trade networks, especially in the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, and Borneo. The Makassan influence can still be seen in the cultural practices and traditions of some of these regions.
History
Flag of the Sultanate of Gowa
The Makassar are an ethnic group originally from the southern coast of the island of Sulawesi. Their exploratory spirits have led to successful overseas explorations. This is exemplified by the Kingdom of Gowa (14-17th century), which succeeded in forming a vast Islamic empire with a large and strong naval force. Its territory included almost the entire island of Sulawesi, eastern Kalimantan, East Nusa Tenggara, part of West Nusa Tenggara, part of Maluku and some small surrounding islands. The Makassar people made treaties with Bali and cooperated with Malacca and Banten, as well as some other kingdoms within the archipelago. Similar treaties were sometimes struck with foreign powers, especially with the Portuguese. However, until its fall, Gowa was also engaged in ongoing wars with the Netherlands.[3]
The Makassar are known to have explored large sections of the world's oceans, reaching as far as South Africa. In South Africa there is an area called “Macassar”. It is suspected that the local population is of mixed indigenous and Makassar descent. Meanwhile, the name Maccassar is likely to have originated from the name for their ancestors' homeland. There are several places named Maccassar in South Africa and neighbouring Mozambique.[4]
Makassar trepangers from the southwest corner of Sulawesi (formerly Celebes) visited the coast of northern Australia in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to collect and process trepang (also known as sea cucumber), a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary and medicinal values in Chinese markets. The term Makassan (or Macassan) is generally used to apply to all the trepangers who came to Australia, although some were from other islands in the Indonesian Archipelago, including Timor, Rote and Aru.
A female figure outlined in beeswax over painting of a white Macassan prau
Fishing fleets began to visit the northern coasts of Australia from Makassar in southern Sulawesi, Indonesia from about 1720, but possibly earlier. While Campbell Macknight's classic study of the Makassan trepang industry accepts the start of the industry as about 1720, with the earliest recorded trepang voyage made in 1751,[5] Regina Ganter of Griffith University notes a Sulawesi historian who suggests a commencement date for the industry of about 1640.[6] Ganter also notes that for some anthropologists, the extensive impact of the trepang industry on the Yolngu people suggests a longer period of contact. Arnhem Land rock art, recorded by archaeologists in 2008, appears to provide further evidence of Makassan contact in the mid-1600s.[7] Contact has even been proposed from as early as the 1500s.[8]
At the height of the trepang industry, Makassans ranged thousands of kilometres along Australia's northern coasts, arriving with the north-west monsoon each December. Makassan perahu or praus could carry a crew of thirty members, and Macknight estimated the total number of trepangers arriving each year as about one thousand.[9] The Makassan crews established themselves at various semi-permanent locations on the coast, to boil and dry the trepang before the return voyage home, four months later, to sell their cargo to Chinese merchants.[10]Marege' was the Makassan name for Arnhem land, (meaning literally "Wild Country") from the Cobourg Peninsula to Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Kayu Jawa was the name for the fishing grounds in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, from Napier Broome Bay to Cape Leveque. Other important fishing areas included West Papua, Sumbawa, Timor and Selayar. Matthew Flinders in his circumnavigation of Australia in 1803, met a Makassan trepang fleet near present day Nhulunbuy. He communicated at length with a Makassan captain, Pobasso, through his cook, who was also a Malay, and learned of the extent of the trade from this encounter. Ganter writes that there were at most "1,000 Macassans" compared to the almost "7,000 British nestled into Sydney Cove and Newcastle."[11]Nicholas Baudin also encountered 26 large perahu off the northern coast of Western Australia in the same year.[12] Ganter states that the British settlements of Fort Dundas and Fort Wellington were established as a result of Phillip Parker King's contact with Makassan trepangers in 1821.[11]
Using Daeng Rangka, the last Makassan trepanger to visit Australia, lived well into the 20th century and the history of his voyages are therefore well documented. He first made the voyage to northern Australia as a young man. He suffered dismasting and several shipwrecks, generally positive but occasionally conflicting relationships with Indigenous Australians, and was the first trepanger to pay the South Australian government trepanging licence in 1883, an impost that made the trade less viable.[13] The trade continued to dwindle toward the end of the 19th century, due to the imposition of customs duties and licence fees and probably compounded by over fishing.[citation needed] Using Daeng Rangka commanded the last Makassar perahu, which left Arnhem Land in 1907.
Lifestyle
The main source of income of the Makassar is rice farming; however, they are also famous throughout Indonesia for their skill in trading and as fishermen. This includes the harvesting of sea cucumbers, a practice known as trepanging.[14]
Labor division is strict because of the rigid separation of the sexes, as in all traditional Muslim communities. Men are engaged in matters outside the house such as farming, fishing, etc. Women are usually responsible for the household duties, while the man is the head of the family. While they are in public, respect should be shown to him by the wife and children. Usually the final decisions concerning the family are made by the husband. In rural areas, arranged marriage is still widely practiced.
Polygamy is accepted by the Makassar people, but, since a separate house must be provided for each wife, it is only practiced among the wealthy people.
Siri (respect and honor) is the social code by which the Makassar live. Anyone seriously offending another person's siri carries the risk of being killed, in which case authorities often refuse to intervene. The Makassar often help their neighbors in matters such as working in the rice fields and building houses.[15]
The Makassarese language, also referred to as Basa Mangkasara (ISO code: mak), is the language spoken by the Makassar people. This language is classified as part of Makassaric branch of the South Sulawesi subgroup which in turn is part of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family.[16]
Commonly known as "Logat Makassar" (Makassar Dialect; ISO code: mfp) is a creole of Malay. This language is used as the language of commerce in the port of Makassar, South Sulawesi. The number of speakers is reached 1.889 million inhabitants in 2000 and an estimated number of speakers of these languages continue to grow until it reaches ± 3.5 million inhabitants. The language is mostly used by Immigrants from outside the city of Makassar, Makassar City Population, Youth Makassar, or people who are not proficient in Makassarese. This language is spoken along the South Peninsula region of Sulawesi.[17]
Religion
A Makassar mosque in the colonial period, 1930s
Around 16th century South Sulawesi was a center for trade of the region with Malay Muslim traders as well as Portuguese traders frequently visited the area. Native rulers were generally uncommitted to either Muslim or Christian religions and allowed both to maintain presence. Around 1537 Padre Manuel d’la Costa visited Gowa court, along with Portuguese representatives from Ternate. From Portuguese records some Gowan aristocracy decided to convert to Christianity.
According to Antonio de Payva, Portuguese trader and missionary from Malaccas, that had some success converting some Bugis kings from Ajatappareng, when a Portuguese missionary tried to convert 14th Gowa king, I Mangngarangi Daeng Manrabbia, he was reluctant to change his ancestral faith and will invite Malay priests to compare both religions first. Around 1593, He decided to embrace Islam and adopt the title of Sultan Aluddin. He then set Islam as the official religion of Gowa. Payva noted that Malay traders and priests are generally more accepted and trusted compared to Portuguese. Gowa had maintained relationship with traders from Java, Sumatra, Pattani, Pahang, Champa, and Johor ever since 9th Gowa king, Tum’parisi Kallona. According to the text Lontarak Patturiolonga, under the rule of 11th Gowa king, Tunipalangga, these traders were allowed to practice Islam and had special privileges. These communities requested Sultan Muda Alauddin Riayat Shah of Aceh to provide ulama for South Sulawesi, as he is known for sending ulama outside of Aceh.[18]
Three Minangkabau ulama, Dato Ri Bandang, Dato Ri Tiro, and Dato Ri Patimang were sent to spread Islam in South Sulawesi. They visited Riau and Johor to learn about South Sulawesi culture from Bugis-Makassar sailors there. Facilitated by Sultan of Johor, they learned from Wali Songo of Java before eventually arriving in Somba Opu harbour in early 17th century.[19] There are similarities of Islam with native practice of Dewata Sewwae in Luwu Kingdom, which was considered the spiritual center in South Sulawesi. Hence, when the rulers of Luwu converted first, they pushed for conversion in Gowa-Tallo, since they had the power and authority for pushing conversion in South Sulawesi which Luwu lacked. Conversion began slowly and peacefully and adapted with native Ammatoa practitioners centered in Bulukumba.[18]
By 1611, most of the Makasar and Bugis kingdoms had converted.[20] Presently, the Makassar are almost all Muslim, but some traditional pre-Islamic beliefs are still influential, especially in the remote areas.
Culture Siri 'Na Pacce is one cultural philosophy of Bugis-Makassar society.
Traditional attire
Baju bodo (lit. 'short blouse' in Makassarese) is a traditional upper garment of Makassarese women. The baju bodo has a rectangular shape, and is usually short-sleeved, i.e. half above the elbow. According to Makassar custom, the color of the baju bodo indicates the age or the dignity of the wearer. It is often used for ceremonies such as wedding ceremonies. But now, baju bodo is revitalized through other events such as dance competitions or guest welcome receptions.[21]
Makassar cuisine uses a blend of agrarian and maritime ingredients. On west coast cities such as Makassar, Maros, and Pangkep, there are coastal areas directly adjacent to rice fields. Agricultural areas are quite extensive in the Maros and Pangkep regions. Rice and other crops such as bananas are abundant. Most dishes—mainly traditional kues and desserts—are predominantly made from rice and bananas.
Coastal areas of South Sulawesi are important producers of fish, with ponds on the west coast filled with bolu (milkfish), sunu (grouper), shrimps, and crabs. The tradition of fishing in coastal and high seas areas is also well-developed. Among others, tunas are most commonly caught.
People who live in coastal cities high in maritime resources predominantly eat fish.
Differences between the Buginese and Makassar people
There is a common misperception that the Makassar people are identical and ethnically cognate to the Buginese people, and that the term Buginese and Makassar are terms that are coined by the Dutch colonials to create a division among them. All potentials were lost once the Sultanate of Makassar fell to the Dutch colonial, since these people were notoriously rebellious against the Dutch colonials.[23] Wherever these people encounter the Dutch colonials, conflicts are bound to happen. Several notable figures centered in Gowa Regency that refused to surrender like Karaeng Galesong, migrated to Central Java. Along with his powerful naval fleet, they would engage in war against any Dutch vassals that they would encounter. Hence, the Dutch colonials at that time under Cornelis Speelman calls him the Si-Bajak-Laut, meaning "the pirate".[24]
Buginese or Bugis is a language spoken by about 4 million people mainly in the southern part of Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Makassarese, sometimes called Makasar, Makassar, or Macassar, is a language of the Makassarese people, spoken in South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. It is a member of the South Sulawesi group of the Austronesian language family, and thus closely related to, among others, Buginese.
South Sulawesi is a province in the southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest city is Makassar. The province is bordered by Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi to the north, the Gulf of Bone and Southeast Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and Flores Sea to the south.
Macassar, Makassar or Makasar may refer to:
Makassar, formerly Ujung Pandang, is the capital of the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi. It is the largest city in the region of Eastern Indonesia and the country's fifth-largest urban center after Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung. The city is located on the southwest coast of the island of Sulawesi, facing the Makassar Strait.
The Bugis people, also known as Buginese, are an Austronesian ethnic group—the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, in the south-western province of Sulawesi, third-largest island of Indonesia. The Bugis in 1605 converted to Islam from Animism. Although the majority of Bugis are Muslim, a small minority adhere to Christianity as well as a pre-Islamic indigenous belief called Tolotang.
Bone was a sultanate in the south-west peninsula of what is now Sulawesi, a province of modern-day Indonesia. It came under Dutch rule in 1905, and was succeeded by the Bone Regency.
The Bajo, Bajonese, Bajonesian, or Wajo, Wajonese are the indigenous Indonesian ethnic group native to the Bajo Island of Lesser Sunda Islands in Indonesia. These ethnic group can be found all across the Flores Sea to the northeastern Bali Sea, and some have established permanent settlements in the southern of Sulawesi where they are locally known as the Wajo Bugis due to their close historical relation with the Bugis ethnic group.
Makassar people from the region of Sulawesi in Indonesia began visiting the coast of Northern Australia sometime around the middle of the 18th century, first in the Kimberley region, and some decades later in Arnhem Land. They were men who collected and processed trepang, a marine invertebrate prized for its culinary value generally and for its supposed medicinal properties in Chinese markets. The term Makassan is generally used to apply to all the trepangers who came to Australia.
Trepanging is the act of collection or harvesting of sea cucumbers, known in Indonesian as trepang, Malay těripang, and used as food. The collector, or fisher, of trepang is a trepanger.
The Lontara script, also known as the Bugis script, Bugis-Makassar script, or Urupu Sulapa’ Eppa’ "four-cornered letters", is one of Indonesia's traditional scripts developed in the South Sulawesi and West Sulawesi region. The script is primarily used to write the Buginese language, followed by Makassarese and Mandar. Closely related variants of Lontara are also used to write several languages outside of Sulawesi such as Bima, Ende, and Sumbawa. The script was actively used by several South Sulawesi societies for day-to-day and literary texts from at least mid-15th Century CE until the mid-20th Century CE, before its function was gradually supplanted by the Latin alphabet. Today the script is taught in South Sulawesi Province as part of the local curriculum, but with very limited usage in everyday life.
Sultan Hasanuddin (Sultan Hasanuddin Tumenanga Ri Balla Pangkana; was the 16th Ruler of The Sultanate of Gowa as Sombaya Ri Gowa XVI from 1653 to 1669. He was proclaimed as Indonesian National Hero on 6 November 1973. The Dutch called Sultan Hasanuddin "the Rooster of the East" as he was described as aggressive in battle.
The Sultanate of Bima, officially known as The Settlements and Lands of Mbojo, alternatively the Kingdom of Bima was a Muslim state in the eastern part of Sumbawa in Indonesia, at the site of the present-day regency of Bima. It was a regionally important polity which formed the eastern limit of Islam in this part of Indonesia and developed an elite culture inspired by Makassarese and Malay models. Bima was subjected to indirect colonial rule from 1669 to 1949 and ceased to be a sultanate in 1958.
Using Daeng Rangka, also known as Husein Daeng Rangka was the last Makassan trepanger, an Indonesian sea cucumber harvester, to visit Australia. He was born in Labbakang, in the south Celebes, and owned one of the first trepanging licences issued by the South Australian Government. His published accounts and memoirs - for his lived well into the 20th century - have formed the basis for great study in the history of Australia–Indonesia relations.
The Sultanate of Gowa was one of the great kingdoms in the history of Indonesia and the most successful kingdom in the South Sulawesi region. People of this kingdom come from the Makassar tribe who lived in the south end and the west coast of southern Sulawesi.
Fort Somba Opu was a fortified commercial center of the Gowa Sultanate. Its ruins are located in Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The fort was the center of the Gowa Sultanate in the 16th-century until its destruction by the Dutch East India Company in 1669. The conquest of Somba Opu citadel was one of the most difficult campaigns the Company had ever undertaken in the East.
The Makassar kingdom of Gowa emerged around 1300 CE as one of many agrarian chiefdoms in the Indonesian peninsula of South Sulawesi. From the sixteenth century onward, Gowa and its coastal ally Talloq became the first powers to dominate most of the peninsula, following wide-ranging administrative and military reforms, including the creation of the first bureaucracy in South Sulawesi. The early history of the kingdom has been analyzed as an example of state formation.
Padewakangs were traditional boats used by the Bugis, Mandar, and Makassar people of South Sulawesi. Padewakangs were used for long-distance voyages serving the south Sulawesi kingdoms.
The Makasar script, also known as Ukiri' Jangang-jangang or Old Makasar script, is a historical Indonesian writing system that was used in South Sulawesi to write the Makassarese language between the 17th and 19th centuries until it was supplanted by the Lontara Bugis script.
The bodo blouse, locally known as baju bodo, is a sheer and transparent short-sleeved loose blouse, a traditional attire for women of the Bugis and Makassar peoples of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A bodo blouse is traditionally combined with a matching woven sarong that covered the waist below the body.
↑ MacKnight,C.C. (1976).The Voyage to Marege': Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press. ISBN0-522-84088-4
↑ Ganter,R.(2008) Journal of Australian Studies, Volume 32,4, 2008: "Muslim Australians: the deep histories of contact." "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2013-01-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Retrieved on 6 April 2012
↑ Hidalgo Tan, N.(2010) SEAArch. South East Asian Archaeology blog: Retrieved on 6 April 2012
↑ Stephenson, P.(2010)Islam Dreaming: Indigenous Muslims in Australia. P.22-6. University of New South Wales Press,Sydney. ISBN978-1-74223-247-8
1 2 Ganter, R. (2005) "Turn the Map upside down" in Griffith Review Edition 9, 2005. "Up North: Myths, Threats and Enchantment." Griffith University.
↑ Russell, D. Australian Aboriginal Studies 2004, Number 1. "Aboriginal-Makassan interactions in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in northern Australia and contemporary sea rights claims." P.6-7. Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Retrieved on 6 April 2012
↑ Macknight, C. C., 'Using Daeng Rangka (1845–1927)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Retrieved on 6 April 2012
↑ MacKnight, CC (1976). The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia. Melbourne University Press. ISBN0-522-84088-4.
↑ Tabain, Marija and Jukes, Anthony (2016). "Makasar". Illustrations of the IPA. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 46 (1): 111–99. doi:10.1017/S002510031500033X{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link), with supplementary sound recordings.
↑ Wurm, Stephen A.; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Darrell T., Tryon, eds. (1996). Atlas of languages of intercultural communication in the Pacific, Asia and the Americas. p.682.
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