Reviving glorious Buginese past<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar, South Sulawesi<\/p>\n
Nurhayati Rahman is dedicated to La Galigo, driven by an
\nunquenchable curiosity she never tires of studying what is
\nbelieved to be the world's longest manuscript. It is the
\nancestral legacy of the Buginese in South Sulawesi but is little
\nknown to the present generation.<\/p>\n
La Galigo, or sureq Galigo as the Buginese community calls it,
\nis the epic tale of the lives and heroism of the people of Bugis.
\nIt was originally written in old Buginese, etched into palm
\nleaves.<\/p>\n
In several parts of South Sulawesi, the stories of sureq
\nGaligo are still told, particularly among people of Buginese
\nethnicity. But the storytellers are singers, called Pa' Galigo
\nand hand written texts of Galigo are rare.<\/p>\n
This was what prompted Nurhayati Rahman, a lecturer at the
\nSchool of Letters, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, to study the
\nancient manuscripts seriously. When she was about to finish her
\npost-graduate study at Padjadjaran University, Bandung, in 1987,
\nshe chose an episode from La Galigo as the basis for her final
\nassignment.<\/p>\n
"I got a scholarship for the study at Bandung's Padjadjaran
\nUniversity and my department was philology and the study of
\nancient manuscripts. Several literary experts at Hasanuddin
\nUniversity opposed my choice of the Galigo episode because of its
\ndegree of intricacy," said the mother of one child.<\/p>\n
The opposition only sparked in her the desire to prove she was
\ncapable of the challenge. Nurhayati started to research and
\nlocate the ancient texts of La Galigo. She searched in those
\nplaces mentioned in the narrative, such as Luwu, Wajo, Soppeng,
\nBone, Barru and Mandar.<\/p>\n
"The more I dug, the more my curiosity was provoked. My
\nadmiration of the glory and uniqueness of La Galigo only
\nincreased," added Nurhayati, born in Bone on Dec. 29, 1957.<\/p>\n
Apart from South Sulawesi, Nurhayati visited Malaysia; she
\nalso went to Holland and spent a year researching and translating
\nthe Galigo texts kept at the Leiden University library. She was
\nalso able to access National Archives documents in both Jakarta
\nand Makassar.<\/p>\n
The manuscripts housed at Leiden University belonged to
\nBenjamin Fredrik Matthes, a Dutch citizen who in 1848 found La
\nGaligo manuscripts in South Sulawesi. They were hand written by
\nCulli Pujie, the wife of the King of Tanete, now Barru regency.<\/p>\n
Comprising of 300,000 verses and written in a 2,859-page book,
\nthe works -- later transcribed in the Roman alphabet and
\ntranslated into Indonesian -- become 12 volumes. But to date only
\ntwo volumes have been published.<\/p>\n
According to Nurhayati, Matthes' sureq Galigo texts only
\nconstitute a third of the entire La Galigo composition.
\nAstonishingly, the existing manuscripts alone are twice as long
\nas the Indian epic Mahabharata, prompting international
\nresearchers to call La Galigo one of the world's longest works.<\/p>\n
To cultural scholars, literary researchers, and observers,
\nsureq Galigo is a beautiful work bearing a significant message.
\nBut to the Buginese it the sacred message of their progenitors.
\nIt is seen as a holy book with miraculous power and the
\ndocumentation of true events illustrating a moral attitude.
\nIndeed, La Galigo is so revered that it is never opened on a
\nwhim. A ceremony, in which chicken blood is offered, is required
\nto read the text.<\/p>\n
Sureq Galigo tells the story of the birth of the land of
\nBugis. It is said that the universe is composed of three worlds,
\nthe gods occupying the upper and lower worlds. One day, the gods
\nof the upper world (sky) and the lower world (sea) decided to
\nsend their children to the middle world.<\/p>\n
The son of the sky god, Batara Guru was sent on a great streak
\nof lightning. The daughter of the sea god, We Nyiliq Timoq, was
\nsent on high and majestic waves. They were united and married,
\nbecoming the first rulers of the Kingdom of Luwu, some 300
\nkilometers from Makassar. Their offspring have since inhabited
\nthe Buginese land.<\/p>\n
The origins ofLa Galigo lie in the birth of the couple's twin
\ngrandchildren, Sawerigading and We Tenriabeng. Sawerigading fell
\nin love with his twin sister but it was impossible for them to be
\nwed. Finally, Sawerigading left for China to marry his cousin, We
\nCudai, a Chinese princess resembling We Tenriabeng. Their child
\nwas named I La Galigo.<\/p>\n
La Galigo also heralds the magnitude of the navigation and
\nexpedition skills of the Buginese. The wisdom of their leaders --
\nin the instigation of noble and democratic values -- is recorded
\nso it may be manifested in daily life.<\/p>\n
Sadly, La Galigo is now narrated within limited circles. Even
\nPa' Galigo, are scarce and it is feared that the epic will one
\nday vanish. Such narrations were once rudimentary to wedding
\ncelebrations, harvest festivals and other ceremonies.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati seeks the revival of the tradition and its value to
\nthe literary world. She held discussions with literary observers
\nin South Sulawesi, in efforts to establish contemporary dialog on
\nthe epic's significance. An international seminar was also held
\non La Galigo in March last year in Barru regency. Consequently,
\nHasanuddin University set up a center for the study and
\ndocumentation of Galigo texts.<\/p>\n
Nurhayati heads the La Galigo Study Center, under the
\nuniversity's Humanities and Social Division. At present, a policy
\nis being devised to make mandatory the study of La Galigo in the
\nschool of letters. It is anticipated that it will be an extra-
\ncurricular subject in other schools of the university.<\/p>\n
The ambition of Nurhayati and her colleagues to popularize La
\nGaligo -- in Indonesia and internationally -- was so strong that
\nshe expressed her wish to make a documentary about La Galigo to
\nRhoda Grauer from Change Performing Arts and Restu Kusumaningrum
\nfrom the Bali Purnati Center for the Arts.<\/p>\n
The idea to undertake a La Galigo project ensued, in which the
\nepic would be presented through theater, music and dance in
\nvarious American, European and Asian countries, with Robert
\nWilson as director. However, after the approval of this project,
\nthe researchers of La Galigo were cut out of the picture.<\/p>\n
There was growing concern from Nurhayati and her colleagues
\nthat the performance of an interpretation of La Galigo --
\nscripted and dramatized in Bali -- would be shallow and lacking
\nin the nuances that only the Buginese can fully grasp.<\/p>\n
"We are pleased to see La Galigo performed in many countries,
\nbut we do worry about its accuracy. The true spirit of La Galigo
\nwon't show up because they do not understand the epic in its
\nentirety," explained Nurhayati.<\/p>\n
Halilintar, a researcher of La Galigo, voiced the same
\nconcerns. While regretting the failure of Change Performing Arts
\nand Bali Purnati to involve researchers in their project, he also
\nreferred to a "violation of intellectual property rights".<\/p>\n
"It's true that La Galigo has no documented authorship, it was
\nborn out of the Buginese community, but they sourced their ideas
\nand scripts from researchers at the La Galigo Study Center. Yet
\nwe are not acknowledged at all,"he lamented.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/reviving-glorious-buginese-past-1447893297",
"image": ""
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