Synopsys of 'La Galigo' to be performed next year

Synopsys of 'La Galigo' to be performed next year

In the cosmology of the Buginese, there are three worlds: the
upper world, the lower world and the middle world. Deities dwell
in the upper and lower worlds while human beings live in the
middle. One day, the deities agreed to send their children to
occupy the middle world.

As the story goes, Batara Guru, the son of Patotoge, the ruler
of the upper world, descended from the sky in a bamboo stem along
with thunderclaps and the rainbow. Meanwhile, We Nyiliq Timo, the
daughter of Guri ri Selleng, the ruler of the lower world,
emerged, riding the waves of the sea. The two got married and
become the first rulers of Luwuq, the center of the middle world.
The deities from the upper and lower worlds also sent to the
middle world their men and their servants as well as their
children.

The story really begins with the birth of the twin
grandchildren of Batara Guru and We Nyiliq Timoq - Sawerigading
and We Tenriabeng. Raised separately, Sawerigading grows up to be
a brave nobleman, while We Tenriabeng is a wise and contemplative
girl.

It had previously been predicted that the twins would embark
on an incestuous love affair. As predicted, Sawerigading falls in
love with We Tenriabeng, who tries to warn him away from the
forbidden relationship.

To prevent Sawerigading from realizing the incestuous
relationship, We Tenriabeng suggests that he commences a journey
to find his cousin, We Cudaiq, a princess of a Chinese kingdom.
This girl looks like We Tenriabeng. So, Sawerigading sails to
China and vows he will never return to Luwuq.

I La Galigo, a son, was born from the marriage between
Sawerigading and We Cudaiq. However, La Galigo does not act like
a person of nobility. He is stubborn and enjoys gambling, sailing
and womanizing. Also, he is remarkably fond of cock fighting. One
day, he sails to Luwuq and learns that the noble descendants of
the deities will come together in a family reunion. He breaks
this news to his father.

As he misses his family, Sawerigading breaks his own vow. He
sails to Luwuq. Meanwhile, the deities announce that the middle
world must be cleansed. All descendants of the deities must
return to the upper and lower worlds. So, Sawerigading and We
Cudaiq return to the lower world, while We Tenriabeng and her
husband to the upper world to become rulers.

Now that the descendants of the deities have left the middle
world, this world becomes chaotic. Finally, seven years later,
the deities decide to send to the middle world the daughter of
Sawerigading, who was born in the lower world, and the son of We
Tenriabeng, who was born in the upper world. They become the
rulers of the middle world and enforce laws to return the world
to order. Meanwhile, the gate that links the middle, lower and
upper worlds is closed forever. Sawerigading's daughter and We
Tenriabeng's son begin their life as the rulers of the middle
world and no longer have a direct link with the deities.

--Andi Hajramurni