Tolotang

Several fragment artifacts were found in the Walanae and Maros river valleys, which are estimated to date from between 40,000 and 19,000 BC. The skeletons are estimated to be more than 7200 years old. These Austronesian people later mixed with the Indigenous population and became the direct ancestors of the tribes in South Sulawesi, including the Bugis tribe.

The ancestral land of the Bugis tribe is located around Lake Tempe and Sidenreng in the Walannae depression on the southwest peninsula of Sulawesi. This is where the ancestors of the current Bugis tribe settled, possibly in the mid-to-late second millennium BC. Estimated to date between 4000 and 2000 BC, these seeds are likely related to the arrival of their Austronesian ancestors in the region / among the earlier Toalean hunter-gatherer society.

There are many respected shipbuilding centers in the region, including Ara, the land of Lemo & Bira. Writing in the lontara script probably first appeared around 1400. In the 14th century, their radical transformation from local rulers to major kingdoms coincided largely with an unprecedented population surge in the peninsula, which in turn was a related result of earlier improvements in agricultural practices.

Early texts were carved on palm leaves, followed by volumes of handwritten compositions on paper manuscripts, probably from the 1500s or even earlier. However, by the 15th century, a major economic revolution had occurred and agriculture had become an important economic base. The region probably experienced tremendous growth with the emergence of Malacca as a regional entrepot.

Thus, these two growing kingdoms were bound to come into major conflict and war finally broke out in 1562. The war ended in 1565 and a peace treaty was concluded thereafter. Both kingdoms agreed on the Tengka River as their respective spheres of influence under the Caleppa agreement.

In 1590, Daeng Mammeta began another campaign to destroy Wajo, but he was killed in a rampage that got out of hand. A truce soon followed in 1591 & peace talks, under the treaty of Caleppa, were renewed. The conflict stemmed from domestic problems in the Kingdom of Bone, ruled from 1631 - 1634 by La Madaremmeng.

In 1669, Sultan Hasanuddin abdicated. By the 17th century, designs had become increasingly ornate, with the addition of various geometric shapes, contours & sequences. Theologically, the early Bugis likely practiced ancestor worship.

This is deeply rooted in their long & rich history, combining elements of Indigenous cosmological interpretations with culture, belief, mythology, aesthetics & functionality. However, within mainstream Bugis society, it is an accepted practice to distinguish themselves regionally & culturally based on the location of their traditional Kingdoms & ancestors. Outside their ancestral homeland in the lowlands of South Sulawesi, the Bugis language, its dialects & hybrids are found throughout the network of diasporas & ethnic enclaves in Sulawesi & throughout maritime Southeast Asia.

However, currently, there is a tendency for a real language shift among the diaspora outside South Sulawesi, so the understanding & mastery of the Bugis language can vary based on personal background, exposure, interests, and contact with their ancestral language. In their ancient beliefs & understanding, rice is perceived as a symbol associated with sustenance and creation & blessings, and happiness that connects ancient customs, mythology & society. These images & descriptions include the supernatural world which includes several manifestations such as Gods, spirits & several other manifestations that contain supernatural powers.

So the existence of symptoms of belief in Gods, ancestral spirits, etc. is a belief in humans at a simple technological level. About the old beliefs of the Bugis-Makassar people, according to Aminah, it is animism & dynamism. The Bugis people are uncomfortable with the word animism which is often attached to the beliefs of the ancestors of the Bugis people.

Oddly enough, the use of the word animism is also widely present by people who are also of the Bugis-Makassar ethnic group. However, the term animism has been used to refer to all ancestral religions, whether they come from the islands of Sulawesi, Sumatra, Papua, Kalimantan, as well as Java. Animism in KBBI means belief in spirits that inhabit all objects.

It said animism is a belief in spirits & spirits are the basis of religious beliefs that first appeared among primitive humans. For Wikipedia, animism believes that every object on this earth has a soul that must be respected so that the spirit does not disturb humans, but instead helps them from evil spirits in their daily lives. According to Wikipedia, it is estimated that in the province of West Kalimantan, there are still 7.5 million Dayaks who are classified as animists & are classified as many for animists in Indonesia.

Apart from the souls & spirits that inhabit the places stated above, animism also believes that the spirits of people who have died can enter the bodies of animals. The spirits of people who have died can also enter the bodies of pigs/tigers & are believed to take revenge on people who were sworn enemies during their lifetime. If you look at the KBBI, animism means that simple, it is clear that the beliefs of their ancestors, in this case in the context of the Bugis community, cannot be replaced by the term animism.

Wikipedia does indeed interpret it longer, although it cannot fully represent the hearts of the Bugis tribe if they have to say that belief in the Gods in Bugis society is animism. Therefore, it can further confirm that animism/belief in objects cannot be directly used to name the beliefs of our ancestors. So Tolotang is not animism/dynamism as is often touted by the Bugis themselves who already believe in other religions, and are no longer members of the Tolotang community.

If one has passed away, his descendants must come to visit him once a year. Furthermore, it is continued with worship by Uwatta, marked by sprinkling perfume on the sacred ancestral stone, and then continued with the massempe activity. According to Abu Hamid, the religious traditions that generally develop in Bugis - Makassar society can be divided into 2 principles, namely old beliefs that originate from ancestral religious traditions & beliefs that originate from Islamic teachings.

Some adherents of practical syncretism consider to alusu & to tenrita as Gods / ancestral spirits, and some others consider them as genies and angels. Sayyid Jamaluddin is the grandfather of Maulana Malik Ibrahim, Sunan Giri & Gunung Jati. He came from Aceh via the Majapahit kingdom, which at that time was ruled by Raden Wijaya.

The practice of Islam that emerged such as in Cikoang, Bissu, Karampuang, Cerekang, Tanah Toa, Tolotang & Bawakaraeng did not receive appreciation. In fact, for the descendants of Latola, Puang Barakka & Peno, Latola was a wali who was very instrumental in spreading Islam in Langnga and Katteong and even Pinrang in general. One example, he replaced the Arabic-sounding rebbana with ganrang as a musical instrument when commemorating the birth of Muhammad, even replacing the name of the Prophet's birthday with kaddo minyak.

Sayyid Jamaluddin died around 1320 AD. In 1605, the Bugis tribe converted from animism to Islam. In November 1607, the first public prayer was held at the newly built Tallo mosque.

The conversion began slowly & adapted to local ammatoa practices centered in Bulukumba. For example, the 1895 regulation, no. 198, for example, required that all marriages of non-Christians & non-Hindu people be conducted according to Islam. The next period of Islamization only had a significant impact on local religion & communities, namely during the Kahar Muzakkar rebellion around 1950 - 1957.

Another problem arose in 1966 when the government did not recognize the religions embraced by the community groups mentioned earlier. At that time the government only recognized 5 religions, namely Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism & Buddhism. In its development, Islam became the majority religion in almost all areas of South Sulawesi until native religions such as Tolotang also began to be less well known even though some still maintain this ancestral religion in a community group.

The remaining customs of ancestor worship / continuing ancestor worship can still be seen in practice today. In 2012, 2 La Galigo manuscripts were included in the UNESCO World Memory Program.