Though at the present day the Bugis are included in the broad classification of the Malay people, name given by Europeans to the dominant race of the Malay Peninsula and of the Malay Archipelago, McNair, Perak (1878) best described 'the Bugis are evidently a distinct race from the Malays'. The Bugis are known in history for their navigational skills, sheer courage and loyalty.

In a map drawn by the Portuguese cartographer Emanuel Godinho de Eredia, around the beginning of the seventeenth century, the region of the Bugis is shown in the central part of Celebes. Sulawesi, once known as the Celebes (Portuguese for 'the celebrated ones'), was an important port of call in the legendary spice trade.

Though a majority of approximately 3.5 million Bugis still reside in south Sulawesi (also referred as Tanah Bugis in Malay which literally means 'Bugis Land'), in southern areas such as in Bulukumba, Luwu, Polewali in Polmas, Pasangkayu in Mamuju, and in southeast areas such as Kolaka, Wudulako, Rumbia and Poleang, and the city of Ujung Padang, there are other Bugis settlements along the coast of Indonesia such as in Kalimantan, Flores, Malaku, Irian Jaya and Riau Islands, and the coast of Malaysia such as the provinces of Tawau, Semporna, Kunak and Lahad Datu of East Sabah, Melaka, Johor, Singapore, Kedah, Perak and Selangor.

Kuya in the Bisaya Script & Bugis Script

the Bugis & the Filipino alibata scripts

Makasar, Bugis, and Mandar all employ a native script called 'lontara' (from Malay lontar 'the palmyra palm', because leaves of this palm were used as writing material). It is still in use in Indonesia for everyday communication purposes such as letter writing.

The dot over a consonant is an "i" and the dot below a consonant is an "u" and that consonants have a default sound as in ra ha na , etc. The Bugis origin of the Philippine scripts best accounts for the fact that the Philippine scripts cannot represent the final consonants of syllables, since Bugis has the same limitation. In Bugis, however, this limitation is not as noticeable, since fewer words in the language have these final consonants. Thus, the Bugis script shows that the Filipino alibata scripts to this day have a living relative in Indonesia among the Bugis seafaring folk.

Pontian - in relation to my hometown Singapore

news : Johor organizes Bugis language classes

Even the district of Pontian, in which there were still many users of the language, the older generation could no longer read the script despite being able to converse in the language. Only two old Bugis men are known to read the script, out of which one can teach - Tuan Haji Ambok Masek Abdul Latif, a former headmaster in his 70s.

In efforts to ensure the Bugis script could survive the perils of the 21st century, Bugis language classes will be taught in the town with the help of Ambok Masek. Those interested in learning the language and the script were welcome to join the class, whether they were Bugis descendants or the otherwise. The half-hour courses on weekends would run over three months.

Those interested could contact Mr Lokman at 019-7434-164 or at OGI' Marketing, SH 64, Jalan Besar, 81500 Pekan Nenas, Pontian, Johor.

spice islands of the seventeenth century

the Bugis & navigation

Fair -skinned and well-built, the Bugis were fabled as seafarers and traders. These Austronesian-speaking people have guided their vessels over open sea and along the often treacherous coastlines of Southeast Asia and Northern Australia for at least four and one-half centuries in their traditional triangular masted Lambere as far as the Kimberleys and Arnhem Land to fish for Chinese delicacies. They left behind drawings of their ships on stone and many loan words with the Australian aboriginal tribes of the Gulf of Carpentaria.

There are records of the Bugis collecting trepang (a sea-slug often known as beche-de-mer) in the Gulf of Carpentaria long before the discovery of Australia by the Europeans. The dried trepang was taken to islands north of Australia, sold to Chinese merchants, and then carried by Chinese vessels to Canton where it was used as a delicacy in soups. The home base for the fleet of praus used in collecting the trepang, was the south-western limb of Celebes in or near the port of Makasar, which had been an important commercial centre from very early times. In their sailing vessels which used great pandanus-fibre sails, Celebes sailors were blown down across the Banda Sea and through the Indonesian islands on the northwest monsoonal wind and brought back again with the southeast trade winds. As well as acquiring trepang, Celebes traders exchanged goods with Australian Aborigines. As late as the start of the Second World War the trade in trepang for Canton flourished in northern Australia.

Alexander Dalrymple the noted eighteenth-century English geographer and hydrographer visited Makasar in 1761, and noted in his "Memoirs of Celebes" that the Bugis traded at places as far afield as the Malayan peninsula to the west, and Australia and New Guinea to the east.

on wings up high

To determine direction, the Bugis were known to be apt in interpreting cloud and weather patterns, distance between waves, presence of certain species of birds and fish, and force of current ie presence of kala-kala 'turbulence'.

To determine the tides and depth of waters, the Bugis were known to be apt in calculating the positions of the moon which vary by the season.

As for determining wind direction, the Bugis were known to be apt in predicting the direction of the winds from the color and intensity of rainbows, the smell of a coral reef, the call of the buring bird, the configuration of the clouds. A conch is sometimes used to 'call the winds' in times of calm, and there are taboos against carrying breadfruit aboard ship, or playing music in the bow of the ship for fear of conjuring up a head wind.

But of course, now I travel by plane ; )

sha_stallion @ Kota Tinggi waterfall

the Bugis & the legend of Kota Tinggi waterfall

I'm still trying to make sense of the relationship between Sultan Mahmud Shah II's 7-generation curse over the descendants of the Sumatran Laksamana Megat Sri Rama and my Bugis tribe. Of one thing I am sure for now, I have finally been to Kota Tinggi for the first time in my life on 13 Mar 2004, and I have returned home safe and sound : )

It was an eye-opening experience for me, triggered by Malaysia's latest hit movie 'Puteri Gunung Ledang, to learn that the legendary warrior Hang Tuah, famed for his unrivalled loyalty, was originally known as Daeng Mempawah from the Tanah Bugis, famed for Silat Seni Gayong, of Makassar, brought to Melaka by Seri Bija Pikrama as a gift from Raja Goa to Sultan Mansur Syah. Perhaps it is the Bugis trademark for loyalty was that which led Hang Tuah to the equally infamous duel of honor leading to the death of his best friend Hang Jebat.