Royal Bugis Warriors Across Malaysia and Nusuntara

The culture of migration also prompted the Bugis-Makasar people in South Sulawesi to
preserve pencak silat self-defence. The people belonging to this ethnic group are
renowned for their penchant for sailing all over Indonesia and setting up their own
community in other islands. As an integral part of people's life, pencak silat self-defence
is taken along and developed wherever they may be. Even in high sea, the crew train in
pencak silat self-defence. No wonder, that in South Sulawesi, styles of pencak silat selfdefence abound and everywhere masters can be found who give individual lessons in
secret moves to their students. Meanwhile, modern styles of pencak silat olahraga can
only be found in large cities, where schools of Javanese origin set up branches.
Techniques of self-defence combined with inner powers are taught to male children from
an early age, as a tool to defend themselves in the future. Their performance,
distinguished by the use of badik (dagger), also has an artistic dimension. On the nights
of the full moon, Bugis-Makasar people like to gather on the beach and practice pencak
silat move following the music. Still, the main purpose of pencak silat remains to resolve
problems that might dishonour the name of an individual, family or ethnic group. To
defend their honour, Bugis-Makasar practitioners are ready to confront the enemy,
oftentimes to the death. In daily life the cultural heritage of pencak silat once more
appears difficult to apply. Far from being perfect creatures, humans are not always able to
control themselves, and stay out of trouble.
Since long before European explorers arrived in the Indonesian Archipelago in search of
the riches of spice, the Bugis people had gained the position as masters of the seas. From
the small village of Bira, on the island of Celebes, today known as Sulawesi, the hardy
Bugis sailors constructed and controlled fleets of sailing ships to support the spice and
cargo trade that thrived in these islands thousands of years before the Europeans ever
arrived.With the support and friendship of the Macassar traders in the Port of Ujung
Pandang, the Bugis sailors carried spice and cargo to and from the 13,000 islands of the
archipelago, to the major trading centers where their cargo was unloaded and traded to
Chinese and Arab merchants, who then started their treks to the markets of Europe and
the ancient Chinese dynasties.
The Bugis Schooners, crafted of the strong timbers of the islands, were capable of coping
with the heavy seas of the region. Under the guidance of their masters, they earned a well
deserved reputation of fine seaworthiness and controlled the major trade routes of most
Asian waters. With the arrival the Dutch, Portuguese and English in the Spice Islands, an
alliance with the Bugis and Macassar people was a key strategic objective to assist in the
colonization of Indonesia. The ultimate abuse of these alliances by the Dutch, was to
label the Bugis people as Pirates. The basis of this label was the fierce rejection of
colonization by the Bugis Sultans.

Today, these proud Bugis people still build the same massive sailing schooners and carry
a great part of Indonesia's cargo to the same colorful ports across the archipelago. The
Traditional Fleet is made up of these fine vessels and our working crews are drawn from
the finest of these sailors. Our itineraries and ports of call are the same routes sailed by
our hosts for thousands of years.
The southwest arm of Sulawesi embraced three related peoples active as seafarers, the
Makasarese in the southwest, the Mandarese in the northwest, and Bugis, the most
numerous, occupying most of the remainder of the peninsula. These people shared a
similar written script and a highly pluralistic political system in which local authorities
were anchored in supernaturally endowed regalia (arajang) and descent from a variety of
mythical ancestors, each separately descended from heaven (tomanurung). In the period
1600-1669 the city of Makasar and its Goa-Tallo ruling dynasties dominated the region
politically and economically. Resentful Bugis of the Bone kingdom therefore allied with
the VOC to destroy Makasar in 1669. This event had at least two consequences. First,
Bone became the most important kingdom in southwest Sulawesi until the 19th century.
Second, it led to the Bugis Diaspora, particularly of the men of commercial-minded
Wajo, which had been allied with Makasarese Goa rather than Bugis Bone in the war. The
Bugis became noted both as effective warriors and enterprising traders throughout the
Archipelago.
Two Bugis warriors achieved fame during the troubled years of Mataram, the principal
Javanese kingdom of the 17th century. First, Aru Palakka, the King of Bone and an ally
of the Dutch during its war with Makasar in the 1660s, assisted the Dutch in their
involvement in Javanese politics and the affairs of Sultan Amangkurat I. Second, Karaeng
(King) Galesong, one of the warriors of Makasar and an enemy of Aru Palakka, assisted
the rival of Amangkurat I, Prince Trunajaya from Madura. In 1675 Karaeng Galesong
built his headquarters in Pasuruan (Eastern Java). Until his death around 1679, Galesong
and his men roamed the north coast of Java assisting the Madurese warriors of Trunajaya.
On many occasions they fought against Palakka and the Ambonese warriors of the VOC
led by Kapitan Jonker.
IN THE STRAITS OF MALACA
Another group of Bugis migrated to the Riau Archipelago (Straits of Malacca),
headquarters of the Sultan of Johor since the mid 17th century. In 1679 a Bugis warrior,
Daeng Mangika, and his men offered their assistance to the fugitive king, Ibrahim. From
that time on the Bugis became involved in the politics of the kingdoms of the Malay
peninsula. Daeng Parani, another warrior, succeeded in making himself viceroy
(Yangdipertuan Muda) of Sultan Abdul Jalil of Johor at Riau in 1722.

Up until the end of the 18th century Bugis warriors were always appointed as viceroys of
Johor. Daeng Parani was followed by his younger brother Daeng Marewah. Another
relative, Daeng Chelah, whose son Raja Luma was appointed Sultan of Selangor,
succeeded his uncle at Riau, followed by Daeng Kamboja. The last Bugis viceroy in
Johor was a nephew of Daeng Kamboja, Raja Haji. From their headquarters in Riau the
Bugis expanded their influence to a number of kingdoms on the peninsula. From time to
time they controlled the tin kingdoms of Perak and Kedah. In the kingdom of Selangor
they were unchallenged and eventually became kings themselves, starting with Raja
Luma. Their economic base in the peninsula was the export of tin. The political pattern
began to change in the mid 18th century when Sultan Sulaeman of Johor allied himself
with the Dutch at Malacca. By promising concessions on the tin mines to the Dutch,
Sulaeman used them to balance the power of the Bugis.
Daeng Kamboja was then forced to move from Riau to Linggi. The Bugis risked all in an
attack on Dutch Malacca in 1756, but were badly defeated. Two years later three Bugis
leaders, Daeng Kamboja from Linggi, Raja Tua from Klang and Raja Abdul from
Rembau, tried to make their peace with the Dutch and Sultan Sulaeman. Raja Haji, the
successor of Daeng Kamboja, tried every means to uphold Bugis power in the Straits,
even killing Sulaeman. In 1784 a large fleet was sent from the Netherlands under Admiral
van Braam, defeating and killing Raja Haji of Malacca. From then on the political
influence of the Bugis on the peninsula declined, though their position in Selangor
continued. Many nobles of the kingdom today trace their ancestry back to the Bugis
warriors
IN EASTERN WATERS
Since the emergence of Makasar as an emporium, traders from south Sulawesi became
the middle-men in the spice trade from Maluku. Even though Makasar was conquered by
the Dutch in 1669, their boats (padewakang), were always able to evade the blockade of
the Dutch fleets protecting the mono-poly on spices from Maluku. Apart from trading in
spices, the Makasar-Bugis traders also developed into the main inter-island traders in the
eastern waters of Southeast Asia. In time two different trade patterns emerged among the
Bugis. The first was the `formal trade', using legal passes issued by Dutch authorities.
The settlements of these traders in the cities of Maluku, like Ambon, Ternate, and Tidore
were known as Kampung Makasar, although a small number of Javanese and Malays also
lived there. In Ambon, besides trading, their leaders were used by the government as
intermediaries when dealing with Muslim villages in central Maluku.
The second pattern was the `informal trade', avoiding the formal trade routes controlled
by the Dutch. Those who traded in this way, regarded as `smugglers' by the Dutch, must
have been more numerous than those who sailed with government passes. Most of them
settled in the coastal area of north Seram which was still unoccupied by the Dutch. Those

who settled in the villages on the islands east of Seram (Seram Laut and Gorong islands)
had a longer history in the area as they had been visiting there since the early 17th
century without the Dutch being able to stop them.
The Bugis trade network in the islands of Maluku was an extension of their settlements in
various places in the Nusa Tenggara islands such as Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba,
and Timor. The `informal trade' of the Bugis was important in two ways. First, many
traders tended to marry locally and became in fact trade agents for their compatriots who
visited the area once a year. Sea products were their principal interest, especially trepang
(sea cucumbers) which were much in demand by the Chinese. The second importance of
the Bugis presence in the eastern waters was their influence on local culture. The fact that
they circulated such `foreign' goods as iron, weapons, textiles, and rice was important to
the development of the material culture of the area. Further, the influence of their house
styles was strong in some settlements in north Seram. And most importantly, they brought
Islam to the marginal islands of Maluku. Although Makasar was controlled by the Dutch
from 1669, Bugis traders kept operating from the port city. A group of Bugis from
Mandar, for instance, operated as far as Cambodia. Amanna Gappa, their Matoa (chief) in
Makasar, rewrote the maritime laws of Malacca in the form of an elaborate Bugis
maritime code.
Another trading activity organized from Makasar was the `trepang' trade to the northern
coast of Australia. Studies made by historians and linguists point to the fact that many
loan words in the local Aborigine languages of the Northern Territory are of Bugis or
Malay origin. In particular words denoting kinship, maritime activities, trade
commodities, art, ornaments, parts of the body, and flora and fauna are positively
identified as being Bugis or Malay.
Fiercesome in their chain-mail armour, bristling with muskets and Blunderbusses, the
Bugis have been known throughout Southeast Asia as a Warlike race. In the first half of
the 18th century, with an uneasy Peace between the Dutch and Johor, and the power and
influence of Acheh Dwindling, the most dynamic political influence in the Malay states
Centred around five Bugis brothers - Daeng Perani, Daeng Menambun, DaengMerewah,
Daeng Chelak and Daeng Kemasi - who left their native state in The Southern Sulawesi
and had come to the Malay states to seek adventure And fame.
In 1699, Sultan Mahmud II of Johor was killed by one of his chiefs inRevenge for the
murder of the chief's wife. The death of the Sultan,known as "Marhum Mangkat dijulang" ('slain-as-he-was-carried-on-his-litter'), marked the end in Johor of The royal
dynasty which was the directly descendant of the Melaka royal line and which had ruled
for over 170 years. Sultan Mahmud did not leave an heir, and the Bendahara, Tun Abdul
Jalil, became Sultan of Johor with the title Sultan Abdul Jalil IV.
In 1712, a pretender prince from Minangkabau, Raja Kechil, claimed to be the

posthumous son of the murdered Sultan Mahmud. Raja Kechil met Daeng Perani and
Daeng Chelak, at the island of Benkalis and asked for their help to overthrow Sultan
Abdul Jalil IV, promising Daeng Perani the title of Yam Tuan Muda or Crown Prince of
Johor if he were installed as Sultan.
Selangor then had a large population of Bugis settlers and the two princes went to Langat
to collect their forces for the impending coup. However, in 1717, while the Bugis princes
were still in Selangor, Raja Kechil was able, on his own, to overthrow Sultan Abdul Jalil
IV. Raja Kechil adopted the title of Sultan Abdul Jalil Rahmat Shah and moved his capital
to Riau. The deposed Sultan Abdul Jalil IV had to flee to Pahang where in 1718 he was
murdered by an emissary of Raja Kechil.
The Bugis felt they had been cheated of an opportunity with Raja Kechil's success and
prolonged open warfare broke out between them. The five Bugis princes lent aid to Raja
Sulaiman - the son of the murdered Johor Sultan - and they attacked Raja Kechil at Riau.
Finally, in 1722, the Bugis finally expelled Raja Kechil from Riau and the Minangkabau
prince fled to Siak in Sumatra, from where he continued his war against the Bugis.
With Riau captured, the Bugis installed Raja Sulaiman as ruler of the Sultanate of RiauJohor, with the title Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah, while Daeng Merewah was
declared Yam Tuan Muda. From that time onwards, the centre of Bugis power shifted
from Selangor to Riau. Raja Sulaiman was Sultan only in name, with the Bugis princes as
the real rulers of the kingdom. There were also attempts to strengthen ties between the
Bugis living in Riau and those living in Selangor. Daeng Perani, for instance went to
Selangor and married the daughter of the Bugis prince who claimed the title of "Yam
Tuan of Selangor".
The Bugis princes then tried to expand their power to Kedah and Perak. Daeng Perani,
with a strong force of Bugis warriors from Riau and Selangor, invaded Kedah and took
an active part in the power struggle between the then ruling Sultan of Kedah and the
Sultan's younger brother who was plotting to overthrow him. Daeng Perani sided with the
ruling Sultan, while the Sultan's younger brother invited Raja Kechil and his
Minangkabau followers to oust the Bugis from Kedah. The war lasted two years and
devastated Kedah. Daeng Perani was killed in the campaign, but the Bugis succeeded in
driving Raja Kechil and his forces out of Kedah back to Siak.
The Bugis next turned their attention to Perak. In 1728, Daeng Merewah, invaded Perak,
but the attack was unsuccessful. His successor, Daeng Chelak, the second Yam Tuan
Muda of Riau, eventually led an expedition to Perak in 1743 and managed to capture it.
Daeng Chelak died two years later and was succeeded as Yam Tuan Muda by Daeng
Kemboja, the son of Daeng Perani. Daeng Chelak left behind him several sons, the most

famous in Malay history being Raja Lumu and Raja Haji. It was Raja Lumu who became
the first Sultan of Selangor under the title Sultan Salehuddin Shah, whose descendants
rule Selangor up to the present day. Raja Haji, on the other hand, was to become famous
as the warrior prince who was to become the scourge of the Dutch in Melaka.
During Daeng Kemboja's rule as Yam Tuan Muda, relations between the Bugis and the
Johor Malays under Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah became strained. The Dutch
were quick to seize the opportunity of this breach between the two groups and openly
sided with Sultan Sulaiman of Riau. The Sultan even signed a treaty with the Dutch,
handing over control of Siak to the VOC in return for their help against his enemies. The
Bugis regarded this as a threat to their control and waged war on the Dutch. Daeng
Kamboja, made Linggi his base and, in October 1756 besieged Melaka. In February
1757, help arrived from Batavia and the Bugis were forced to drop the siege. In that year,
the Dutch built a fort on the Linggi River and named it Philippe (today's Kota Linggi),
after the daughter of the Dutch Governor of Batavia, Jacob Mussel
In 1759, Raja Haji successfully brought together the Johor Malays and the Bugis in a
united front against the Dutch. However, Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Shah died the
next year and Daeng Kemboja reversed the policy of hostility to the Dutch. He
maintained very friendly relations with the Dutch in Melaka and made a substantial profit
in tin, opium and other commodities.
The warrior prince Raja Haji - who was given the title To' Klana - was kept busy
elsewhere. He helped the Raja of Indragiri in Sumatra to fight the Minangkabaus, assisted
the Sultan of Selangor in his fight with Kedah, and also helped the Raja of Pontianak in
Borneo to quell his enemies. It was while Raja Haji was busy fighting in Borneo in 1777
thatDaeng Kemboja died in Riau. Raja Haji immediately left for Riau stopping, however,
at Pahang. There, he successfully asked the Bendahara of Pahang, Tun Abdul Majid, a
prominent member of theRiau-Johor royal house, to install him as Yam Tuan Muda of
Riau-Johor.
For a time, Raja Haji continued Daeng Kemboja's policy of an uneasy friendship with the
Dutch at Melaka. However, hostilities again broke out between the Dutch and the Bugis
in 1782, and it led to numerous Bugis attacks on Dutch shipping in the Straits of Melaka.
Two years later, a strong force of 13 Dutch warships and 1500 troops besieged and
attacked Riau. Raja Haji took personal command of its defence - paddling from ship to
ship directing fire and naval manoeuvres. Whenever any of his sailors ducked at the
sound passing Dutch cannon balls, he would strike them on the head with a rotan for
displaying such cowardice. The Dutch fleet finally retreated when its commander's
flagship was struck and blown out of the water.

Not wasting any time, Raja Haji launched an immediate counter-attack on Melaka. He
landed at Teluk Ketapang, five miles south of Melaka,mustering a force of over 1000
Johor Malays, Minangkabaus and Bugis warriors, including forces led by Sultan Ibrahim
of Selangor. The siege lasted four months and was only broken in June when strong
Dutch reinforcements consisting of six ships, 326 guns and 2130 men arrived from
Batavia. Landing his troops under cover of darkness on June 18th,1784, the Dutch
surprised the Malay stockades at daybreak after laying a withering barrage of cannon fire
from their ships. The Malays were completely surrounded and overwhelmed, Raja Haji
seen standing over the stockades amid a hail of Dutch bullets and cannon balls, with a
dagger in one hand and an Islamic tract in the other, as his followers embraced his knees
waiting for death to come. At the end of battle, Raja Haji's body was recovered by the
Dutch and buried on the slopes of St Paul's Hill - some stories say it was the site of pigsty. When the English took control of Melaka decades later, his followers were allowed to
bury his body in Bukit Kursi, Pulau Penyangat, in Riau, where he lies today -a martyr in
the cause of Malay freedom.
The Dutch invaded Riau just three months after their victory and scattered the wounded
Bugis fleet. Johor's Sultan Mahmud was forced to sign a treaty which practically
acknowledged Johor, Selangor, Perak, Trengganu and Pahang as Dutch territories by right
of war, with the Sultan being 'advised' by a Dutch Resident and under the watchful gaze
of a Dutch fort at Tanjung Pinang in Riau. The treaty not only devastated Bugis power
but, in effect, ended the independence of the once mighty Johor Empire.
Religious Beliefs. Almost all Bugis adhere to Islam, but there is great variety in the types
of Islam practiced. Most Bugis identify themselves as Sunni Muslims, but their practice,
influenced by Sufi tenets, is a syncretic blend that also includes offerings to spirits of
ancestors and deceased powerful personages. However, reformist Islamic organizations,
especially Muhammadiyah, have gained many adherents in some areas and have
established their own educational institutions. The I La Galigo literature preserved in
ancient manuscripts (lontara') describes a cosmology involving an upper-world and an
underworld, each of seven layers, and a host of heavenly beings from whom nobles trace
descent, but knowledge of details of this literature is not widespread among commoners.
The To Lotang, a group of non-Muslim Bugis in Sidrap regency, continue to adhere to an
indigenous belief system based on the lontara' and similar to that of the Toraja to the
north, but has had to affiliate with the national Hindu movement to retain legitimacy as a
religion. The extent to which Hindu-Buddhist notions have influenced Bugis religious
and sociopolitical notions is currently a matter of debate.
The I La Galigo literature presents a pantheon of deities (dewata) from whom nobles
trace descent, but contemporary Bugis argue that this literature basically recognizes a
single great God (Dewata Seuwa ) in accord with the monotheism of Islam. Despite this,
some of the other deities (e.g., the rice goddess) are still given offerings, even by
Muslims. Village Bugis also recognize a panoply of local spirits associated with the

house, the newborn, and sacred sites; they are variously termed "the ethereal ones" (to
alusu'), "the not-to-be-seen" (to tenrita), "evil spirits" (stang), etc. In fact, every object is
thought to have its own animating spirit (sumange'), whose welfare must be catered to in
order to insure good fortune and avert catastrophe.
Religious Practitioners. In addition to Islamic judges (kali), imams serve as local leaders
of the Muslim community; they conduct Friday worship services, deliver sermons, and
preside at marriages, funerals, and local ceremonies sanctioned by Islam. Small numbers
of transvestite priests (bissu), traditionally the guardians of royal regalia, still, though
rarely, perform rituals involving chants in a special register of Bugis directed to
traditional deities recognized in the lontara'. Curing and consecration ceremonies are
conducted by sanro, practitioners with arcane knowledge and expertise in presenting
offerings and prayers to local spirits.
Ceremonies. Besides the celebration of calendric Islamic holidays (Lebaran, Maulid,
etc.), Bugis of syncretic orientation perform many domestic consecration ceremonies
(assalamakeng) involving offerings to local spirits, guardians of the house, supernatural
siblings of the newly born, and other such spirits. Some districts and regencies also
sponsor festivals marking planting and harvesting, although some of these have become
more civic spectacles than religious celebrations. Especially among nobles, weddings are
major occasions for the display of status and often involve presentations of local culture,
including processions. The bissu rituals, however, increasingly are restricted and
performed without large audiences.
Arts. Regional dances (e.g., padendang) are still performed at some ceremonies for the
harvest and other occasions, as well as at government-sponsored festivals, but some (e.g.,
bissu dances) are now rarely performed. Young men enjoy practicing Indonesian martial
arts (pencak silat) and the traditional sport of maintaining a woven rattan ball (raga) in
the air with one's feet and other body parts, excluding the hands. Traditional Bugis houses
still abound, and are used as the basis of modern architectural designs, but figurative art
is meager in keeping with Islam. Bugis music is also heavily influenced by Middle
Eastern models. Music performed on flute (suling) and lute (kacapi) similar to that in
West Java is common. Epic songs of traditional and contemporary martial heroes are still
composed and performed, even on radio. Amulets, especially of Middle Eastern origin,
are in demand, while Bugis badik, daggers with characteristically curved handles, are
prized heirlooms. Gold ornaments and gold-threaded songket cloths are paraded at
weddings. Royal regalia are now on display in some local museums.
Medicine. While Western medicine has made inroads with the government-established
rural medical health centers (puskesmas), many illnesses are seen as specifically Bugis
and curable only by indigenous practitioners (sanro) who use such techniques as
extraction of foreign objects, massage, use of bespelled or holy water, and blowing on the

patient after the utterance of prayers. Illness may be due to one's spirit leaving the body
when subjected to sudden shock, and certain therapies are directed to its recovery.
Invulnerability magic is much prized, with the shadow playing an important protective
role. Certain illnesses and misfortunes are inflicted by specific spirits associated with
each of the four major elements - fire, air, earth, and water.
Death and Afterlife. Islamic notions of heaven and hell are now most influential, although
among syncretic Bugis local spirits are still identified as the spirits of deceased rulers and
other formerly powerful individuals. Funerals follow Islamic rites, and are not occasions
for major redistributions, as among the neighboring Toraja. Memorial gatherings for
prayer and a shared meal may be performed at such intervals as forty days after a death.
The home of the Bugis is Macassar, Celebes, They played an important part in the
political development of the Malay Peninsula in the 18th century. They were great
warriors and this enabled them to extend their political influence to Kedah and Perak and
established a Bugis Sultanate in Selangor.

Soon after the founding of Singapore Bugis traders came to the settlement. By 1820 the
"Pallari", the distinct Bugis vessels, were e familiar sight in the Kallang River. About 500
Bugis with their chief Arong Bilawa in 1822 fled from Macassar to Singapore to settle
down here. Raffles in his master plan for the settlement allotted to the Bugis the land
between Kampong Glam and Rochore River.

During the Japanese Occupation a number of Bugis were resettled in pontian, Johore and
others moved out to Beach Road and Arab Street.

Today the Bugis have been assimilated into the Malay community