Bugis - Sociopolitical Organization

Social Organization. Consciousness of rank differences pervades all activities. All traditional domains recognized a basic division into nobles, commoners, and slaves, but the composition and perquisites of intermediate ranks varied across domains. As descendants of heavenly beings, nobles are believed to possess white blood, increasingly diluted by intermarriage with lower ranks. However, an ethos of enterprise complements this hierarchy, allowing social mobility based on economic, military, and political achievement. Although recognition of nobility continues, slavery has been abolished, though descendants of slaves are still readily identified. Hierarchical relations are seen as supportive and caring, while relationships among putative peers are competitive and oppositional.

Political Organization. Traditional realms were governed by the nobility, who constituted a unitary intermarrying class that transcended the domain boundaries. Leader-follower groups, entourages around noble cores, provided the basis of political allegiance. Although patron-client relations of this sort persist, penetration of the national government has produced changes at the local level. The province is divided into twenty-three regencies ( kabupaten ), in twelve of which Bugis are the predominant ethnic group, while two others are transitional between Bugis and Makassarese occupation. These regencies roughly correspond to former realms with government-appointed leaders often chosen from local noble families. However, the government is increasingly appointing former military personnel, often from outside the area, as heads of regencies, as well as at the lower district ( kecamatan ) and municipal village (desa) levels. Many of these appointees claim noble status, as part of the general trend to "title inflation." Each desa has a headman, as do the hamlets of which a desa is composed. Increasingly, headmen are being converted to employees of the national government ( pegawai negeri ). Both within the government hierarchy and in informal contexts, dispensing patronage to lower-status followers remains a crucial element of local politics.

Social Control. A value system emphasizing deference to leaders of higher rank provides one basis of social control, although such leaders traditionally had to validate their leadership by military exploits and the distribution of largesse to followers. A sharp sense of personal honor/shame ( siri' ) continues to motivate much social behavior, especially in such contexts as the elopement ( silariang ) of a daughter or sister, where family status must be defended by pursuit and punishment of the couple. Islamic functionaries or respected nobles act as mediators in such cases. Even the provincial government seeks the validation of local experts in customary law ( pallontara' ), who sanction development programs at large public meetings.

Conflict. In the past, considerable conflict was generated by succession disputes, in which nobles led their entourages against fellow claimants backed by other neighboring realms. Migrant Bugis were active as mercenaries throughout the colonial period, and often determined the balance of power in such areas as the Riau Archipelago and the Kutei Sultanate of East Kalimantan. South Sulawesi's 1950-1965 secessionist uprising against the Republic of Indonesia was carried out under the aegis of Islam, but its leader also attacked the privileges of indigenous nobility. The increasing role of the military in local governance since that time has precluded large-scale conflict. Nevertheless, the provincial capital has witnessed riots against local Chinese.