Tomanurung is a figure believed to have appeared in Batu Lapa’e a very long time ago. His emergence and disappearance was mysterious. The people of Karampuang believe that Tomanurung is their ancestor.

1. Prologue

In his book Manusia dan Kebudayaan Indonesia, 1981, Koentjaraningrat depicts South Sulawesi as a province with rich culture, being inhabited by four big ethnic groups, namely the Bugis, Makassar, Mandar, and Toraja. Each of them has a unique and interesting culture.

Of the four, Buginese-Makassarese culture is the most influential in South Sulawesi. This primarily owes to the powerfulness of Gowa and Bone Kingdoms at the time. The two kingdoms invaded many areas. One concrete proof of the Buginese-Makassarese cultural influence is the existence of Karampuang traditional community in Sinjai Regency (Rahman Rahim, 1985).

Karampuang is the name of a village as well as the traditional community. As many as a hundred families live in the traditional village peacefully and open-mindedly towards outsiders. These people have formed a distinctive community and been exclusively holding the customary laws as taught by their predecessors. Nevertheless, in daily life, Karampuang people mingle with the other living nearby (Darman Manda, 2007).

The word Karampuang originates from a story of Tomanurung, a mysterious figure believed by the people to be their ancestor. There are two versions of stories that both are believed by the Karampuang. One story tells that the word Karampuang roots in the myth of Tomanurung who first came along in Mount Karampuang. The other story maintains that the word Karampuang is a phrase comprised of two Buginese-Makassarese noble titles namely Karaeng and Puang. The stories are written on palm leaves kept in the Karampuang village hitherto (Muhannis, 2009).

As a traditional community that strictly adheres to customary laws, Karampuang people organize their governmental-social system as that of a kingdom. The community has a king (parnatoa), prime minister (panggela), and psychic (sanro). Besides these posts, there are others regulated according to tradition, for instance, a spiritual guru whose duty is to lead traditional rituals (Darman Manda, 2007).

Based on another argument, the traditional governmental system of Karampuang recognizes four pillars, namely Arung, Ade, Sanro and Guru. The Arung, Ade, and Guru must be men, while the Sanro must be a woman. They represent the four elements of life, i.e. fire, earth, wind, and water (Darman Manda, 2007; Muhannis, 2009).

The majority of Karampuang people embrace Islam. Their customs and traditions in large part are influenced by Islamic teachings. This is apparent in the prevailing social and religious behaviors, for example, every Thursday night, they will usually hold collective Quran reading in the house of adat where the Panggela live. For Karampuang people. Friday is a sacred, highly-valued, and honored day. Another example is their custom when about to plant rice, i.e. after they harvest their corns and irrigate the fields. The night before the planting begins they will assemble in the adat house to say prayers so that their plants will be safe from unwellness and yield a good amount of crops (Darman Manda, 2007).

Besides reading the Quran, in certain times, Karampuang people will also hold Barjanji reading, which contains praises addressed to Prophet Muhammad. It will be led by a Guru and usually attended by almost all dignitaries and members of Karampuang community. Given that their behavior is in line with Islamic teachings, the traditional community of Karampuang is analogous to the majority of Buginese and Makassarese who are deeply influenced by Gowa Kingdom’s way of life (Cristian Pelras, 2006; Hamid Abdullah, 1985).

2. The Concept of Ancestor

Karampuang people’s knowledge about their ancestors is closely related to their understanding of the genesis of the universe. Based on the story they believe, at the beginning, the planet in which human live was all ocean. From below the ocean, came up mounds whose shapes resembled coconut shells’, becoming mountains such as Mount Latimojong, Mount Bawakaraeng, and Mount Karampuang, which Karampuang people traditionally call Batu Lappa’e (Darman Manda, 2007; Muhannis, 2009).

As the story goes, it was in Batu Lappa’e that Karampuang people first saw a shadow of a man, who came along and disappeared mysteriously. At the beginning, the people were frightened. They called the mysterious figure Tomanurung. In later-dated accounts, Tomanurung was entitled Manurung Karampulu’e, meaning “He whose appearance makes people’s hairs stand on end.” The people then believed that Tomanurung was their ancestor. And based on the story, the word Karampulu’e became the name of the place, i.e. Karampuang.

By the people of Karampuang, Tomanurung was made king. But then after his first act as a ruler, i.e. opening a new land, Tomanurung disappeared. Before vanishing, he rounded up his people and said to them:

I want to live, not die. I want goodness, not badness.

Not long after Tomanurung left, suddenly a bright light emerged upon the swamp around Mount Karampuang. From the light, out came seven Tomanurung with different faces. One of them was female. The people made the only woman Queen of Karampuang.

Meanwhile, upon the command of the queen, the other six spread to different places to become new Tomanurungs and set up new kingdoms, such as Ellung Mangenre, Bohong Langi, Bontona Barua, Carimba, Lante Amuru, and Tassese.

A moment before they dispersed, the queen said to them:

Down you go to the low lands, but your greatness should be able to shield Karampuang. Achieve your greatness but that greatness should protect your ancestors. Lest, I will take it off.

The queen also advised his brothers to appoint 12 Panggela or Gela to rule their territories on daily basis. So there were 12 Gela, namely Gella Bulu, Biccu, Salohe, Tanete, Marowanging, Anakarung, Munte, Siung, Sullewatang Bulo, Sullewatang Salohe, Satengga, and Pangepana Satengga.

As the six tomanurungs went away and founded new kingdoms, the queen disappeared (mallajang) on a flat stone (Batu Leppa’e) on the peak of Mount Karampuang. The traditional community of Karampuang calls the stone Batu Emba’e which means the place of movement or disappearance.

Before going away, the Queen left a kris, lands for plantation and rice field cultivation, and other royal artifacts. The heirloom kris and artifacts are still well kept in the Karampuang house of adat up to now. The land cultivation (huju pitahu) is controlled by the king, while the plantation or dry lands (lari tana) by the prime minister.

3. Social Implications

The knowledge of Karampuang people about their ancestry seems to affect some aspects of their social life, such as:

• Strong adherence to traditions. Albeit a tale, the story becomes the foundation of Karampuang people’s belief in their traditions. They consider Tomanurung as their wise ancestor because he left good teachings of life. Until today, the people of Karampuang have managed to preserve their traditions, either the behaviors or the artifacts.
• Traditional leadership and governmental system. The knowledge about their ancestry to some extent forms the leadership and governmental system they uphold. The leadership stands on four pillars, Arung, Ade, Sanro and, Guru, like the system of Tomanurung’s administration. Same thing happens in the governmental system, in which there are a king and a prime minister.
• Solidarity. The belief builds up their solidarity as a traditional community. This is apparent in every traditional ceremony, when they will gather up in the adat house and say prayers led by the head of adat. In such a ceremony, they will usually mention the story of their ancestor, Tomanurung.
• Names of Traditional Areas. As mentioned previously, the name of Karampuang originates from the story about their ancestor, who is entitled Manurung Karampulu’e. Over the course of time, the word Karampulu’e became the name of the village, altered to be Karampuang. This strengthens their belief in the truthfulness of the story. That being said, their memory has been structured neatly. When the word Karampuang is mentioned, what pops up in the people’s mind will be the imagery figure of their ancestor.

4. Epilogue

Considering the incredible expansion of modern culture, Karampuang people’s belief about their ancestor that prevails up to now is nothing but extraordinary. It does deserve appreciation, because traditional customs and traditions are important to filter out the negative effects of modernization. The existence of this belief, furthermore and yet again, proves the diversity of Indonesia.

Yusuf Efendi (bdy/39/12-10)

Translation by Reza Daffi

Source of Photo(s): http://abubakarabdurrahman.blogspot.com

References

Darman manda, 2007. Komunitas Adat Karampuang. Makassar: Badan Penerbit UNM.

Muhannis, 2009. Karampuang dan Bunga Rampai Sinjai. Yogyakarta: Ombak Poloma.

Rahman Rahim, 1985. Nilai-nilai Utama Kebudayaan Bugis. Makassar: Badan Penerbit Universitas Hasanuddin.

Cristian Pelras, 2006. Manusia Bugis. (Translated from English to Indonesian by Abdul Rahman Abu, et al). Jakarta: Forum Jakarta-Paris École français dÉxtrême-Orient.

Hamid Abdullah, 1985. Manusia Bugis Makassar. Jakarta: Inti Idayu Press.

Koentharaningrat, 1981. Manusia dan Kebudayaan Indonesia. Jakarta: Djambatan.

---

Insert your comment here :