Sara (The Buton Sultanate Government Institution), Sarana Kadie, Cultural Capital, and Tax Income in the Sultanate of Buton

Abstract

This study describes the history of the Sultanate of Buton as a sovereign country that has cultural capital, namely, its sovereignty as a country. This sovereignty gives the Sultanate of Buton the authority to collect taxes for ships that stop by and pass through the port of Buton, which is in the transit area for ships coming from the west to the east and for those sailing from the east to the west. The research’s goal is to describe how the Sultanate of Buton uses its cultural capital for economic gain. Data were obtained from the historical archives; primary data were obtained from relevant literature. This research is ethnographic research with an anthropological perspective and is presented in a qualitative descriptive manner. The conclusion and novelty of this research concern the fact that, with the existence of cultural capital in the form of an attribute of authority, the Sultanate of Buton issued a tax income rule to ships that stopped at the port of Buton Harbor so that it would become a source of financial income and gain recognition for its government. Thus, we can conclude that the Buton government uses its cultural capital for economic gain.