Shared responsibility; Some aspects of gender and authority in Makassar society

Abstract

A long time ago, a bamboo cane came floating down the Jeneberang river from Mount Bawakaraeng. A beautiful woman emerged from the bamboo. She went ashore near our village and sat down on a big red stone. There some people from the village found her and asked her to follow them to their houses. There was no ruler in the village at that time, and continuous quarreling and disputing pre vailed among the inhabitants. They called the woman Bombong Koasa and asked her to become their ruler, since she was a divine being. Bombong Koasa married a man from our village, and they had children. Ever since, all our rulers have been descendants of Bombong Koasa. She ruled for many years, but one day she died, and her body went back to the sacred mountain from which she had come. Her spirit, however, has remained on earth, living in an object she had left in the vil lage before ascending again to Mount Bawakaraeng. This object is our kalompoang.