ABSTRACT This article aims to explain the different perceptions of the colonisers and the colonised regarding the history and memory of a Makassar legend, I Tolok Daeng Magassing. The Dutch colonial records paint I Tolok as a criminal leader and a societal nuisance, contrasting sharply with the people’s view of him as a hero, defender, and protector. This portrayal demonstrates that the I Tolok narrative is an integral part of a process involving colonial perspectives and the memories of the Makassar people. The narrative today is not without contradiction. The community’s memory of I Tolok is transmitted through oral literature (sinrilik), a traditional form of storytelling, which has also evolved into drama form and short films disseminated via digital content. These forms of media serve as modern vehicles for the preservation and dissemination of the I Tolok narrative. Previously, the I Tolok narrative was part of the people’s oral tradition confined to the interior of Makassar. It is now articulated in various visual media and accessible to the larger community. All of these are the memory politics of the Makassar people in countering the colonial narrative that places I Tolok as a criminal.
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