Bissu identity transcends the "fifth gender". In Bugis society, Bissu play a role in every rite of passage of human life, from birth to marriage to death. This is manifested in rituals. Yet, after Islamization happened in 16th century, the Bissu have been struggling to exist between two opposing streams of Islam: The Conservative Islam and the Moderate Islam. The most critical episode related to religious tension occurred during the DI/TII incident which led by Kahar Muzakkar. Following the bloody debacle, Bissu became "invisible" until 1990, when the Law No. 9 of 1990 on the Exploitation of Tourist Objects and Attractions made the local governments to maximize the potential of the cultural arts in order to increase tourism. Bissu began to become an icon of the culture and tourism of the Bugis people. However, after the collapse of the New Order, there was a proliferation of various Islamic movements in South Sulawesi. As a result, the conservatism propensity has increased significantly. It has affected the role and position of Bissu in contemporary Bugis society. Therefore, this research focuses on the contestation and construction of the identity of the Bissu community in the Bugis, South Sulawesi, after 1998. Specifically, this research identifies their role and position within the Bugis, their contestation and transformation, how they construct their identity, and the underlying grounds for Bissu existence and persistence.
My research was limited by the fact that it was done during the pandemic of COVID-19. I collected data through library research and field research for four years. For primary data, I used fieldwork, interviewing, and participant observation. For secondary data, I used library research. In the first year, through the secondary data, I was able to identify the key words of the research and to map the phenomena that occur in the Bissu community. Afterwards, I conducted field research in four regencies in South Sulawesi, where the Bissu community is located, from the middle of the second year to the fourth year, from June 2020 to February 2023, namely: Pangkajene Islands Regency, Soppeng Regency, Wajo Regency, and Bone Regency. I went to interview and observe 13 Bissu. Meanwhile, I interviewed two adat leaders, three representatives of civil society organizations, two representatives of religious leaders, three academics, and two government officials using two methods: in-person interviews and focused panel discussions. In addition, during the third and fourth year of my research, I also worked in collaboration with the community of Bissu. This collaboration made it easier for me to conduct focused panel discussions and follow-up interviews with each of the subjects of my research.
The results of this study include the following: (1) Bissu position and role exist because of their existence in the text of I La Galigo. The cosmological concept of the Bugis people shows the position and role of Bissu as the right hand of the kingdom. They are highly ranked in the social structure. In the Bugis socio-religious system, Attoriolong, the Bissu are regarded as ritual leaders and guardians of inheritance, healers (sanro), heads of the king's household (jennang), mothers of brides (indobotting), advisors to the king, and guardians of nature, as written in the Book of I La Galigo. A change in the structure of society (pangngaderreng) was brought about by the Islamization; one of these was the integration of sara (Islamic law) into the four values that guide Bugis life, namely: adat (ade'), law (rapang), distinguishing classes (wari), and ethics of speaking (bicara). The impact of the fifth value in pangngaderreng is a social stratification system. The position of bissu is replaced by kadhi or religious leaders. The position of the Bissu became equal to that of ordinary people (To Meredeka); There are three things that predetermine the identity of 'being' in Bissu. These include the calling to be Bissu, which is determined by pammana (life force) and pammase (choice/practice) centered on ascetism (zuhud), the concept of 'Dua Temmasareng, Telu Temallaiseng' centered on belief in God, respect for self and others, then the irebba initiation ritual and the ability to read mantras (memmang) and the practice of stabbing oneself in rituals (maggiri). These three are fixed. However, their practice varies among the four Bissu communities. My findings showed that Pangkep still practices irebba for the Bissu Leader, Bone as well, but excluding the order of the Bissu Leader (Puang Matoa) because there are no more Bissu left. In the meantime, Soppeng and Wajo did not perform it because the Bissu do not practice maggiri' in the rituals; (2) The contestation and transformation of the Bissu community involves several stakeholders: customary groups, religious groups, the local government, and civil society organizations. Based on the opposition of two Islamic groups in South Sulawesi, moderate Islam supports the existence of Bissu. However, conservative Islam tends to reject the existence of Bissu because it is considered incompatible with the teachings of Islam because it goes beyond the identification of man/woman. The position of traditional groups and local government rejects the existence of Bissu on the grounds that Bissu are no longer 'holy', only calabai/calalai who play Bissu (pabissu'), so that their position can be replaced by maujangka (men) or core-core (women) who do not have same-sex attraction (SSA). Meanwhile, as long as bissu fulfill the five pillars of Islam and maintain their visibility in the public sphere, religious groups do not completely prohibit their existence. Support has also come from civil society groups who want to preserve the Bissu and recognize them as part of the cultural and socio-religious system of Bugis society. Violence against the Bissu community, who have been unable to maintain their position and role in rituals, has resulted from the contest between the three parties. The subversive resistance of the Bissu community comes with the counter-narrative of the 'Bissu Makkarama' (holy Bissu) as a performativity of the indigenous queer. This categorization distinguishes Bissu from calabai and calalai. However, it asserts that both are inseparable identities in the Bissu subject position. Moreover, the series of contestations led to the initiative of civil society groups to try to implement the Law for the Promotion of
Culture. This would allow Bissu to be included in the group of indigenous ritual performers recognized in adat structures. In addition, the contestation transformed Bissu's identity in order to "distinguish" it from the categorization of the Western gender binary and the Western modern gay model. Bissu is categorized as indigenous queer, in that sense. This model offers a framework for comprehending Bissu's inherent sexuality and the orientation that the community undergoes; (3) The presence of the model in its own classification also creates new identities as a survival strategy for the Bissu community, such as: economic identity, political identity, social identity, cultural identity, and spiritual identity. In the Bissu community, the patron-client system dominates the economic identity. This creates a safe economic space for calabai and calalai to work in the beauty and wedding business under the auspices of Bissu elders, increasing the possibility of access to employment and financial independence. This allows them to become family breadwinners and to be accepted by the family and community. Meanwhile, political identity emerges as an implementation of the value of 'bissu makkarama' in an effort to counter stereotypes of non-normative gender groups in Bugis society. Furthermore, social identity is also an attempt to implement the value of 'bissu makarama' by referring to good deeds (decceng) through achievements and contributions to society to gain recognition. Similarly, in the performativity of cultural identity, Bissu knowledge represents a social stratification system in the Bissu community with a patron-client system that in turn created a safe cultural space in LSB for non-normative gendered groups to articulate and engage in cultural activities. Bissu performativity also creates a spiritual identity that reflect makkarama as piety. It has to refer to the akhlaq who practices ascetism (zuhud), as well as good deeds (decceng) to people and nature by referring to the principles of hablumminallah and habluminannas as Bugis people (tau') in order to become holy Bugis people (rupatau').
Keyword(s): Bissu, Bugis, Indigenous Queer, Identity Contestation, Construction.