TheBugis people are the most numerous of the three majorethnic groups ofSouth Sulawesi,Indonesia,[1][2] with about 3 million people. Most Bugis areMuslim, but many pre-Islamic rites continue to be honoured in their culture, including the view thatgender exists on a spectrum.[3] Most Bugis converted fromAnimism toIslam in the early 17th century;[4] small numbers of Bugis have converted toChristianity, but the influence of Islam is still very prominent in their society.[5]
In contrast to thegender binary, Bugis society recognizes fivegenders:makkunrai,oroané,bissu,calabai, andcalalai.[6] The concept of five genders has been a key part of their culture for at least six centuries, according to anthropologist Sharyn Graham Davies, citing similar traditions inThailand,Malaysia,India, andBangladesh.[7]
Oroané are loosely comparable tocisgender men,makkunrai tocisgender women,calalai totransgender men, andcalabai totransgender women,[6] whilebissu are loosely comparable toandrogynous orintersex people and are reveredshamans or communitypriests.[7] The classification of thecalabai,calalai, andbissu as third genders is disputed. These roles can also be seen as fundamental occupational and spiritual callings, which are not as directly involved in designations such as male and female.[8][9]
In daily social life, thebissu, thecalabai, and thecalalai may enter the dwelling places and the villages of both men and women.[5]
Thebissu are one of the five genders of the Bugis. There are divergent theories regarding their definitive origins.[10]
For one to be consideredbissu, all aspects of gender must be combined to form a whole. It is believed that you are born with the propensity to become abissu, revealed in a baby whose genitalia are ambiguous. These ambiguous genitalia need not be visible; an ostensibly male child who becomes abissu is believed to be female on the inside. This combination of sexes enables a 'meta-gender' identity to emerge. However, ambiguous genitalia alone do not confer the state of being abissu.[11] The person must also learn the language, songs and incantations, and have a gift for bestowing blessings in order to becomebissu. To be considered a "true"bissu, an individual needs to undergo initiation rituals and mentorship from anotherbissu, but this practice is waning due to the decreasing number of people taking the role.[12] They are expected to remaincelibate and wear conservative clothes.[7] In practice, manybissu do partake in sexual activities (especially withoroané) but this is not widely acknowledged and public recognition is seen as delegitimizing to thebissu's spiritual power.[13]
In pre-Islamic Bugis culture,bissu were seen as intermediaries between the people and the gods, according to Indonesian anthropologist professor Halilintar Lathief. Thebissu are closely associated with the female yet androgynous moon goddess, as her spiritual offspring.[12] Up until the 1940s, thebissu were still central to keeping ancient palace rites alive, includingcoronations of kings and queens.[7] Historically,bissu have played an important role in other ceremonies as well, particularly in weddings and childbirth events.
Within thebissu category, there are also several subcategories with differing roles, as described in poems such asLa Galigo. One consists of those directly descended from the gods and tightly connected to the courts and nobles. The second consists of landowningbissu who are absent from spiritual roles. The last category consists ofbissu whose main roles are in facilitating religious rites.[12]
The state ofbissu tolerance duringDutch colonial rule was mixed, with the colonial government allowing some indigenous social structures to stay in place to maintain agricultural productivity and because they viewed indigenous traditions as a bulwark against Islam.[14][15] Still, the Dutch contributed to an environment that was hostile to "immoral" sexual practices and identities, especially as a way to differentiate themselves from indigenous people.[16]
After independence in 1949, the ancient Bugis kingdoms were incorporated into the new republic and the roles ofbissu became increasingly sidelined due to their connection with Bugis royalty. Althoughbissu traditions were able to exist side-by-side with Islamic ideals for much of pre-independence history, aregional Islamic rebellion in South Sulawesi led to increased persecution (part of the Darul Islam rebellion known asOperasi Tobat). As the atmosphere became increasingly hostile to gender and sexual minorities, fewer people were willing to take on the role ofbissu.[7] With the rise ofSuharto'sNew Order administration, thebissu were further marginalized as deviant and un-Islamic elements of Indonesian society.[13] Thebissu were also targeted during the New Order era because of their purported association with theCommunist Party of Indonesia.[8][17] This persecution included the banning ofbissu practices, the destruction of spiritually significant objects, the forced assimilation ofbissu to male roles, and the execution of manybissu individuals.
In the post-Suharto era, there have been attempts at revitalizing traditionalbissu practices, with many elements ofbissu custom merging with those of Islamic tradition.Bissu can be found providingHajj blessings to pilgrims and even partaking in the pilgrimage themselves.[13] However, this revitalization has also causedbissu customs to be viewed as an attraction for tourists, which reduces their tradition to entertainment purposes and disregards the spiritual background on which the practices are based.Bissu also experience greater societal acceptance and respect when they are seen to be actively fulfilling their spiritual roles, but stricter male/female roles are often expected of them instead when they are not.[13] Although thebissu are spiritually (and culturally) distinct fromnon-binary andintersex people in general, this distinction is becoming increasingly blurred. Manybissu are now engaging in occupations which are associated more closely withwaria roles, such as in bridal makeup.[8] Even in Bugis society, the role of thebissu have recently been conflated with those of thecalalai andcalabai. Due to the decline inbissu, some rituals have begun to substitutecalalai andcalabai in their place.[12]
Bugis society has a cultural belief that all five genders must coexist harmoniously;[5] but by 2019 the numbers ofbissu had declined dramatically, after years of increasing persecution and the tradition of reveringbissu as traditional community priests.Bissu have mostly survived by participating in weddings asmaids of honour and working as farmers as well as performing their cultural roles as priests. HardlineIslamic groups, police and politicians have all played their part in Indonesia's increased harassment and discrimination of sexual and gender minorities.
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According to the Bugis gender system,calabai are generallyassigned male at birth but take on the role of heterosexual women. Their fashions and gender expression are distinctly feminine but do not directly match those of "typical" heterosexual women. Especially in the modern era,calabai fashion has also been influenced by styles outside of traditional Bugis culture, such as from Islamic and Christian sources.[18] Customarycalabai roles include wedding planning and hairdressing.
If there is to be a wedding in Bugis society, more often than notcalabai will be involved in the organization. When a wedding date has been agreed upon, the family will approach acalabai and negotiate a wedding plan. Thecalabai will be responsible for many things: setting up and decorating the tent, arranging the bridal chairs, bridal gown, costumes for the groom and the entire wedding party (numbering up to twenty-five), makeup for all those involved, and all the food. Rarely did I attend a village wedding with less than a thousand guests. On the day, somecalabai remain in the kitchen preparing food while others form part of the reception, showing guests to their seats.
— Sharyn Graham
Calabai embrace their femininity and live as women, but generally do not think of themselves as female, nor wish to be female or feel trapped in a male's body. Large-scalefeminization surgeries are not often performed because although manycalabai desire more feminine features, male genitalia is not inherently contradictory to theircalabai identity.[18] However, the high cost and low accessibility of such surgeries cannot be overlooked as a major barrier either.[18] Much of Indonesian society emphasizes the importance of thenuclear family (in Indonesian,azas kekeluargaan) andheteronormativity, andcalabai often conform to this basis by taking on the roles of wives in a nuclear family. To this end, somecalabai will undergo unofficial marriages (known askahwin di bawah tangan, or marriage below the hand).[18]
Thecalabai identity is seen as unavoidable, permanent, and given by God. Although this view has aided in the general tolerance ofcalabai in many parts of modern Bugis society, in some cases it also promotes the exclusion ofcalabai due to implications of pity and lack of individual agency.[18][19] Additionally, they lack much of the spiritual significance associated with thebissu, and there is a corresponding drop in the amount of respect afforded to thecalabai in comparison.[19]
Thecalalai areassigned female at birth but take on the roles of heterosexual men. They present themselves as men, hold masculine jobs and typically live with female partners to adopt children.[20] Although they typically dress masculinely, manycalalai include distinct indicators of a uniquecalalai identity in their style and do not dress entirely likeoroané, such as by wearing an earring only in the right ear (compared to the left ear fororoané and both ears formakkunrai).[18] Thecalalai are often expected to exhibit a mixture of feminine and masculine virtues, such as devotion and bravery, respectively.[18] Similarly,calalai can perform both masculine and feminine behaviors, and there is a certain degree of fluidity in this expression depending on the occasion.[19]
There is a considerably small number ofcalalai even compared to thebissu and thecalabai because many are disincentivized from identifying ascalalai. There is generally a higher level of discrimination towards people assigned female at birth who forego becoming mothers and wives, and they are often stereotyped as lazy. Much of their work is also out of public view, such as in agriculture, compared tocalabai who are often seen working as cooks, hairdressers and wedding planners, and these contrasts may contribute to this stereotype.[18]
