I am sure that you still remember the incident of Century scandal assembly that involved Ruhut Sitompul, Jusuf Kalla, and other Buginese. It is common if Ruhut addressed Kalla as Daeng if we conscious about Kalla’s origin. But, the unexpected reactions of Buginese appeared. While the others say that it is a very emotional representative of Buginese (or some others call it as The Bugis), I have another thinking about it as a Buginese, who was born, live, and grow with Bugis culture. It is not a one-sided sight. I just want to perform the noblest Buginese’s principal that has been a custom that is held tightly by Buginese generation. We state it as siri’.
That word may immediately make some of us frowning. So, I would like to explain about it. Honor, dignity or courtesy are the meanings of that word. The applications that are performed in the Bugis’ daily lives are siri’ as personal honor and siri’ as communal honor. If we consider it as personal honor, siri’ indicates the value of human being. This personal honor naturally turns up since someone was born. Besides, it follows the social degree of a person. The higher degree a person has, the more honors that must be developed. For clearing its meaning, easily I state if someone has a higher position in social lives, as a government or panrita, or as someone who has the higher education or tau acca, the society automatically consider that person as a noble one. Exactly, he or she must keep his or her behavior by avoiding any activities that may break his or her image and decrease the society’s respect. However, he or she is a pattern of society lives. Belongs to this siri’ or honor, Buginese more often define it as the value of lives and therefore they always ready to sacrifice everything including their lives to maintain their siri’. On the other hand, Siri’ can be a strong motivation that is used to gain Buginese’ successful in many aspects of their lives, for example, in educations, economics, and politics. Besides, as siri’ in communal, it can support a community to be prosperous and to be increased. As the basic principal, siri’ always be a catalyst to advance both individual and communal Buginese.
Looking deeply into Buginese’s social life will guide us to find the specific implementations of siri’. Those implementations are realized into five principles. They are ada tongeng, lempuk, getteng, sipakatau, and mappesona ri dewata seuwwae. We may translate them into English as truthful wording, honesty, steadfastness, mutual respect, and submission to the God. First, let me define ada tongeng. It is a principle which obliges each Buginese to speak the truth. The other definition of ada tongeng is every word that is expressed should bring the goodness for life. It means each people should always avoid any word that probably cause harm for other, individual or communal. Besides, let’s pay attention to lempuk. It obliges a person to act in the right actions. He or she should avoid doing something that is not true. After ada tongeng and lempuk, there are getteng and sipakatau. Getteng is the principle of attitude in which a person always has a distinct attitude in doing something. And, sipakatau interprets that a person should address another in the best way possible. The last principle, mappesona ri dewatae states every human being has to submit himself or herself to the God. Its implication is, each Buginese must have a religion and follow their religion’s rule well.
I bring you back to Ruhut-Kalla’s incident. In this case, there is no problem when you call a Buginese as daeng, moreover, if you are younger than that Buginese person. But, it is not an immaterial calling. It has a certain place and condition. In Bugis, daeng is only used to call our very close relation in an informal situation. But, I will not tell more about daeng. I only want to bring to the surface what the basic cause of Buginese’ unexpected reactions on that incident. Simply I said that it is siri’. Unfortunately, it is driven to the false extreme way. Often, while a Buginese thinks that he is humbled by someone, he immediately assumes that his siri’ is treated. Of course, some of those Buginese actions can be lead to unlawful things to protect or restore his siri’. Let’s look at the other misunderstanding of siri’, or I prefer to state it as the shifting of siri’ meaning. Nowadays, some Buginese think that siri’ is a feeling that comes from a discreditable treatment of others. Whereas, they forget that siri’ is better to be taken to the front. So, siri’ can be said as an obstruction to do the ashamed things. But, since siri’ gets some misunderstandings in its application in Buginese life, the using of siri’ is considered as the defense of personal or communal humiliation. The result is that it often causes conflict or even death. We cannot avoid that it is the result of the offended feeling.
However, as a Buginese, I just want to show to the Buginese or whoever reading this, that The Bugis has siri’ as the important principle. It must be brought to the right way, in order to realize a good relationship as the Indonesian people, even in developing ourselves and our country.
*boleh disebarkan dengan menyertakan sumber,.
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