A CHAIN OF KINGS - Books and Journals

III The Gowa chronicle 51
Not all chronicle manuscripts even contain these initial ten words. CM 146 begins with the framing
announcement ‘This is the story of the ancestors of the people of Gowa’ (anne patturioloanga
rituGoaya). SBPK 75 begins ‘This lontaraq tells of the land of Gowa and those who ruled in Gowa
as far as can be heard’ (iaminne lontaraq akkana-kanai buttaya ri Gowa siagang antu magaukang ri
Gowa sanggena nirapika nilangereq). VT 51 has no preamble, title, or description of any sort.
2 Before ‘as I name’ CM 146, AL 150, and VT 51 add ‘as I recount’ (anngarengi). This doubling
is not inappropriate, for it enhances the other instances of parallelism in the opening invocation.
3 In place of ‘she had a child’ (iami anganakangi) most texts (CM 146, AL 150, AS 6, VT 51) read
‘she was the mother of’ (ayana). SBPK 75 alone reads ‘the father of’ (written aeana, which for this
Bugis writer is probably ayeana).
4 Meaning that his feet were the same length from ankle to heel as from ankle to toe.
5 The Makassarese for this is bakuq karaeng, and refers to small baskets woven of lontar palm.
Filled with rice in which candles are placed, they are used in a variety of rituals. According to
Cense (1979:49), the number of candles inside indexes rank, with eighteen for rulers and their
high status offspring, fourteen for other nobles, and but seven candles for commoners.
6 BL 33r appears unique in placing this speech in the mouth of Tumasalangga Barayanga’s
father. CM 147 and AS 6 have mother (ayanna) for father (aenna). SBPK 76 reads Tumanurunga,
again referring to his mother. With only a vowel mark distinguishing the two words, some
manuscripts (VT 52 and AL 150) are unclear.
7 While this line is absent in BL 33r, other texts (CM 147, AL 150, AS 6, and SBPK 76) add this
additional testimony to Tumasalangga Barayang’s abilities.
8 The phrase ‘white spots on a leech’ (pute lamati) is a somewhat conjectural translation of an
elusive phrase (see Noorduyn 1991:464-6). CM 147, AL 150, and AS 6 have pute mantang, while
SBPK 76 has pute lamate.
9 J. Noorduyn puzzled over the best way to understand and translate what the writer
intended by the archaic words punca sinomba, eventually deciding on ‘hollowed-out extremities’
(Noorduyn 1991:464-7). I have chosen to translate this as ‘capacious vessels’ because this strikes
me as less ambiguous, while still describing Tumasalangga Barayanga’s unusual hands with an
unusual turn of phrase. It also fits well with the verb ‘scoop’ in the lines that follow (though see
note 10 below).
10 The word ‘scoop’ (mannyomba) also means ‘to pay homage’, and yields an equally valid
translation: ‘His hands are capacious vessels: when they pay homage they yield taels of gold,
when they pay homage they fold precious cloths, when they pay homage his men walk in multitudes’.
11 I have added here the words ‘that he disappeared, saying’ (mallayangi nakanaja), which are
not found in BL 33v. They are found in most texts ‒ including CM 148, AL 151, AS 6, VT 52, and
SBPK 76 ‒ and have to be inserted for the text that follows to make sense.
12 The word ‘stay’ (mammempo) also means ‘sit’ and ‘dwell’. The significant point is that
Tumasalangga Barayanga is presented as instructing the people of Gowa not to follow him,
thereby sanctioning the establishment of Gowa and justifying its rule over the region.
13 This is my attempt to translate magaukang bicarana, which connotes both becoming ruler
and being ruler by making declarations. Other versions (SBPK 77, VT 52, CM 148, AL 151, and
AS 6) add the verb asossorangi before magaukang which explicitly means ‘to come to power’.
14 As discussed in the introduction, later versions transform ‘Because nothing is said of it’
(kataenana kana-kanana) to ‘Because there were no lontaraq yet’ (kataenapa lontaraq). This is the case
in SBPK 77, AS 6, VT 52, and CM 148. AL 151 reads ‘Because there were no lontaraq’ (kataenana
lontaraq).
15 MS 3, AS 6, and VT 153 give an alternate name, Caruq Ballanga, for Karaeng Bayo’s sword.