The discourse on gender identity has gained significant global attention recently, often regarded as a hallmark of civilisational progress where human rights are concerned. The recognition of multiple gender identities is frequently attributed to developments in Western thought, emerging mostly in the post-19th century context. However, such a narrative overlooks the existence of non-binary and multi-gender identities in non-Western societies.
One notable example is found in the Bugis tribe of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Historical accounts and anthropological studies suggest that as early as the 7th or 8th century, the Bugis community recognised a complex gender system with five distinct gender identities that were found in their holy book, La Galigo.
Orowane are individuals who identify as and perform the roles associated with men. Makkunrai are individuals who identify as and perform the roles usually associated with women. Calabai are individuals assigned male at birth who embody feminine characteristics and societal roles; they are often likened to transgender women (waria) in the Indonesian context. Calalai are individuals assigned female at birth who assume masculine characteristics and roles, often compared to tomboys or transgender men. Bissu are a unique and sacred gender identity considered to embody all genders. Bissu are regarded as spiritual intermediaries between the human and divine realms. In Bugis cosmology, people need to transcend binary gender distinctions in order to be able to fulfil this sacred role; thus, a bissu must embody a composite gender identity, integrating elements of masculinity, femininity, and beyond.
Multi-gender recognition
This intricate understanding of gender reflects a rich indigenous way of thinking that challenges the assumption that multi-gender recognition is a purely modern or Western innovation. The Bugis gender system underscores the importance of contextualising gender within local ways of thinking and being, and historical frameworks, thereby contributing to broader discourses on gender diversity and decolonial knowledge production.
The impact of religious transformation and colonial intervention
Between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Bugis region in South Sulawesi underwent significant socio-cultural transformations with the introduction of Islam, brought by Arab traders. This process of Islamisation was later followed by the arrival of Christianity, introduced by Dutch colonial powers. These two major religious traditions brought new worldviews that gradually reshaped the indigenous belief systems and societal structures of the Bugis people.
One of the most profound impacts of this religious transformation was the marginalisation of three out of the five traditional gender identities recognised in Bugis cosmology: calabai, calalai, and particularly bissu. Once revered and integrated into the spiritual and ceremonial life of the community, these identities came to be perceived as incompatible with the binary gender norms promoted by both Islamic and Christian doctrines. As a result, their roles were diminished, and many individuals who identified with these categories experienced social exclusion and erasure from public religious functions.
Understanding the cultural logic surrounding gender
Despite these pressures, certain segments of the Bugis population continued to adhere to and practice the indigenous spiritual knowledge embedded in the La Galigo epic – albeit covertly. La Galigo, an extensive mythological narrative, is not only a cornerstone of Bugis literature but also a vital source for understanding the cultural logic surrounding gender, spirituality, and cosmology in pre-Islamic and colonial Bugis society.
During the colonial period, several progressive Dutch scholars developed an academic interest in the La Galigomanuscripts. In their efforts to preserve and study this cultural heritage, they collected numerous versions of the epic that were circulating across Sulawesi. These manuscripts were later transported to the Netherlands, and to this day, a significant portion of the original La Galigo manuscripts remain preserved at the Leiden University Library, where they continue to serve as critical primary sources for researchers studying Southeast Asian literature, indigenous gender systems, and postcolonial knowledge production.
The contemporary era in the Bugis tribe
The current socio-cultural conditions within the Bugis community reveal a dynamic interplay between religious doctrines and indigenous customs, particularly where gender identity is concerned. While tensions between religious and ancestral traditions persist, there is a growing inclination among the Bugis people to embrace their local wisdom as an integral part of their collective identity. This shift signifies a process of cultural recognition and reconciliation with longstanding traditions that have historically coexisted with, and at times challenged, dominant religious narratives.
In her ethnographic research, Sharyn Graham, a professor of anthropology, gender studies, and Southeast Asian studies, with a particular focus on Indonesia at Monash University, Australia, presents a nuanced exploration of these issues. Her seminal work is entitled It’s Like One of Those Puzzles: Conceptualising Gender Among Bugis. Through her fieldwork, Graham observes that a segment of the Bugis population perceives gender-diverse identities, namely calabai, calalai, and bissu, as manifestations of divine will, interpreting these identities as predetermined by Tuhan Yang MahaEsa (the Almighty God). This theological framework suggests that individual identity is divinely ordained and therefore lies beyond human control or interference.
Complex gender identities and natural biological factors
Moreover, Graham’s findings indicate that there are alternative perspectives within the community that attribute such complex gender identities to natural biological factors, including hormone balance and behavioural patterns established since birth. Despite the fact that there are multiple interpretations, whether rooted in spiritual belief or scientific reasoning, there appears to be a gradual yet discernible recognition of these identities as embodying intrinsic cultural and moral values. This emerging acceptance of gender variation reflects a broader process of social transformation, wherein traditional Bugis society begins to reaffirm and feel positive about its indigenous ways of thinking once again, acknowledging them not as relics of the past but as living traditions that continue to inform contemporary understandings of personhood, identity, and communal harmony.
Decolonising the gender concept
The decolonisation of the concept of gender necessitates a critical examination of historical and epistemological frameworks through which gender identities have been constructed, marginalised, or erased, particularly within colonised societies. As articulated by Edward Said in his influential work Orientalism, Western powers have long positioned themselves as the arbiters of civilisation, often perceiving non-Western societies as inherently primitive, irrational, and in need of moral and cultural rectification. This paternalistic worldview has underpinned colonial practices, wherein Western colonisers assumed a self-imposed moral obligation to ‘civilise’ the colonised, an endeavour frequently justified through the imposition of Christian moral values and Eurocentric norms.
In the context of the Bugis people of South Sulawesi, such colonial interventions had profound implications for the recognition and survival of indigenous gender systems. Identities such as calabai, calalai, and bissu, which traditionally held spiritual, social, and cultural significance within Bugis cosmology, were systematically marginalised and delegitimised under colonial rule because they didn’t seem to fit with Western-Christian heteronormative standards. These gender identities, rather than being understood through the lens of local thinking, were often pathologized or dismissed as deviant, thus reinforcing the hegemony of Western binary gender constructs.
Acknowledgment of the existence of non-binary and multi-gender identities
However, with the progression of time and the global re-emergence of discourses on gender diversity, there has been a growing acknowledgement, even within Western academic and activist circles, of the existence and legitimacy of non-binary and multi-gender identities. Ironically, many of these contemporary theoretical frameworks resonate with or are inspired by indigenous systems of gender that had long existed in societies such as that of the Bugis. This reality underscores a critical point: the plurality of gender has never been exclusive to Western modernity but is deeply embedded in the cultural and spiritual knowledge systems of many non-Western communities.
In light of this, it is vital to affirm that every region and culture possesses its own set of noble values, philosophical traditions, and epistemological contributions that deserve recognition and respect. These should not be diminished, invalidated, or dismissed merely because they diverge from or challenge dominant Western paradigms. A truly decolonial approach to gender must entail the restoration and re-centring of indigenous knowledges, allowing them to reclaim their rightful place in global conversations about identity, embodiment, and human dignity.
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