Of I La Galigo

Not a great deal of people aware that the world’s longest literary work is not the Harry Potter series. That title belongs to the unheralded piece of an ancient scribble named I La Galigo. It is a vast epic and stirring saga of heroes, forbidden love, gods versus demons, and the eternal battle between good and evil.

Some sources even mention that it’s around twenty times longer than the Homer’s Odyssey. It’s estimated at 6000 folio pages, related to events from pre-Islamic, 14th century Bugis, South of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Would make a good read during my or anyone's boring commute.

During my study of Bugis Architecture I found myself more fascinated with reading about Sawerigading than the actual concept of local building (not that they're half boring, mind you). Sawerigading is the main protagonist on this giant story arc. Apparently he traveled to places no people ever step on, after falling in love deeply with his twin sister. Of course this incestuous love is strictly prohibited even in the times of the Gods, and he ultimately have to marry another woman.

It was said that this ancient chronicle consists of dozen of episodes, using wide range of storybook technique called flashback and foreshadowing. Now that is interesting. People in South Sulawesi are long known for their tradition of history writing using ‘Lontara’ – some sort of papyrus or fan.

It’s unfortunate the local humidity often times ruin these past writings. Very few have survived and shockingly preserved not in local museum but in European Libraries. Evidently they were quite valuable amongst European scholars back then. I remember one Sherlock Holmes story involving one Bugis manuscript.

When I was a kid, we have this rented villa, we always use during the school holidays. It was on the street named La Galigo in Makassar. I wasn’t aware of the significance until my findings in the Library many years after.

Some time ago there’s several article in national publication regarding an around the world performing art directed by Robert Wilson which featuring a cast of 50 Indonesia's finest performers. Some said it is a hit. Reading about it made me warm and fuzzy because it was about the land where I was born, Sulawesi.

Here are some links with information about I La Galigo:
Update - after doing some follow up research I found one article from The Time Magazine:

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