Letter of the King of Bone La Patau Paduka Sri Sultan Idris Azim ud-din (r. 1696–1714) and Sira Daeng Talele Karaeng Ballajawa to the Supreme Government, 1697

Introduced Leonard Y. Andaya, Professor of Southeast Asian History at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

L.Y. Andaya, “Letter of the King of Bone La Patau Paduka Sri Sultan Idris Azim ud-din (r. 1696–1714) and Sira Daeng Talele Karaeng Ballajawa to the Supreme Government, 1697”. In: Harta Karun. Hidden Treasures on Indonesian and Asian-European History from the VOC Archives in Jakarta, document 17. Jakarta: Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, 2014.

BY L.Y. Andaya

Letter from La Patau and Daeng Talele to the Supreme Government, 1697.

Background History

This letter was written by the nephew and successor to the famous Arung Palakka La Tenritatta, Matinroé ri Bontualak (r. 1672-1696), La Patau (Matinroé ri Nagauleng, (r. 1696-1714), and Arung Palakka’s primary wife, the Makassarese princess Sira Daeng Talele Karaeng Ballajawa. Written shortly after the death of Arung Palakka, it refers to an old conflict between the Datu Soppeng To-Ésang and Arung Palakka. After the death of the old Datu Soppeng La Tenribali in 1678, his second son, To-Ésang succeeded to the throne because of the untimely death of his elder brother and heir to the throne in 1669 at the very end of the Makassar War. La Tenribali had grave doubts of the abilities of this second son, and Arung Palakka did everything to prevent his exercising power in Soppeng. To-Ésang took advantage of Arung Palakka’s death in 1696 to depose the current Soppeng ruler, the Datu ri Watu (in the letter called “Dato Dijwasoe” and “Dato Dijwatoe”), and raise himself as ruler of Soppeng. The letter then recounts the events leading to La Patau’s campaign which defeats To-Ésang and restores the Datu Riwatu on the throne of Soppeng.

Arung Palakka and the Bugis

In the late sixteenth century, the Makassar kingdom of Gowa located in the southwest peninsula of the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia became a major force in the region. By the first half of the seventeenth century, it had brought many of the kingdoms in eastern Indonesia under its influence and had gained dominance over the lucrative trade in cloves, nutmeg, and mace from northern Maluku. After Gowa adopted Islam in 1605, it embarked on what is known as the “Islamic Wars” that resulted in the forced Islamization of the non-Muslim kingdoms in the peninsula, ending with the conquest and conversion of the dominant Bugis kingdom of Bone in 1611. The Makassarese people of Gowa came to be regarded by the Bugis people as their oppressors, and in the mid-seventeenth century many Bugis from the kingdoms of Bone and Soppeng were brought to the city of Makassar to build fortifications in preparation for a feared attack by the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The harsh treatment of these Bugis forced laborers, coupled with the stigma associated with the forcible conversion earlier in the century, aroused among the Bugis the well-known phenomenon of sirik, a South Sulawesi concept that is usually defined as “shame”. In this concept, only the recovery of one’s self-respect often by force would remove this shame. Among the Bugis brought to labour in Makassar was Arung Palakka, a high-born individual from Soppeng. He and his followers were able to flee Makassar, first to Buton before finally seeking refuge in Batavia, the Asian headquarters of the VOC, where they were welcomed and given a place to settle in a suburb called Angké, hence the reference to the Bugis there as To-Angké or the “people of Angké”. While in exile in Batavia, Arung Palakka and his Bugis followers were employed as Dutch auxiliary troops in the campaign in west coast Sumatra that resulted in the removal of Acehnese control over the Minangkabau settlements in 1666. The bravery and loyalty of the Bugis were noted by the Dutch, and so when they planned another siege of the port of Makassar in the kingdom of Gowa, their principal rival in the spice trade, they sought and received the cooperation of Arung Palakka. Arung Palakka was highly respected among the Bugis people, and when he arrived back with the Dutch fleet, he was able to attract numerous Bugis fighters to his side that turned the tide in favour of the invaders. Despite strong resistance by the Gowa defenders and their allies, they were eventually defeated for the first time in 1667 and finally for the second and last time in 1669, thus ending the protracted Makassar War (1666-1669).

Background to the Letter’s Contents

In this letter, reference is made to the Treaty of Bungaya, which ended the first phase of the Makassar War in 1667, when the Bugis were restored their dignity and self-worth, hence removing the burden of sirik. This priceless gift to the Bugis people from the Dutch sustained an unwavering loyalty to the Company shown by Arung Palakka and his successor, La Patau, throughout their lives. When Arung Palakka ascended the throne of Bone in 1672, he became the undisputed leader of the whole of the southwest peninsula of Sulawesi and was assured of total support from the Dutch. Any considered to be disloyal to him was removed from power, forced to flee abroad, or punished. This resulted in a large exodus of people from Sulawesi and their involvement in the affairs of other kingdoms throughout the archipelago. The reference to the deposing of To-Ésang as ruler of Soppeng by Arung Palakka was one example of the situation in this period. The death of Arung Palakka in 1696 provided the opportunity for those who had been exiled or deposed to seek reinstatement. The effort by To-Ésang to gain the throne of Soppeng is the subject of this letter, and the long explanation given by La Patau and Daeng Talele, the people closest to Arung Palakka, can be seen as an example of the manner in which they both sought to maintain Arung Palakka’s legacy in the peninsula. Throughout La Patau’s reign, he was confronted by such challenges as explained in this letter, which he was able to surmount with the unquestioning backing of the Dutch garrison and administration stationed in Casteel Rotterdam in Makassar.

Suggested Readings

Andaya, Leonard Y. The Heritage of Arung Palakka: A History of South Sulawesi (Celebes) in the Seventeenth Century. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1981.

Andaya, Leonard Y. Warisan Arung Palakka: Sejarah Sulawesi Selatan Abad Ke-17. Makassar: Ininnawa, 1st printing 2004, 2nd printing 2006.

Cummings, William (tr. & ed.). The Makassar Annals. Leiden, KITLV Press, 2010.

Gibson, Thomas. “The Sea King and the Emperor”. Chapter 7 in Gibson, And the Sun Pursued the Moon: Symbolic Knowledge and Traditional Authority Among the Makassar. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005

L.Y. Andaya, “Letter of the King of Bone La Patau Paduka Sri Sultan Idris Azim ud-din (r. 1696-1714) and Sira Daeng Talele Karaeng Ballajawa to the Supreme Government, 1697”. In: Harta Karun. Hidden Treasures on Indonesian and Asian-European History from the VOC Archives in Jakarta, document 17. Jakarta: Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia, 2014.