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Sureq
Baweng
19th20th century
The
production of the reel lontar is limited
to South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The more usual lontar
is made from flat strips of lontar palm strung
together like venetian blinds. Only a few examples
of the reel lontar still exist in museums
in Indonesia and Western countries.
To
make a reel lontar, strips of lontar palm
are joined with palm fibre stitches into a continuous
band. The strips are generally about 60 centimetres
long and two centimetres wide. The strip is then
rolled and notched at each end onto a reel. Alternatively,
the rolls are sometimes mounted onto a wooden
frame with a handle at each reel so the lontar
can be rolled backwards and forwards more easily
for recitation. The example on display is mounted
onto two reels on a wooden rod and does not have
handles. It is likely that it is read by turning
the reels by hand. The National Library of Indonesia
dates this reel lontar as being made in
the twentieth century but it may trace its creation
to the nineteenth century. It was probably made
as an example of an historical object from an
earlier era.
‘Sureq
Baweng’ means ‘Song of the Parrot’, and is
a long Bugis-language poem in lines of eight syllables.
The Bugis are a distinctive regional group from
the centre of the Indonesian archipelago on the
Java Sea. They have maintained their own culture
and literature, and are noted warriors and inter-island
traders.
The
recitation of this poem is often accompanied by
a ritual involving the sacrifice of a chicken
or a goat, the burning of incense and other spirit-invoking
actions. When the manuscript is opened, the spirits
are said to be present before the audience, and
can be approached for help to solve all kinds
of difficulties.
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