Non-binary priests of ‘Bissu’ Indonesia struggle to survive

At dawn, in a small town in eastern Indonesia, a young man accompanies Puang Matowa Nani, a non-binary priest of the Bissu community, in the Mappalili rite.

This annual ceremony marks the beginning of the planting season on the island of Sulawesi, where the Bissu community, who consider themselves neither male nor female, once considered sacred, struggle for their survival.

There are less than forty members of the Bissu group, scattered in the south of the island, according to anthropologists, whose cultural and spiritual role is compared to that of shamanswho seek to perpetuate their traditions.

The family

Puang Matowa Nani, 60, recounts his family’s hostility when, born a man, he experienced an identity crisis in his childhood and wanted to join the female-looking Bissu community, even though he now claims to be at peace.

“My family was against it, especially my older brother. He beat me endlessly to make me a ‘real man’; I tried, but I couldn’t”bill.

In the 1950s, during a rebellion carried out by a group of Islamic fundamentalists who sought to establish a caliphate in the country, many members of the BIssu community were accused of violating the principles of Islam and were persecuted.

Tormented, killed and forced to behave like men, “they were afraid and decided to hide”.

“The Bissus didn’t want to appear, they disappeared and they no longer wanted to do cultural activities“explains Halilintar Lathief, an anthropologist at the Indonesian University of Makassar.

Their community is at risk of extinction and the few Bissu who survive belong to the Bugis ethnic group, the majority in southern Celebes.

The Bugis recognize five genders: makkunrai (woman), oroana (man), calabai (man who assumes a traditional role of woman), calalai (woman who plays a male role) and the Bissu who are neither female nor male, but instead represent, everyone.

As the older Bissu die and continue without material support to perpetuate their culture, few of the new generation want to replace them.

However, some community members make an effort to keep their traditions alive.

In trance

At the edge of the pond, along a bright green paddy field, Puang Matowa Nani leads the ceremony and sings a prayer while other Bissu dressed in brightly colored silk robes and embroidered skirts lead the procession.

The Bissu perform a ritual dance to the beat of a drum before stabbing themselves with a long knife, a “Kris”, and simulating a trance.

this community claims to have received a divine calling. They must go through a complex training, with numerous rituals and a secret language, which only the bissu can understand.

Many of them evoke messages received from God during their dreams. Julaeha, who has only one name, told AFP that he had been ill for two months, in a state of delirium, and that he had dreamed of a man on horseback asking him to join the bissu community. “I felt my soul floating,” he says.

Previously, the bissu community was revered and enjoyed a privileged life. They received land from the Bugi kingdoms which existed before the formation of present-day Indonesia.

“The bissu played a very important role in the time of the kingdoms. They were considered intermediaries between God and the people,” explains Halilintar Lathief.

But, at the moment, they are barely surviving. Some members make a living from ordinary jobs such as putting makeup on the bride and groom at a wedding.

“Those who are interested in becoming a bissu are few, since they do not receive a salary from the governmentcomplains Puang Matowa Nani.

Despite past persecutions, their representatives still have a place in Muslim Bugis society itself.

AFP agency