SOUTH SULAWESI

 A Glance of South Sulawesi 

A Glance of South Sulawesi

Sulawesi which was known as Celebes is a beautiful island. It has an area of about 227 thousands square kilometers. It is somewhat smaller than the whole land of England and Scotland.

With the long and narrow peninsulas. There is no more than 90 kilometers spot of land from seashore. This makes the island has a long beach-line. It is a lmountainous island. 

Because of these two things, Sulawesi becomes an island with very beautiful seashores and highlands sceneries. 

Geographically, straight of Sulawesi (Makassar)  is known as the border of Wallacea line, which separates two different kinds of fauna, between the eastern and western parts of Indonesia. It has a specific flora and fauna such as ebony woods, hog-deer,  and maleo birds which has large eggs. The island has been inhabited by people since about 30.000 years ago. It is proven by the signs found in caves near the limestone hills not far from Maros town, which is about 30 kilometers northeast of Ujung Pandang, the capital of South Sulawesi  Province. There is possibility that the oldest civilization in this island was at a Wallace valley, a place between Soppeng and  Sengkang where tools which were made of pebbles and flakes were found from river terrace around this valley. Fossils from the extinct species of pig-deer and elephants were also found around this area.

During the Golden ages of spices trade in the 15th  till 19th centuries, South Sulawesi played a role as the gate to Moluccan Islands, the land of spices. The Mighty Kingdom of Makassar and Bone as mentioned in the past history of the eastern part of Indonesia, had played an important role. 

South Sulawesi is inhabited by four main ethnics, namely Bugis, Makassar, Mandar and Toraja.  The people of the first 3 ethnics have been known as patriotic and brave sailors both during and after the wartime was over. With the traditional sailing boats,  they sail across the seas of Indonesia archipelago, to the northern part of Australia, a number of islands in the Pacific Ocean, and to the African coasts

The Toraja people is well known with their specific culture. It can  be seen in a death ceremonial, traditional houses with arch-shaped roofs, and beautiful carvings with natural colors.

Ideographically, prehistory and history of South Sulawesi has come up with very interesting cultural elements. From these areas, one can see  and enjoy uniquesses of the culture, such as ceremonial, traditional, dances, carvings, beautiful weavings from cotton and silk,  and the fascinating natural tropical sceneries.

Makassar City as a city that we encounter today as the capital of South Sulawesi Province, with all its advantages and disadvantages, is undoubtedly a city or country that has history.  It has a history because the humans who inhabit it have involved themselves in the life of this city, so that they have arrived at the face they have today. Humans who have made a history of themselves on the atmosphere of this city, go and come and go, beyond centuries, years, months and months.  thousands of days, and many more days will follow in the changing circulation of days and nights in Makassar City, living the lives of its residents, centuries ago and centuries to come. The humans who are its residents give color to life.  itself , and in that line of life various kinds of events are transformed which become milestones in the memory of the sustainable life of a civilization .  Understand what we are now, and what will come later, that life is actually a meeting between what has been in the past and hopes for the future that are brought together by the present.  The city of Makassar today, therefore, is the realities of the past meeting the hopes of the future which are borne out in today's reality.

The 2010 census estimated the population as 8,032,551 which makes South Sulawesi the most populous province on the island ( 46 % of the population of Sulawesi is in South Sulawesi ) , and the sixth most populous province in Indonesia . At the 2020 Census this had risen to 9,073,509 , and the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 9,225,747 . The main ethnic groups in South Sulawesi are the Buginese , Makassarese , Toraja , and Mandar . The economy of the province is based on agriculture , fishing , and mining of gold , magnesium , iron and other metals . The pinisi , a traditional Indonesian two - masted sailing ship , is still used widely by the Buginese and Makassarese , mostly for inter - insular transportation , cargo , and fishing purposes within the Indonesian archipelago . During the golden era of the spice trade , from the 15th to 19th centuries , South Sulawesi served as the gateway to the Maluku Islands . There were a number of small kingdoms , including two prominent ones , the Kingdom of Gowa near Makassar and the Bugis kingdom located in Bone . The Dutch East India Company ( VOC ) began operating in the region in the 17th century . VOC later allied with the Bugis prince , Arung Palakka , and they defeated the kingdom of Gowa . The king of Gowa , Sultan Hasanuddin was forced to sign a treaty which greatly reduced the power of Bungaya Gowa.

Sulawesi was first inhabited by humans around 30,000 years ago . The archaeological remains of the earliest inhabitants were discovered in caves near limestone hills around Maros , about 30 km northeast of Makassar . Pebble and flake stone tools have been collected from the river terraces in the valley of Walanae , among Soppeng and Sengkang , including the bones from giant pig and elephant species that are now extinct . Hand print paintings , estimated to be around 35,000 to 40,000 years old , have been found in the Pettakere cave , located 12 kilometres ( 7.5 mi ) from the town of Maros and 30 kilometres ( 19 mi ) from Makassar . Increase in commerce due to the rise of external demand for South Sulawesi rice encouraged major agricultural expansion and political centralization in the early 14th century . Swidden agriculture was increasingly replaced with intensive wet rice cultivation , leading to a rise in population density . New settlements were founded in the interior part of the peninsula as pristine forests were cleared . These changes accompanied the rise of new interior agricultural polities , such as the Bugis chiefdoms of Boné and Wajoq , the Makassar polity of Gowa . as well as

By the early 16th century , Boné had assumed a paramount position in the eastern part of the peninsula , while the Makassar twin kingdoms of Gowa and Talloq started to expand their influence throughout the western part . Their competition for hegemony over South Sulawesi caused Gowa - Talloq and Boné to clash in the  1560s . In 1582 , Boné , Soppéng , and Wajoq signed a mutual defense pact known as the Treaty of Timurung . The alliance , also referred to as the Tellumpocco ( " Three Powers " , lit. " Three Peaks " ) , sought to stop Gowa's expansionism and to reclaim the autonomy of the Bugis polities under Gowa's vassalage . Gowa's campaigns against the alliance in 1582 , 1585 , and 1588 were all successfully repulsed , with another one in 1590 abandoned following the death of Gowa's ruler . By the early 17th century , however , Gowa and Talloq had become the dominant powers in South Sulawesi as they supported international commerce and embracing Islam. Gowa 51 % waged successful campaigns against the Bugis kingdoms , defeating Soppéng in 1609 , Wajoq in 1610 , and Boné in 1611. Regent of Maros , Makassar , Sulawesi The Dutch East India Company ( VOC ) began operating in the region in the 17th century and saw the Kingdom of Gowa as an obstacle for its desire to control of the spice trade in this area . VOC later allied with the Bugis prince , Arung Palakka , who was living in exile after the fall of the Bugis . After a year - long battle , they defeated the kingdom of Gowa . And the fall of the Bugis . After a year - long battle , they defeated the kingdom of Gowa . And the king of Gowa , Sultan Hasanuddin was forced to sign a treaty greatly reducing the power of Bungaya Gowa . Furthermore , Palakka became ruler in South Sulawesi . A Bugis queen later emerged to lead the resistance against the Dutch , who were busy dealing with the Napoleonic Wars in Europe , but after the end of the Napoleonic Wars , the Dutch returned to South Sulawesi and eradicated the queen's rebellion . But resistance of the Bugis people against colonial rule continued until 1905. In 1905 , the Dutch also managed to conquer Tana Toraja .

Law Number 32 of 2004, the area of ​​Makassar City is approximately 4 miles towards the sea, equivalent to 10,000 Ha, so that the entire land and sea area is ± 27,577 Ha. Motto: ONCE THE SCREEN FLAWNS THE BIDUK'S SCREEN RECEDES TO THE BEACH