8 minute read
PINISI
do not Doubt Authority of Panrita Lopi
Be careful when you return to your hometown, our ancestors were sailors, not racers.” This joke inserts a historical narrative that our ancestors lived in maritime culture. The sea became a place to to make a living and a place to build their identity. They knew very well how to adapt to climate changes at sea, and would not get lost by relying on the navigation of constellations. To conquer the sea requires guts, courage, perseverance, tenacity, and patience because the wide sea is full of threats such as hurricanes, storms, waves, sea animals, and sea corals that can destabilize the boat’s steering wheel.
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Sailing boats are not simply formed by putting together wooden planks like a puzzle. It takes local knowledge inherited by ancestors from generation to generation. The production of local knowledge is very philosophical, full of meaning, and is wrapped with rituals as a reinforcement of community belief in the process of boatbuilding. Building of a boat is like the process of human creation. The series of boat materials are closely attached to the anatomical system of the human body. Starting from the initial process of boatbuilding until it is launched into the sea. The keel is identical to the main skeleton of the human body as a strong spine that supports the body. The length of the keel is based on the size of the hand span or the foot span of the panrita lopi (ship builder maestro). Calculating the length of the keel uses a special method to determine the strong ‘chemistry’ between a boat and its owner, including in terms of luck in sailing.
The keel piece is divided into 3, 4, or 5 parts which are called tatta. The front part of the keel piece is symbolized as a man (husband). While the keel on the back is symbolized as a woman (wife). At the meeting of the front and rear keel pieces, a palului is inserted which contains kapasa’ rurung-rurung (stranded cotton), needles/steel, coconut slices, brown sugar slices, and rice crust. All of these materials are wrapped in white cloth and tied with threads. These materials contained in the palului become the hope and motivation for the sustainability of the boat when sailing at sea. The piece of steel (needle), for example, is a symbol of the hope that expects the boat will be as strong as steel, while the palului that has been wrapped in cloth is symbolized as sperm. Palului seeds are planted on the connection of boat keels, following the footsteps of the process of human creation. The process of building the boat is done under the command of panrita Lopi.
In building a boat, it takes not only skills and dexterity in forming the material, but also traditional knowledge and sense in building it. This knowledge is knowledge that is inherited from generation to generation in the boat builder communities in Lemo-Lemo (Tanah Beru), Ara, and Bira, South Sulawesi. The transmitted knowledge is not just knowledge learned at school, but there is an intake of the science of sufism related to human self-knowledge. It uses not only logical mathematical calculations in measuring boat materials, but also measurements which are attached to human. For example, one segment, a span, one elbow, and six feet. All these processes are carried out traditionally, using local knowledge without modern measuring tools. The calculation of the architectural framework of the boat carried out by panrita lopi is very balanced. The way of measuring the balance refers to the framework of the human body that is very balanced between the left and right. The boat’s architectural design which is
The science of making boats is a science inherited from generation to generation -
Husnul Fahimah Ilyas
philosophically depicted in panrita lopi’s mind is not depicted in detail on paper. This is the great skills of the boat builders’ knowledge, so UNESCO recognized it as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017 “Pinisi, Art of Boatbuilding in South Sulawesi.”
Pinisi Preservation
After Pinisi is inscribed at UNESCO, what is the next step? The Bulukumba Regency Government issued a Regional Regulation on the Preservation of the Pinisi Boat Number: 2 of 2019. The regulation is intended to safeguard, to preserve, and to conserve the pinisi boat; as well as the preservation and development of the Pinisi boat which is a culture and identity as a symbol of pride for the local community.The objectives of the regional regulation are to 1) increase public awareness of the conservation of pinisi boats; 2) increase concern, awareness, and role of the community towards the preservation of pinisi boats; 3) awaken motivation, enrich inspiration, and expanding the repertoire for the community in preserving pinisi boats; and 4) develop pinisi boats to strengthen national cultural identity and regional characteristics of the province of South Sulawesi.
Since 2018, Bulukumba has been accelerating actions towards the development of the pinisi business, including the pinisi festival activities. The government and the community collaborate in the activities of songkabala ri bantilang and anyyorong lopi as a sequence of building pinisi boats. Songkabala ri bantilang is a ritual
Pinisi making in Bulukumba -
Bastian AS - https://www.shutterstock. com/id/g/BastianAS
A pinisi maker and a pinisi he is working on -
Ichmunandar - https://www.shutterstock.com/id/g/ichmunandar
performed in a location where the boat is made (bantilang), and it is believed that the ritual will resist disasters and all forms of tragedy. Meanwhile, anyyorong lopi is a ritual of pushing a boat to be drifted into the sea.
Another effort is dissemination of implementation of character education learning which internalizes the local cultural values of the pinisi boat since 2018, referring to character education learning at the elementary school level. However, this has not been done optimally in all schools. Next, advancement efforts through the development and protection of regional culture are a strategy to maintain people’s culture in today’s globalization. The activity is a dialogue about pinisi and maritime culture. The people’s attention is focused on the building of pinisi that returns to nature, namely pinisi with traditional concepts, starting from the pre-production process called songkabala ri bantilang then wood selection, logging, and traditional boat ing. This is different from conventional pinisi which uses engine as the main source of power. The traditional pinisi is made by using sails as the main source of power which will be launched in the anyyorong lopi process. The traditional process of building this boat becomes a unique means of tourism and is expected to become a distinctive attraction for tourists. This on-going program is driven by the Endangered Material Knowledge Program (EMKP).
Pinisi conservation efforts must be carried out collaboratively and in synergy between the central government, provincial governments, local governments, society, communities, and non-governmental institutions related to the sustainability of pinisi boats. The existence and fate of the pinisi now and in the future become a communal responsibility. There are a number of programs that urgently need to be carried out together.
The first is realizing the creation of a living museum around the construction site of traditional boats in Tanah Beru or Ara. The concept of the museum, first is as a gathering point to obtain information about traditional boat building, digital documentation, and a place to store collections of equipment and examples of materials used in boat building. The second concept is that the museum is
as a place of education, and visitors can see directly the building of boats in the batilang (shipyards) around the museum.
The second program is making the place of traditional boat building a safe, comfortable, and attractive tourist destination so that it can increase regional income and develop the people’s economy. To achieve this goal, spatial planning and cleanliness of the tourist environment is needed. So far, visitors have made bad record regarding cleanliness, garbage is scattered on the seaside around bantilang. This is very important considering that the bantilang tourist destination which is mainly in Bontobahari District is one of the highest sources of Original Local Government Revenue. Naturally, this district receives special attention on waste management.
Third, planting trees as the main material in boat building. The production of boat building is still ongoing until now and the trees that are cut down as material are trees that grow naturally. At some point in the future, there will be a period of scarcity or extinction of trees that are used as boat materials, such as sappanwood (Biancaea sappan L.Tod.) which was formerly used as boat pegs. Sappanwood is now replaced with kandole wood (Diploknema oligomera). Therefore, the society and the government need to carry out reforestation.
Fourth, reviewing the harbour master rules after getting a pacak (a letter of recommendation for ship ownership from the district). The continuity of building pinisi boats until now is still going on, and the knowledge on how to build boats is also is also inherited with traditional and oral inheritance patterns. The flow of modern technological development (the use of machines) that accelerates the production of building pinisi boats is inevitable. The society of boat craftsmen is also constrained by administrative matters, such as the obligation to make a grand plan of boat drawings that will be used for processing ship documents. Even though building a traditional boat does not have a pattern or image that is drawn into paper. The concept of the boat image is recorded in the memory of the panrita lopi, including the concept of safety and balance of the boat which is analogous to human organs. Do not doubt the scientific capacity and authority of the panrita lopi who use pakkasia’ (sense) and logic in creating boats that are ready to sail into the ocean wilderness. Let’s respect the panrita lopi.
