ABSTRACT: “Syair Perang Mengkassar” (Mengkasar war poetry) tells the history of the Makassar war that took place between years of 1666 to 1669. The war of the Makassar party consisting of Goa and Tallo (both are commonly called the Makassar) which includes Malay, Wajo, Mandar, Bima, Sumbawa, Dompu, and Minangkabau as well as the Portuguese and the British against the Dutch with allies of Buginese, Soppeng, Ternate, Ambon, and Buton. The war ended with the victory of the Dutch. In explaining this war, the author (Enci Amin) puts Sultan Goa and his allied as the right side, while his opponents described as perverted thieves, heretics, ghosts, demons, and the devil. This is interesting because the authors of traditional history usually support the winning side. Besides, at a glance of this verse same as the other of traditional historiography. But if observed carefully, it would seem that he has differences with other similar works, including a nature of the Sufi (mysticism in Islam). This paper seeks to explain the background and methodology of writing, so this poem deserves mention as Malay Sufistic historiography. The poetry written by Enci Amin, a Johore Malay and Makassar ancestry with his subjectivity to Malay culture. “Syair Perang Mengkassar” was still appearing as traditional historiography of the king sentries’ style. King was placed as an ideal figure, either in thought, behavior, feelings, and religion. The poetry combines history with religion, even adopting a description of the view of history as a struggle between good and divine truth against evil and the devil.

KEY WORDS: “Syair Perang Mengkassar”, history of the Makassar war, Goa and Tallo, Buginese, the Dutch, and good and divine truth against evil and the devil.

About the Author: Dr. Bambang Sulistyo is a Lecturer at the Department of History, Faculty of Humanities UNHAS (Hasanuddin University), Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan Km.10 Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. For academic purposes, the author can be contacted via e-mail at: bambang5ulistyo@yahoo.com

How to cite this article? Sulistyo, Bambang. (2015). “Syair Perang Mengkassar: A Historiography Through Sufistic Poetry” in TAWARIKH: International Journal for Historical Studies, Vol.6(2) April, pp.129-138. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press and UNHAS Makassar, ISSN 2085-0980.

Chronicle of the article: Accepted (March 2, 2015); Revised (April 2, 2015); and Published (April 28, 2015).

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