Manuscripts, Status, and Power: The Study of Lontara Bone in the Seventeenth Century

The purpose of this study is to know what interests so that this text made and to what extent the manuscripts can elevate the status of Arung Palakka. These two main points are the focus of this paper. The document in question is a manuscript found in the palace of the Kingdom of Bone in Passempe in 1859. The contents of the script tell the history of the Kingdom of Bone since its establishment until the reign of Arung Palakka, the legendary figure of the Kingdom of Bone. The type of research used is historical research with descriptive method. Primary data used in the form of manuscripts found in Bone districts. As for the figure who was held responsible for the creation of this script, C. C. Macknight has read this text. Then from the results of the study of the book obtained that when Arung Palakka inaugurated as king in the Kingdom of Bone in 1672, appears rejection of some of the high nobility of the Kingdom of Bone. In fact, there is no precise mechanism of succession in the Kingdom of Bone. Men, women, old, young, even a baby had been king in the Kingdom of Bone. If it considered bloody pure noble, then that person deemed entitled to be king. It is a problem for Arung Palakka. A figure who is supposed to have an enormous share in liberating the Kingdom of Bone from the kingdom of Gowa Kingdom, but he found not to have the blood of Tomanurung nobility, so it deemed to be unworthy. Also, La Pakokoe, the son of the king of Bone Kingdom replaced by Arung Palakka, regarding custom and culture, is worthier of occupying that position. Due to disagreement over the appointment, La Pakokoe with a group of high nobles of the Kingdom of Bone as well as a group of nobles from several kingdoms in this region rejected. Though La Pakokoe it is the sister-in-law of Arung Palakka itself. To overcome the possible problems about his appointment as king, and the impact that may arise in the future, a text made to legitimize the power of Arung Palakka, not only for himself but also for his descendants.