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BUGIS AND MACASSAR.
"SEVERAL native states are
comprised in the large island of Celebes, all of which, though possessing
separate governments, are in some respects subject to the
Dutch. Among the various dialects
which
prevail in these states, the Bugis and the Macassar are by far the most
widely predominant, being
spoken not only in the greater part of Celebes, but in the trading districts
of several neighbouring islands,
indeed, the Bugis may be said to be the chief language of the people of
Celebes. In fact, next to the
Malayan itself, these two dialects,
especially the Bugis, are more extensively diffused than any other of
the East insular languages,--a superiority which Mr. Marsden has justly
observed is due partly to the
geographical position of the island, and partly to the energetic character
and commercial habits of the
Bugis.
The Macassar dialect is spoken in that part of Celebes which is
comprised between Bálu Kúmba
and Segere; whereas, the Bugis extends over an extensive section of the
island, from Bóni to Lúwu.
Both dialects resemble the Malayan and the
Tagala language of the
Philippines in construction; and
they also exhibit some affinity with the ancient Tarnata of the Moluccas.
The Bugis is considered by
the Baron W. A. Humboldt to constitute the transition between the languages
of the Malayan archi-
pelago and those of the more eastern islands. It is the most eastern
insular language possessing an
alphabet peculiar to itself. The characters of this alphabet are
remarkably neat in appearance, and
belong to the same class as the Batta and
Tagala alphabets. The Bugis people possess a certain degree
of intellectual culture, for their songs and romances are celebrated in all
the isles of the East; but in
the interior and more uncivilised parts of the island cannibalism is
prevalent among them, and they are
said to make a practice of devouring their prisoners of war.
The dialect of Macassar is even softer and more vocalic than the
Bugis, but it is less cultivated
and less copious, and its literature is more scanty. It has many words
in common with the Bugis, but
likewise many radical terms peculiar to itself. A
translation of the Scriptures into both these dialects
was commenced by Dr. Leyden, with the help of some learned natives, about the
year 1810; but he
only lived to complete a version of the Gospel of St.
Mark in each dialect. His
MSS. were presented
to the Bible Committee at Calcutta, but have never been printed.
In 1849, Dr. B. F. Matthes, sub-
director of the Mission-house in Rotterdam, was sent by the Netherlands
Society to Celebes, to study
these dialects, with the view of preparing versions of the Bible for these
long neglected people. We
have no information respecting the progress of this undertaking."--The
Bible of Every Land. (1860, Second Edition) Samuel Bagster [Info
only]
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