Precolonial citizenship in South Sulawesi

Abstract

Citizenship is a difficult concept to apply to non-Western societies.The idea of citizenship has its origins in Ancient Athens and Republican Rome, its modern form having been shaped by the French Revolution and the nationalisms of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Europe. Yet the idea of a social contract between membersof a society and their leaders is also found in non-Western societies. The notion of integrated rights and duties of free individualshas existed for centuries among the Bugis and Makasar peoplesof South Sulawesi, Indonesia. In this paper, concepts and practices developed by the Bugis and Makasar are compared against Classical

Greek and Roman citizenship, and the status of Bugis women is briefly examined. In conclusion, it is argued that an important contractual principle that has its origins in patron-client relations was fundamental to the foundation of the South Sulawesi states and to their economic and social well-being.