This presentation explores the ecocentric dimensions of South Sulawesi’s customary law (adat) and cosmology, focusing on how local wisdom shapes human–environment relationships. Drawing from Bugis, Makassarese, and Mandarese traditions, it highlights a deep-rooted ethic of reciprocity between humans and nature.

The belief in being “cursed by the plant” underscores nature as a moral agent, where ecological harm—and violations of adat, including unjust decisions by rulers and judges—disrupt cosmic and spiritual order. This presentation invites reflection on how indigenous cosmologies offer culturally grounded ethical frameworks for reimagining sustainability and advancing environmental justice.

Speaker

Louie Buana is a PhD Candidate at the Institute for History Leiden University and a guest researcher at KITLV. He studied law and history, specializing himself on the legal history of adat (customary law), environmental and maritime connections, and the interplay between Islam and colonialism in the Southeast Asian archipelago. 

Discussant

Mariëlle Matthee is affiliated researcher at the KITLV. She holds a PhD in international law and a BA in English Language and Culture. Her current research is on indigenous poems related to the human-nature relationship and environmental conservation.

Moderator

Sulakshana de Mel is PhD Candidate at KITLV & Leiden University. Her research focuses on the Sri Lankan Malay community under the project Trajectories of Taste: An analytical framework of culinary change. 

Format, date, time & venue

This seminar is a hybrid event and will be held in the conference room of KITLV, Herta Mohr building, room 1.30, Witte Singel 27 A, Leiden and online via Zoom, on Thursday 12 June from 15.30 – 17.00 PM (CET).

UUKS

This seminar is part of the monthly Unraveling Unconventional Knowledge Systems (UUKS) seminar series. The UUKS seminar series delves into the intricate and multifaceted relationship between human, non human and environtment, including spiritual worlds, within various ecological landscapes. The seminar series puts the role of unconventional knowledge systems central, such as traditional ecological knowledge, centuries old institutions which preserve and still use the knowledge and present day agencies furthering the process of knowledge evolution. 

Image

The rice goddess Sangiang Serri and her guardian cat, Meong Mpaloe, depart in displeasure, followed by the spirits of corn, sago, and other crops—leaving the village to drought and famine. Illustrated by @konijnsate (2021).