rec Maccasan Eyes of Marege
Makassar’s status as a trading place grew because it was positioned in the centre of the Malay-Indonesian archipelago, a fantastic location to catch maritime traffic and trade. By the end of the sixteenth century a number of states had been established in southern Sulawesi, with the two related but different languages of Makasar and Bugis being spoken. The state of Gowa and Tallo’ was the main centre of Makassar influence, while Bone, Wajo’ and Soppeng were the main Bugis states. During the sixteenth century contact with the Portuguese increased. The port that grew out of this activity around the centre of Gowa and Tallo’ became known as Makassar, reflecting the name of the local people.
First of all I will tell you about how the Macassans get to Arnhem Land. The annual trepang collecting voyage made by the Macassans departed Makassar with the onset of the north-west monsoonal winds, which usually hit in December. [Shows image] Their destination was the Arnhem Land coast in the north of Australia, an area they called Marege’. From their home port of Makassar, they passed north-east of Timor, calling on the neighbouring island of Kisar for supplies and freshwater before embarking on the longest stage of the journey - roughly 500 kilometres across open seas. The Macassans crossed about 2000 kilometres of ocean in total before making landfall in the vicinity of the Coburg Peninsula. This journey usually took 10 to 15 days.
Throughout the season they fished and processed trepang, gradually making their way east to the bottom of the Gulf of Carpentaria before returning to Makassar with their cargo on the south-west monsoonal winds which usually blew in about April. The Arnhem Land coast is dotted with the remains of Macassan trepang processing sites.
National Museum of Australia – Audio on demand program – From ...
From Makassar to Marege to the Museum. Alison Mercieca, National Museum of Australia. Behind the Scenes – Australian Journeys series, 7 July 2008 ...
www.nma.gov.au/audio/detail/from-makassar-to-marege-to-the-museum
From workshop in Sulawesi. Photo: Julie Janson www.ozscript.org/script941.html
www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au › What's On › Theatre -
Australian Performance Exchange & Teater Kita Makassar
This is the extraordinary story of a young Indigenous man's journey to Makassar at the turn of the 20th century. Eyes of Marege brings together artists from Sulawesi's top contemporary theatre company, Teater Kita Makassar and some of Australia's most dynamic Indigenous performers, including Djakapurra Munyarryun (Bangarra Dance Theatre). This theatrical collaboration celebrates the 400 year history of trade between the people of Northeast Arnhem Land and the Makassan trepang traders of Sulawesi.
For the first time in Australia, this unique combination of artists create a hybrid bilingual performance blending the haunting sounds of Sulawesian songs of the sea, with contemporary indigenous dance, comic physical theatre and Makassan ritual.
In the 1900s, on an island off Northeast Arnhem Land, an Indigenous man, Birramen, and a Makassan fisherman fight over the theft of a sacred indigenous object. The fisherman is killed in the fight and Birramen’s friend Ahmad saves him from the revenge of the other fisherman. But Birramen must sail to Makassar to be tried in court for the murder. He finds himself mesmerised by the sights, sounds and culture of this southern Sulawesi city. After five years’ imprisonment and marriage to a Makassan woman, Birramen voyages home, dressed ‘like a sultan in woven sarong and silver bangle’ and profoundly enriched by his experience of the culture and peoples of this vibrant sea-faring city.
Shortlisted for the prestigious Patrick White Award, Eyes of Marege draws on a tradition of cultural exchange that goes back hundreds of years. It is a powerful story of love, death and the meeting of Islam with indigenous heritage.
For the first time in Australia, this unique combination of artists create a hybrid bilingual performance blending the haunting sounds of Sulawesian songs of the sea, with contemporary indigenous dance, comic physical theatre and Makassan ritual.
In the 1900s, on an island off Northeast Arnhem Land, an Indigenous man, Birramen, and a Makassan fisherman fight over the theft of a sacred indigenous object. The fisherman is killed in the fight and Birramen’s friend Ahmad saves him from the revenge of the other fisherman. But Birramen must sail to Makassar to be tried in court for the murder. He finds himself mesmerised by the sights, sounds and culture of this southern Sulawesi city. After five years’ imprisonment and marriage to a Makassan woman, Birramen voyages home, dressed ‘like a sultan in woven sarong and silver bangle’ and profoundly enriched by his experience of the culture and peoples of this vibrant sea-faring city.
Shortlisted for the prestigious Patrick White Award, Eyes of Marege draws on a tradition of cultural exchange that goes back hundreds of years. It is a powerful story of love, death and the meeting of Islam with indigenous heritage.
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www.adelaidefestivalcentre.com.au › What's On › Theatre -
Australian Performance Exchange & Teater Kita Makassar
This is the extraordinary story of a young Indigenous man's journey to Makassar at the turn of the 20th century. Eyes of Marege brings together artists from Sulawesi's top contemporary theatre company, Teater Kita Makassar and some of Australia's most dynamic Indigenous performers, including Djakapurra Munyarryun (Bangarra Dance Theatre). This theatrical collaboration celebrates the 400 year history of trade between the people of Northeast Arnhem Land and the Makassan trepang traders of Sulawesi.
For the first time in Australia, this unique combination of artists create a hybrid bilingual performance blending the haunting sounds of Sulawesian songs of the sea, with contemporary indigenous dance, comic physical theatre and Makassan ritual.
In the 1900s, on an island off Northeast Arnhem Land, an Indigenous man, Birramen, and a Makassan fisherman fight over the theft of a sacred indigenous object. The fisherman is killed in the fight and Birramen’s friend Ahmad saves him from the revenge of the other fisherman. But Birramen must sail to Makassar to be tried in court for the murder. He finds himself mesmerised by the sights, sounds and culture of this southern Sulawesi city. After five years’ imprisonment and marriage to a Makassan woman, Birramen voyages home, dressed ‘like a sultan in woven sarong and silver bangle’ and profoundly enriched by his experience of the culture and peoples of this vibrant sea-faring city.
Shortlisted for the prestigious Patrick White Award, Eyes of Marege draws on a tradition of cultural exchange that goes back hundreds of years. It is a powerful story of love, death and the meeting of Islam with indigenous heritage.
