I agree, too, in the comparison between these constitutions and those forms of European feudalism wherein the right of free citizens first began to be respected. I am also well prepared to believe that, however much the written constitution may have in it the elements of self-developed political freedom, the details of its working may be unsatisfactory; as we are especially informed is the case. When I find that each rajah is said to possess the power of life and death over his retainers, I find a statement that requires much explanation before it can be made compatible with the asserted freedom of the people at large. So also I observe, that the office as pangawa is, practically, hereditary—a great limitation to a true tribunicial authority.
An element of confusion, rather than a restraint upon individual freedom, is to be found in the principle upon which the aru matoah is elected. The six rajahs must be unanimous. Failing this, one of them, the aru beting, with the support of the pangawas, and the council of forty, may nominate. Furthermore, during the vacancy, the aru beting acts as the locum tenens, but only within certain limits. He is no aru matoah in the eyes of the other Bugis kingdoms, so that he is no aru matoah for any matters of what may be called foreign policy.
As unanimity is rare, and as the aru beting has an interest in keeping the tenure of supreme power in abeyance, disputed elections continually interfere with the peace of the Bugis states; from whence it follows, as a necessary consequence, that the powers of the six hereditary rajahs increase at the expense of the powers of the aru matoah; a process by which the government becomes a close oligarchy, rather than an elective monarchy.
As a foundation for a constitution like the preceding, tenacity of the purity of blood must, necessarily, be a leading element. It exists in Celebes to the fullest extent. Though men may marry in a caste below the one they belong to, women are limited to their own. The practice here is more equalizing than the rule.
In Bugis polygamy, separate wives have separate establishments, and years may elapse without husband or wife having any communication with one another. Still, unless a divorce—procurable on light grounds—be effected, the marriage continues.
To the highest offices of the state, even to that of aru matoah, women are eligible; so much so that, at the present moment, four out of six of the hereditary rajahs are females.
"The strangest custom I have observed (i.e. among the Bugis) is, that some men dress like women, and some women like men; not occasionally, but all their lives, devoting themselves to the occupations and pursuits of their adopted sex. In the case of males, it seems that the parents of a boy, upon perceiving in him certain peculiarities of habit and appearance, are induced thereby to present him to one of the rajahs, by whom he is received. These youths acquire much influence over their masters. It would appear, however, from all I could learn, that the practice leads among the Bugis to none of those vices that constitute the opprobrium of Western Europe."[57]
By allowing ourselves to argue from the sanctity attributed by many ancient nations (e.g. the Greeks and Germans) to the female character, and by comparing the form which this strange custom takes in Borneo, where it is connected with the sacerdotal office, we arrive at a plausible explanation. Among the Sea Dyaks "their doctor, or magician, or both combined, is a man set apart for that office, who is thereafter considered as a woman. She, or he marries a husband, adopts children, dresses as a female, and lives amongst the women, performing the domestic duties peculiar to the sex. The principal occupation is curing people by divers charms, driving away the devil and evil spirits. It must be allowed that the whole constitution of this office is an example of gross superstition; but the ceremonies attendant on it are in themselves inoffensive. A branch of a tree is fixed on the house; around it white cloth is wrapped; and near this spot the spathe of the betel or areca tree is placed (the spathe being indispensable); then the people assemble, and with unseemly noises rattling shells and beating gongs proclaim their joy and satisfaction.
"The office itself is called 'Manang;' and no particular age is specified, the 'Manang' being young or old, as chance may determine. The present occupier of this important post became so when quite a child, and he is now well stricken in years, and much respected by his tribe."[58]