To understand greater Gowa’s socio-political organization we should first describe the Makassar titulation system (Bulbeck 1992; cf. Mukhlis 1975 and Röttger-Rössler 1989:45-46).

Prior to Islamization, great Makassar rulers were distinguished by a nickname (“Tu-” or “person”, followed by a passive verbal form) commemorating some highlight of their reign. All of the late fifteenth to late sixteenth Gowa rulers received such a nickname (apart from the deified Batara Gowa), as did some Tallok, Maros and Sanrabone rulers (Figure 1). Analogously the Makassar royal diary nicknames Bone’s Sultan Sahaduddin as “Tunisombaya” (Kamaruddin et al. 1985-86). The only other person remembered by a nickname was Tuniawanga ri Kalassakanna, the main wife of Sultan Abdullah, the latter arguably the highest status Makassar man who ever lived.

The greater rajas, then, are the sultans, the rulers of Bone and Soppeng, and the nicknamed individuals. The sultans also include, further afield, the seventeenth century rulers of Bima and Sumbawa (Noorduyn 1987).

The Makassar titles were incremental, with duplications of titles as well as higher titles reflecting enhanced status. E.g. Sultan Abdullah’s full name was “Palakkaya I Malingkaeng I Daeng Mannyori Karaeng Matoaya Karaeng Kanjilo Karaeng Segeri Sultan Abdullah Awalul Islam Tumenanga ri Agama Tumenanga ri Bonto Biraeng” (Rahim and Ridwan 1975:14-15; Wolhoff and Abdurrahim n.d.:70). To take a Bugis example, Sahaduddin’s full name was “La Tenritatta Datu Mario ri Wawo Daeng Serang Arung Palakka Petta Malampéké Gemmekna Tounruk [Tunisombaya] Sultan Sahaduddin Matinroe ri Bontoalak” (Andaya 1981:43-44).

The Makassar titles were often associated with place names within or near my archaeological survey based in Gowa. Only one individual occupied any toponymic title at any time, apart from occasional instances of husbands and wives holding the same title. The frequency of toponymic association helps to elucidate the titles, as can be shown by taking every title associated with every Makassar individual within my database (see “Methodology”, p.288) — e.g. Abdullah (Daeng Mannyori Karaeng Matoaya Karaeng Kanjilo Karaeng Segeri Sultan Tallok) counts as five titles. The “Gelarang” title is idiosyncratic, so we first consider the other titles shown in Table 1.

N.B.     The first figure inside the brackets shows the number of male titles, the second figure shows the number of female titles, and the third figure shows the total cases. The Gelarang title departs from the usual pattern (see text).

Several associated trends emerge. The higher the title, the greater the proportion of male titulars, and the more frequent the association with a toponym. Analogously, whereas women held lesser titles in association with a toponym more frequently than men did, this relationship was reversed with the Karaengs. Not only that, but all of the male rajas ruled a kingdom while half the female rajas were honorary recipients.

Essentially, a lesser toponymic title merely linked the individual with some community. Take for instance the “Lokmok” title, which was typically associated with women of common origin who had acquired status as the secondary wife of a raja and other high status man. All but one of the six associated toponyms (cf. Table 1) refers to some wife of a Tallok raja and falls within the area which he ruled (Bulbeck 1992). (Male Lokmok are not relevant here, because their next-of-kin were never recorded and none held a “bureaucratic” post.)

Toponymic karaengships, on the other hand, identified the chiefs of land-holding communities in the most densely populated areas. Thus Mukhlis (1975:42-44, 64) states that the community was required to provide its Karaeng with a suitable residence, manpower and the necessities of life. While the number of female Karaengs rivalled the number of male Karaengs, the former were associated with smaller karaengships such as places within palace centres, and never with the largest and most populous karaengships such as Garassik and Galesong (Bulbeck 1992).

The Gelarang present a complementary pattern. Originally these were the nine district headmen who represented the Gowa populace in its dealings with the raja, and constituted Gowa’s highest council of customary law (Mukhlis 1975). However, by the mid-sixteenth century a distinction had emerged between the “inner Gelarang” (Mangasa and Tombolok) and the “outer Gelarang”. The former were important officials who represented districts which also supported Karaengs, while the latter represented the wider area which provided Gowa’s surplus produce and deepest reservoir of manpower (Bulbeck 1992).

During the mid-sixteenth century Gowa also developed an exclusively male “bureaucracy” of non-territorial posts, as detailed by Mukhlis (1975) and Bulbeck (1992). The most important was the regency or Tumabicara Butta (TBB in Figure 1). Several regents were also rajas, and the long-serving regents all became greater Gowa’s real authority. The other posts were originally held by prominent commoners, but over time tended to be occupied by Karaengs. The Tumailalang or Ministers for Internal Affairs were members of the central court who mediated between Gowa’s council of customary law and the central court. The Tumakkajannangngang or guildmaster headed the guilds which were responsible for specialist crafts (e.g. construction and weaponry) and certain designated duties. The harbourmaster was responsible for maintaining the security of the Makassar entrepôt and collecting port duties.

Gowa (and later greater Gowa) thus had a male-dominated socio-political structure linked across four substructures. The Gelarang represented a system of agrarian administration which was in place before Gowa’s expansion. The “bureaucrats” belonged to a state-sponsored administration postdating Gowa’s initial expansion. The lesser territorial chiefs (toponymic Karaengs) managed greater Gowa’s ongoing manpower requirements, usually but not necessarily under the immediate jurisdiction of a raja. Individuals belonging to one or more substructures were ranked within a single status hierarchy by means of the Makassar titulatory system.

This status hierarchy could be extended to titled individuals from non-Makassar polities by recognizing where they would rank within the Makassar system. Accordingly foreign dignitaries could be received properly and suitable marriages arranged with non-Makassar élite individuals.