Makassarese is spoken by around 1.8million people in Indonesia. Poems in Makassarese shared with thanks to Jakarta UNESCO City of Literature for their contribution to the No Tongues Left to Chant exhibition.

 

About the author

Ibe S. Palogai is a writer and artist whose practice with the mediums of text and performance. His work explores themes of history, the city, memory, and identity. In 2018, he joined a writer’s residency in Leiden, the Netherlands, supported by the National Book Committee. His poetry collection Hidup Tetap Berjalan (Life Goes On) and Kita Telah Lupa Alasannya (We Have Forgotten the Reason) was named a finalist for the 2025 Kusala Sastra Khatulistiwa.

He currently serves as director of Katakerja, a community-based library in Makassar, while also developing walking as an artistic practice through Makassar Art Walk. His most recent work is Semua yang Bersifat Sementara Hanya Metafora (All That Is Temporary Is Only Metaphor).

 

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ᨔᨋᨄᨂ

ᨙᨕᨀᨚ ᨒᨋᨙ ᨕᨒᨆᨘᨂ ᨔᨃᨑᨍ
ᨑᨗ ᨄᨑᨂᨒᨀᨙᨂ
ᨙᨊ ᨔᨒᨂ ᨊᨘᨅᨘᨂᨈᨘᨒᨘᨀᨗ ᨅᨚᨑᨗ ᨆᨑᨂ
ᨊᨄᨀᨆ  ᨆᨒ ᨞

ᨄᨘᨊ ᨅᨚᨀᨚᨆᨗ ᨒᨇᨊᨘ
ᨙᨕᨀᨚ  ᨕᨂᨙᨑ  ᨕᨚᨄᨚᨓ  ᨈᨄᨑ
ᨊᨗᨅᨙᨅᨙᨀᨚ ᨔᨒ ᨄᨆᨕᨗ ᨅᨂᨚ
ᨊᨊᨘ ᨅᨗᨔᨙᨕ ᨑᨈᨙ ᨅᨚᨈᨚ ᨞

 

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Notes on reading from Jakarta City of Literature:

These poems place the Makassar language not merely as a tool of expression, but as a way of thinking. Each line moves through prohibition, satire, and the quiet assumption of shared understanding. Often, the subject remains unnamed, because social relations are already woven into the fabric of speech. Meaning resides in the choice of words, in the repetition of sounds, and in the imagined situations carried by the voice of the speaker.

Makassar language does not explain—it directs. It teaches not through argument, but through warning. This mode of speaking reveals how Makassar produces knowledge implicitly and relationally. What matters is not definition, but vigilance in action.

These poems show how Makassar language shapes the boundaries of reason, attitude, and the way one reads the world. They remind us that language is not only a vessel of meaning, but also a guide to living, a compass for awareness, and a rhythm for collective memory.