Ritual Performance as Gradual Recognition: Sere Bissu Maggiriq Dance of South Sulawesi Indonesia

This article delves into the intersection of performance and recognition by taking an example from Sere Bissu Maggiriq (SBM) dance, a self-stabbing ritual performance of the transvestite shaman in South Sulawesi called bissu. Drawing on performance theory that mediates the distinction between ritual and performance, and recognition theory that emphasizes the intersubjective relation, we argue that SBM serves as a means for the bissu to be gradually recognized in the wider public. First, SBM is becoming the most noticeable way for the bissu to show their magic, beauty and invulnerable body in the face of marginalization they have experienced caused by cultural rationalization driven by modern science and technology that render the bissu’s rituals and practices irrelevant. Second, SBM represents the bissu subject position, representing the interchangeability of femininity and masculinity within the ritual performance, which challenges the hegemony of gender construction that only recognize male and female identities. Third, the shift of SBM from ritual to ritual performance has made the bissu more visible, and thereby provides an entry point for the wider public to gradually recognize the bissu subject position as androgynous beings. Fourth, due to its growing popularity, SBM also serves as a means of survival for the bissu, as it becomes a portal for them to establish a new generation.