Bugis agricultural mantras as living ecological ethics: ritual, relationality, and rice cultivation in South Sulawesi

This article examines mantras in Bugis agricultural rituals as an ecological ethic brought to life through rice-farming rituals in Pinrang Regency, South Sulawesi. This research employs ethnography combined with ecocriticism. Data were collected through ritual observation, in-depth interviews with eight informants, including farmers, sanro galung, and traditional elders, and documentation of the mantras. The findings indicate that mantras are not merely symbolic utterances but relational practices that connect farmers, the land, water, rice, pests, cosmic time, and God. These relationships are manifested through requests for permission from the land and water, expressions of respect through the naming of natural elements, self-restraint in dealing with pests, adjustments to planting times, and gentle treatment of the rice. This knowledge is transmitted through participation in rituals and intergenerational memory. This study demonstrates that the sustainability of agrarian life in Bugis agricultural mantras is built upon moral values that govern the interdependent relationships between humans, nature, the community, and spiritual beliefs.