A long time ago, a bamboo cane came floating down the Jeneberang river from Mount Bawakaraeng. A beautiful woman emerged from the bamboo. She went ashore near our village and sat down on a big red stone. There some people from the village found her and asked her to follow them to their houses. There was no ruler in the village at that time, and continuous quarreling and disputing prevailed among the inhabitants. They called the woman Bombong Koasa and asked her to become their ruler, since she was a divine being. Bombong Koasa married a man from our village, and they had children. Ever since, all our rulers have been descendants of Bombong Koasa. She ruled for many years, but one day she died, and her body went back to the sacred mountain from which she had come. Her spirit, however, has remained on earth, living in an object she had left in the village before ascending again to Mount Bawakaraeng. This object is our kalompoang. This version of a myth, which is spread throughout many parts of South Sulawesi, was recorded in Bontoloe, a Makassarese village in highland Goa. 1 Paralleling many other local versions of this myth-including the one referring to the former kingdom of Goa-the first divine ruler (tu manurung) of Bontoloe is said to have been a woman. The political authority of village rulers in highland Goa, each of whom must tracé his descent back to a tu manurung, is legitimated by certain objects that are regarded as sacred, since they are believed to have been left by the divine being before she ascended back to the sacred peak of Mount Bawakaraeng. The shape of these sacred heirlooms, which in the local language are called kalompoang ('greatness') or kalabbirang ('magnificence') varies. In the area under investigation, kalompoang include different kinds of swords or daggers as well as ancient bells, porcelain plates, and, as in the case of 1 Besides this myth, there are still others concerning the origin of village leadership, which, however, do not refer to a tu manurung. Nevertheless, the version cited in the text is the most widely accepted myth explaining the origin of the local government.