Bissu’s Transvestites in the Buginese-Makassar Tradition through the Transformation of Faisal Oddang’s Literary Works: An Intertextuality Study

Abstract

Writer Faisal Oddang narrated the existence of the bissu community seemingly reconstructed from an understanding of the historical text to become more colorful. This article questions how the transformation model of bissu community figures is revealed in Oddang’s fictional work. This study utilizes Julia Kristeva’s intertext abstracted through ideologeme as a text arrangement that refers to the space of exterior texts (semiotic practice). The results of the study show: first, how the transformation model of the bissu community character appears in the work of fiction; second, the libido of bissu community in their sacred place; third, the bissu community character from marginalized positions fighting injustice against Darul Islam/Indonesia Islamic Army rebels both physically and verbally; fourth, the negotiation of bissu community leaders saving the faith by syncretism with Islam over the religious purification incident. Therefore, in fiction, the character of the bissu community shows both opposition and resistance.