We Tenriabeng, Twin Sister of Sawerigading
Bugis · demigod · Bugis traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
We Tenriabeng is the twin sister of the hero Sawerigading, born to Batara Lattuq of Luwuq. Because a prophecy foretold that the twins would fall fatally in love, the bissu priests ordered them parted at birth, and We Tenriabeng was raised apart from her brother. When Sawerigading, returning home, does indeed conceive a forbidden passion for her, she wisely redirects him by describing her mirror-image, the princess I We Cudai of Cina, whom he departs to woo. We Tenriabeng herself renounces earthly marriage and ascends to the Upperworld (Boting Langiq), where she weds her celestial betrothed Remmang ri Langi. She is closely tied in the tradition to the bissu, the androgynous priesthood that mediates between the human world and the gods.
Parentage
Domains
- ritual priesthood
- heaven
Powers
- to ascend to the upperworld
- to guide her brother away from forbidden love
Relations
- aunt of: I La Galigo, Prince of LuwuqPaternal aunt, not sibling; the inherited note already identifies this generation difference.Christian Pelras, The Bugis (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), ch. 2. (secondary); Andi’ Zainal Abidin, The Emergence of Early Kingdoms in South Sulawesi (1983), pp.456, 460–461 and 465, sections IV.2 and V.2 (secondary)
- spouse: Remmang ri LangiAndi’ Zainal Abidin, The Emergence of Early Kingdoms in South Sulawesi (1983), pp.456, 460–461 and 465, sections IV.2 and V.2 (secondary)
- sibling: Sawerigading, Wandering Hero of LuwuqAndi’ Zainal Abidin, The Emergence of Early Kingdoms in South Sulawesi (1983), pp.456, 460–461 and 465, sections IV.2 and V.2 (secondary)
Sources
- We Tenriabeng is the twin sister of Sawerigading who, to avert their prophesied incest, is separated from him and ultimately ascends to the Upperworld to marry Remmang ri Langi.: Christian Pelras, The Bugis (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996), ch. 2. (secondary); Sirtjo Koolhof, 'The La Galigo: A Bugis Encyclopaedia and its Growth,' Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 155/3 (1999): 362-387. (secondary)