ABOUT

In a country that increasingly threatens the safety of LGBTQ people, an ancient way of life that celebrates five genders survives on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Expressing their gender identity freely, men, women, trans-men, and trans-women are shepherded by the fifth gender, the gender-fluid ‘Bissu’. Bissu are revered androgynous “gender transcendents” who encompass all other genders, and have led this culture for hundreds of years as its high priests.

This community was largely untouched by modern influences until a violent incursion into Sulawesi by Islamic fundamentalists in the 1960s. Bissu were accused of practicing blasphemy, tortured and ultimately killed if they refused to behave like conventional men or women.

This struggle left its mark - the majority of Bugis people have now converted to Islam and are leaving their culture behind. LGBTQ people are becoming increasingly persecuted in most parts of Indonesia’s conservative religious mainstream, and this threatens to spread to this community.

This film follows the intertwining stories of two of the last remaining Bissu, as their roles are being forgotten and their way of life is slipping away.

Bissu Nisa is an elderly biological female, but like all Bissu, has both a man and woman spirit inside them. Unable to keep up with the changing times, they now live in extreme poverty, often accused of practicing blasphemy and being sinful for being an unmarried ‘woman’.

Bissu Eka on the other hand, is the youngest and last ever Bissu to have been ordained. To escape prejudice and regain a place in society, Bissu Eka is under pressure to embrace the mainstream - being a devout Muslim, and so returning to his biological gender, a binary male.

While Bissu Nisa clings onto their traditional way of life, Bissu Eka is on the cusp of undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca - the ultimate commitment to Islam to prove his repentance and let go of his life as a Bissu.

Both Bissu know what this could mean - the end of their way of life. Non-binary people in Sulawesi are now discouraged from becoming Bissu for fear of persecution and financial hardship, and there has not been a new Bissu for 20 years.

Without a new generation to keep its inclusive teachings alive, this culture is threatened with extinction.

(Bissu Eka has begun the transition back to being male, and we will refer to Bissu Eka as ‘he/him’. Bissu Nisa has the pronouns ‘they/them.’)

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The film begins by immersing us into the rural village where this community holds on, in the buildup to the annual ceremony of ‘Mappalili’. This is the last ancient Bugis ritual that survives to mark the beginning of rice-planting season.

We are introduced to the five genders as they coexist, working in stores and fields by day, and then dancing raucously at a makeshift karaoke bar by night. Outside the confines of their village Segeri they might be discriminated against for their gender, but here they are free to express it. Even though many of the townspeople now follow Islam, they mostly still let them be - the calalai (transmen) and calabai (transwomen) are a part of their tradition.

Amongst the crowd is Bissu Eka, who they affectionately call ‘Bunda’ (mother). Bissu Eka rarely catches a break from his wedding decoration business, out of place amongst the rows of men in Islamic songkok caps and women in Hijab.

Bissu Nissa on the other hand lives an extremely humble life. They wake up, fish from a nearby pond, conduct traditional Bugis rituals, and watch the world go by from their tiny wooden hut.

Mappalili has arrived. Over three days, Bissu Nisa and the four other remaining Bissu perform intense hypnotic rituals in a clash of vibrant dresses, dances, and music. It’s a sacred ceremony to mark the beginning of the planting season and everyone of every gender is invited. But Bissu Eka is nowhere to be found. Now preparing for the Hajj, he shuns Mappalili in favor of his business.

Almost like Cinderella, after Mappalili is over, Bissu Nisa returns home to their empty shack. Once a year, they are able to recapture their purpose, only to spend the rest of the year waiting for that moment to come again. If they choose to continue living true to their role and their own identity, then they will be left behind and forgotten.

As Bissu Nisa tries to grasp onto their roots, Bissu Eka grows further away, attending pre-Hajj gatherings, medical examinations, and making amends with his deeply Islamic family who condemned his Bissu lifestyle. Attending events with other Hajj pilgrims, he must conceal any indication of being a Bissu, dressing fully as a conventional ‘male.’

Bissu Eka often finds himself alone with his thoughts. Although on the surface he projects confidence in his decision, every now & then nostalgia catches up with him.

The sands of Saudi Arabia. Thousands of people dressed in white robes flock towards the city of Mecca. Bissu Eka stands amongst them, about to give way to his new identity. His village’s lush greenery, vibrant dress, and multi-gendered way of life are distant from the homogenous, industrialized scale of the pilgrimage. Bissu Eka steps forward, and we lose sight of him in the crowd.

The film’s conclusion will be shaped by Bissu Eka’s decision after the Hajj, and the consequences this will have for Bissu Nisa and the Bugis way of life.

The Bissu face a choice between sacrificing their identity and role for safety and acceptance, or sacrificing acceptance in order to stay true to who they really are.

With many factors contributing to the demise of this culture, its future is in the hands of these remaining Bissu. As one by one they either leave or pass away, this last generation of Bissu must find a way to survive and if not, to leave a legacy for future generations to understand their way of life. Through the intertwining stories of Bissu Eka and Bissu Nisa, that future will be revealed.