- AI-aided research, new materials eyed for Nobel Chemistry Prize
- The US economy is solid: Why are voters gloomy?
- Scientists sound AI alarm after winning physics Nobel
- Nobel-winning physicist 'unnerved' by AI technology he helped create
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- China stocks rally peters out on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Taiwan's Foxconn says building world's largest 'superchip' plant
- Nobel literature jury may go for non-Western writer
- From Bolivia to Indonesia, deforestation continues apace
- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
Indonesia's 'all-gendered' priests on verge of extinction
After dawn in a small eastern Indonesia town, a young man holds an ornate umbrella over non-binary priest Puang Matowa Nani, as they walk barefoot to a nearby pond to perform the annual ritual of Mappalili.
The ceremony marks the start of the planting season on the island of Sulawesi, where the androgynous Bissu community to whom they belong once held divine status, but are now fighting against extinction.
Less than 40 Bissu remain in just a few areas across South Sulawesi, according to anthropologists, and they now perform cultural and shaman-like roles to prevent their traditions from dying.
Nani, a Bissu in their 60s who was born male, said they faced opposition from their family when they experienced a gender identity crisis as a child, but was now at peace with who they are.
"My family disliked it, especially my older brother," they recalled. "He kept beating me to force me to be a real man.
"I've tried to change but I could not."
In the 1950s, a rebellion led by the Islamic State of Indonesia group sought to create a caliphate in the country, leading to many Bissu being accused of violating Islamic principles and facing persecution.
They were hunted, murdered, or forced to behave as masculine men.
"Since then, Bissu no longer wanted to show themselves, they disappeared, and they didn't want to do any cultural activities," Halilintar Lathief, an anthropologist at Makassar State University, told AFP.
"They were scared and decided to hide."
The community is now on the brink of extinction, seeing their numbers dissolve into the majority Bugis ethnic group in South Sulawesi.
Bugis people believe in five genders: "makkunrai" or cis woman; "oroane" or cis man; "calabai" or men who take on traditional roles for women; "calalai" or women who take on traditionally male roles; and the "Bissu", who are neither male nor female but embody all genders.
Older Bissu have died and without financial or cultural support, not enough of the younger generation are replacing them.
The remaining few, however, are trying to keep their heritage alive.
- A 'floating soul' -
At the pond, bordering a lush green rice field, Nani led the Mappalili ritual and chanted a prayer as other Bissu in bright silk blouses, headdresses and embroidered skirts walked behind in a parade.
The Bissu performed a dance to the beat of a drum before stabbing themselves with a slim, long dagger known as a keris, appearing as if they were in a trance.
To become a Bissu, one must receive "Pammase", or a direct calling from God. You cannot join the community by marriage or birth.
They must then undergo extensive training to perform different rituals and learn a secret language only Bissu can understand.
Many Bissu say they receive enlightenment from God through their dreams.
In one such dream, Julaeha, who goes by one name, told AFP they were sick for two months in a delirious state in which they saw a man riding a horse telling them to join the community.
"I felt like my soul was floating," they said.
- 'Messengers of God' -
The Bissu once lived a prosperous life. They were revered and owned lands granted by the Bugis Kingdom that preceded the modern-day Indonesian state.
"Bissu held a very important role during the kingdom era. They were considered the intermediaries between God and the people," anthropologist Lathief said.
But now, with little money to be made, the attraction of joining the community has dwindled.
Some of the Bissu community now make a living working regular jobs such as doing bridal make-up.
"Not many are interested in becoming a Bissu because there is no salary from the government," Nani said.
Despite the past persecution and split opinion on the community, the non-binary figures still have a place in the staunchly Islamic Bugis society.
"Since I became a Bissu, I have always been accepted by the public," Julaeha said.
"I've never been insulted or ostracised. I even got called a lot to perform (rituals)."
An eager Muslim spectator at the Mappalili ceremony, Pattola Ramang, said Jakarta must do all it can to prevent the community's extinction.
"What they do is culture and tradition which we must preserve," the 66-year-old said.
"The government should pay attention and support the Bissu so they will survive."
M.Davis--CPN