La Galigo is the world's longest epic story, written in the Buginese language and script. The poetic story is about the origin of humanity but within the story there are also several guidelines about how one can live one's everyday life. For example, how to interact with each other and how to treat nature.
A popular episode is about the cutting of the Welenreng tree. In this episode the animals mourned the loss of this tree. The tree in which they lived and which had been their shelter was cut down by the main character, the father of La Galigo. After this incident the land is destroyed by natural disasters. The message in this story is that if you harm nature it will cause more destruction in the long run. It relates to Organic Cocoa Project La Galigo because it’s about caring for nature. The Welenreng tree story explains what the consequences of harming nature can be. The episode of the Welenreng tree takes place in Luwu Timur, the same district as the project. The La Galigo manuscript, was inscribed in 2011 on UNESCO's ‘Memory of the World’ Register. This entry underlines the global significance and importance of the La Galigo manuscript. |