Sureq Galigo

Sureq Galigo or La Galigo is an epic creation myth of the Bugis from South Sulawesi, written between the 13th and 15th century in the Indonesian language Buginese. It has become known to a wider audience mostly through the theatrical adaptation "I La Galigo" by Robert Wilson.Cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E6DC1638F934A35757C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Robert Wilson Illuminates Indonesian Creation Myth|accessdate=2008-09-04|publisher=New York Times|date=2004-04-07|author=Wayne Arnold] The poem is composed in pentameters and relates the story of humanity's origins but serves also as practical everyday almanac. It evolved mostly through oral tradition and is still sung on important occasions. The earliest preserved written versions date back to the 18th century, earlier ones have been lost due to insects, climate or destruction. Consequently, there is no complete or definite version of "Galigo" but the preserved parts amount to 6000 pages or 300,000 lines of text, making it one of the largest works of literature.Cite news|url=http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/theater/reviews/15gali.html|title=A Sacred Epic and Its Gods, All Struggling to Survive|accessdate=2008-08-19|publisher=New York Times|date=2005-07-15|author=Edward Rothstein] The original Buginese, in which also the production is sung, is now only understood by less than 100 people but so far only parts of it have been translated into Indonesian and no complete English version exists either.

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*cite journal | author=Andi Zainal Abidin and C. C. Macknight| title=The I La Galigo Epic Cycle of South Celebes and Its Diffusion| journal=Indonesia| year=1974| volume=17| issue=April| page=161-169| url=http://www.jstor.org/pss/3350778