Gantarang Lalang Bata: the old village, its mosque and its history

By Selayar Island Editorial Desk

Gantarang Lalang Bata is an old hamlet on Selayar Island, about 15 km by road from Benteng according to a study in the journal Tata Loka. It is known for the Awalludin Mosque, dated to 1605 by The Jakarta Post, old royal tombs, a low stone wall, and the story of Islam arriving through Datuk Ri Bandang.

What is Gantarang Lalang Bata?

It is a small lived-in settlement, not a museum. The Tata Loka study describes about 40 households, all Muslim, on 4.82 hectares, and says the old village is zoned for cultural tourism. The Jakarta Post counted about 176 people in the hamlet in 2016. Those two figures come from different sources and may reflect different years, so take them as a sense of scale.

Names vary in print. The Tata Loka study writes Datuk Ri Bandang and a 2022 Catharsis journal article writes Dato' Ri Bandang. They are referring to the same figure in the village story, and searching under both will find more.

Where is it and how do you get there?

The study puts the old village about 15 km by road from Benteng, the regency seat. For scale, The Jakarta Post puts Bitombang around 7 km from the centre of Benteng, and the regency plan puts the Silolo royal tombs about 20 km out. A half-day from town is realistic on those distances, and you could pair it with Bitombang village if the road and the light allow.

Plan on your own wheels or a hired driver. One traveller on the TurtlePhD blog hired a scooter in Benteng. Ask in town about the final stretch and whether a local can come with you, and carry small cash in case a visitor contribution is expected. Our list of things to do in Selayar Island shows what else fits into the same day.

How old is the mosque?

The date usually given is 1605. The Jakarta Post says the Awalludin Mosque was built that year. The Tata Loka study gives the same year for something slightly different: Raja Gantarang Pangali Patta Raja formally accepting Islam. Wikipedia adds that the regency marks its anniversary on 29 November 1605, and we make no claim that the two dates are linked.

Three sources sharing a year is suggestive, but none of them is a dated architectural survey of the building. Any building this old has probably been repaired many times. Treat 1605 as the reported founding date, and do not assume that every stone or beam you see is that old.

What is the village's history?

Some of what follows is about Selayar as a whole, and only part of it is about the village. The table keeps them apart.

The wider setting explains why outside influences reached this place at all. Kompas, quoting a maritime historian, says spice ships bound for Maluku had to pass the Selayar Strait, the safest route, stopping for water, supplies and repairs. Selayar then became contested between Makassar and Ternate. An island on that route met outsiders long before tourism.

The Gantarang kingdom was also not the only royal line on the island. The regency plan describes the Silolo tomb complex of the Buki and Bontoangun kings, with 256 graves. For the island-wide story, see our Selayar Island history page.

What can you see there?

Expect a quiet village and a few specific features. No source describes visitor programmes, and these are community practices.

• The mosque and tombs. The Jakarta Post describes the Awalludin Mosque surrounded by old tombs of the Gantarang kingdom. Ask before going inside.
• The stone wall. The regency plan calls it a stone fort wall and gives its height as 70 cm. That is low, so do not expect ramparts. Bontobangun fort, also in the plan, is a better comparison for scale, at 2.5 m high and 1.5 m wide in coral stone.
• Heirlooms. The plan mentions a sword and iron armour. Treat seeing them as something a custodian may or may not offer.
• Community life. The Catharsis article describes cooperation in the village, including moving a house on stilts by lifting it together, and a Friday theatrical tradition about Dato' Ri Bandang. These are community practices, and you should not plan a visit around them.

You may read about an old cannon here. The regency plan describes a cannon at Bontobangun fort, and Kompas reports three cannons from the 17th century at Kampung Padang. In the plan's Gantarang entry, the heirlooms named are the sword and the armour, so a cannon here is unconfirmed.

How should visitors behave?

We know of no published visitor code for the village, so what follows is ordinary courtesy for a Muslim village with an active heritage site, and not a village rule. Dress modestly, covering shoulders and knees. Ask before entering the mosque or walking among the tombs. Avoid arriving during prayers, and especially at midday on Friday. Ask before photographing people or homes. Do not climb on the wall.

A 2017 Universitas Airlangga study of indigenous tourism on Selayar recommends support for local guides, on the basis of eight local informants. If someone from the village is willing to walk you round, that is the best way to learn, and any payment is between you and them. Useful questions to ask a custodian:

• Which parts of the mosque may visitors enter, and when?
• What do people here say about how the wall was built and what it protected?
• Are the heirlooms ever shown, and who decides?
• Which of the tombs are named, and what is remembered about them?
• Is there anything visitors commonly do here that you would rather they did not?

What else do people ask about Gantarang Lalang Bata?

Where is Gantarang Lalang Bata in Selayar?

A study in the journal Tata Loka puts the old village about 15 km by road from Benteng. Ask in Benteng about the final stretch of road.

Who was Sultan Pangali Patta Raja of Selayar?

The Tata Loka study calls him Raja Gantarang Pangali Patta Raja, a ruler of Gantarang who formally accepted Islam in 1605. That study uses the title Raja, not Sultan.

How did Islam reach Gantarang Lalang Bata?

According to the Tata Loka study, the ruler formally accepted Islam in 1605 through Datuk Ri Bandang. A 2022 journal article in Catharsis also describes a Friday theatrical tradition about him in the village.

Why does Gantarang Lalang Bata have stone walls?

The regency plan calls the structure a stone fort wall, which suggests defence, and gives its height as 70 cm.

Is there an old cannon at Gantarang Lalang Bata?

The regency plan names a sword and iron armour among the heirlooms here, and describes a cannon at Bontobangun fort, a different site.

What heirlooms are kept at Gantarang?

The regency plan names a sword and iron armour. Ask a custodian whether they are ever shown.

Which sources support this page?

• Tata Loka journal: study of Gantarang Lalang Bata
• The Jakarta Post: Selayar Islands, 14 April 2016
• Catharsis journal, 2022: Gantarang Lalang Bata community traditions
• Selayar regency tourism master plan (RIPPARKAB 2023-2025)
• Kompas: traces of the spice route in Selayar, 2023
• Wikipedia: Selayar Islands Regency
• Universitas Airlangga, MKP journal, 2017: indigenous tourism on Selayar
• TurtlePhD: traveller's guide to Selayar

How do I reach the desk?

Have a question about visiting the village, or a better source on its history? Write on WhatsApp to +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com. Requests can lead to a paid booking, so we have a commercial interest; see the disclaimer.