Exploring Health Information System through the Assuro Maca Ritual in Bugis-Makassar Tradition: An Islamic Education Perspective

Abstract

Introduction: Pursuing physical, mental, and spiritual health as an information system is an effort that must be made in human life. Various information has been exemplified in many traditions, including information about the Wong Tai Sin or Huang Daxiana tradition which has healing powers; the Apollo tradition which is believed to be a system of treatment, healing and plague. Likewise, the Sekhmet tradition which is the personification of the goddess of healing and medicine. In this study, the Assuro Maca (AMC) ritual tradition of the Bugis-Makassar tribe is revealed to obtain a system of safety, protection, and prime health for both the dead and the living.

Objectives: Revealing the nature and procedures of the AMC ritual, the implementation of death rituals, and health information system directly given by God through the Death Ritual.  

Methods: Qualitative research with an ethnographic approach is applied to investigate and explore the naturalistic AMC ritual in the culture of the Bugis-Makassar tribal community in Indonesia. The data collection method, namely observation, interview, and documentation with data analysis techniques, namely data condensation and presentation, as well as verification and conclusion drawing.

Results: The implementation of the AMC ritual reveals the essence, procedures, implementation of death rituals, and the model of hope for the god of health from the perspective of Islamic education. The essence of the AMC ritual is the sending of prayers to the dead and the living, an expression of gratitude and rejection of reinforcements. The ritual procedure consists of determining the time, preparing food dishes, burning incense, and reciting prayers. The stages of the implementation of the ritual follow the provisions of certain days, namely the first day of death, the seventh, the fortieth, and the hundredth. The culmination point of the ritual is the hope of salvation for the dead, health system for the living, and the hope of longevity.

Conclusions: Viewed from the perspective of Islamic education, the AMC ritual  leading to individual righteousness and social righteousness. These two righteousness regulate mutual relations with Allah and strengthen social relations and friendship between fellow human beings, including the hope of health deities from Allah which is directed to the goodness and salvation of the dead, the living, and longevity with health deities that are directly given by Allah so that it becomes the spirit of life for humans.