Harmonizing Faith and Culture Islamic Work Ethic, Bugis Local Wisdom, and Business Resilience in Pasar Butung Makassar
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Abstract
Abstract:
Background: Traditional wholesale markets in Indonesia face intensifying pressure from digital retail transformation and modern market competition. Amid these dynamics, Muslim Bugis traders at Pasar Butung Makassar—the oldest wholesale center in Eastern Indonesia—demonstrate remarkable business endurance, driven by a socio-religious work ethic that merges Islamic economic principles with indigenous cultural philosophy.
Objective: This study aims to analyze the socio-religious characteristics of Muslim Bugis traders, examine how they construct the philosophical meaning of work ethic, and investigate how this synthesized framework is operationalized to sustain business resilience and achieve holistic well-being (falāḥ).
Method: Employing a qualitative ethnographic approach guided by James Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence, data were gathered over an extended field immersion at Pasar Butung Makassar. Data collection involved participant observation, documentary analysis, and semi-structured interviews with 6 key informants, including senior wholesale merchants (punggawa), second-generation successors, retail associates (pagandeng), and market managers.
Results: The findings reveal that business resilience among Bugis traders is governed by a dual-engine accountability framework integrating a transcendental guilt culture (taqwa, akhirat) and a socio-cultural shame culture (siri', pesse). This work ethic manifests through four core philosophical pillars: Reso Tamangingi Naletei Pammase Puang (persistent labor inviting divine grace), Tea Tamakuaidipanajaji (dignified self-reliance), Sipakainga, Sipakatau, Sipakalebbi (humanistic mutual respect), and Malilu Sipakainge, Mali Siparappe, Rebba Sipatokkong (communal solidarity). Rather than resisting technological modernization, traders practice digital hybridization, projecting traditional ethical values like ada tongeng (truthful communication) into digital live-streaming and e-commerce distribution.
Implications: Theoretically, this study challenges Eurocentric economic paradigms by demonstrating that an integrated guilt-shame culture can foster robust economic resilience without inducing predatory capital accumulation. Practically, market authorities (PD Pasar) and Islamic financial institutions should leverage these informal socio-religious networks and relational capital (siri' and amanah) to design inclusive market revitalization policies and alternative credit risk assessments.
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