Category: Heritage & People
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The Apprenticeship Gap: Where the Next Generation of Shipwrights Went
Walk the shoreline at Tana Beru and count ages. That single observation tells you more about the future of this craft than any amount of heritage writing. The knowledge that shapes a hull without drawings lives in people and transmits…
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Butta Panrita Lopi: How Bulukumba Earned Its Title
Kabupaten Bulukumba, at the south-eastern tip of South Sulawesi, is known as Butta Panrita Lopi — the land of the master shipwrights. The title is not a tourism slogan bolted on recently; it reflects a concentration of wooden shipbuilding knowledge…
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What UNESCO 2017 Changed and Did Not Change for Tana Beru
In 2017 the art of pinisi shipbuilding was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It is a genuine recognition of a genuine tradition. It is also widely misunderstood: it recognises the craft and…
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Panrita Lopi: Who the Master Shipwrights of Bulukumba Actually Are
Panrita lopi means, roughly, one who is expert in vessels — the master shipwright who holds authority over a build at Tana Beru. The role is not a job title issued by anyone. It is a standing earned over decades…