Calabai

Puang Baso waited a long time for a son, but as Saidi grows up he moves gently, likes to dress up and wear skirts, plays house and pounds flour with the girls instead of fetching wood in the forest. In this Muslim Bugis community the Friday sermon condemns men who act like women, and his father warns him of God's curse, beats him and forbids him to eat at home. Saidi never asked to be this way and wrestles with himself. Armed with the family badik, a dagger meant only for Bugis men, he leaves home to wander as Bugis men are expected to, is driven out of a village as cursed by God, and meets the bissu of Segeri, the ritual priests among whom a calabai may find a place.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

385 pages in the original

Genres

Family (assigned by AI)

Set in

Indonesia

First published

2016 by Javanica