UANG PANAI “Faced or Avoided” ( Fitrianingsih )

Being able to be in a real life with the one who is engaged in our heart is a huge ambition in the future. Involving someone into our life to get Allah’s mercy is what we call marriage. However it is become a warning for a man who is 20 years or more to be in a sincerely love and propose a woman in a certain social background and coming from South Sulawesi. “Uang panai” is a term from South Sulawesi which means the requirements that must be fulfilled to marry someone, whether it is such a plot of land, jewelry or money. The value of money that should be provided by the man is determined by the woman’s family and the other requirements as well. As can be seen from the recent phenomenon, these all burdening a man to marry the woman because “uang panai” beyond the wedding procession is a kind of tradition that considering the social status of a certain family in South sulawesi especially for Buginese and Makasarese. 

For some, there might be a good impact of uang panai for the man to be highly motivated. The man will show the big dedication through his hardworking. Indeed, Uang Panai is definitely being a misfortune and such a compulsion for those who will get the sacred bond of marriage meanwhile the man doesn’t have overwhelming properties and much money to contribute. To be more profound, cancelled wedding procession because of uang panai  is a very common thing in South Sulawesi whereas to marry a girl with a high level of education, good physical appearance, high level of social background, and also the only daughter might be in plenty of consideration. 

Moreover, if the requirements are not able to fulfill yet at the moment, the man need to sign an agreement which involved any requirements that must be completed after the wedding procession. With regard to this issue, it might be ilustrated that the romantic days after wedding will not fully gained because of those requirements that become a real nuisance at all.

Uang Panai “faced or avoided”? for women and men, it can be in a different prespective to see the words within the quotation, for those who are categorized as underprivilege and those who are not as well. Hence, the men’s prespective toward this issue might be indicate their choice in a future whether they want to dedicate their hardworking to marry the women from south sulawesi in a right path or try to avoid what we called uang panai by looking for another possibilties and to what extent the men will concern to be with his choice in the future life. In other hand, what the women from south sulawesi are supposed to do dealing with this issues are praying and to be better day by day  in order to get the best one who will make such a struggle to pick them up.