Local Civilization and Hadīth Traditions: Exploring Luqman Al-Hakim`s Conception of “Sparkling Pearls” in Latoa and its Relevance for Islamic Ethos Development

1. Introduction

Character is a fundamental aspect of a nation, essential for thriving in the competitive world of global life. However, deviations from societal norms lead to crisis of character. The structures that exist within these groups to ensure people act in accordance with the local values and norms have failed, contributing to a decline in moral standards. This often leads to harsh criticism of educational institutions,¹ as national education has the basic objective of creating human beings with noble character. Indonesia aspires for noble morals to be a part of the national character, and, with its Muslim majority, it seeks to integrate noble morals drawn from Islamic teachings known as akhlāq.²

Data from the Indonesian Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection show alarming rates of violence. Between January and September, 2023 19,593 cases of violence were recorded in Indonesia. In the majority of these cases, the victims aged 13–17 (7,451 victims, or around 38%). Most of the violence reported was sexual, followed by physical and then psychological abuse.³ This indicates a moral crisis among Indonesian youth and the values imparted by moral and character education are believed to be able to provide solutions to this.

The family is another place to instil these values. The success of a family in instilling good values in children depends on the parenting style used. Parenting style can be defined as the pattern of interactions between children and parents, which includes fulfilling physical and psychological needs, as well as teaching societal norms.

Parental mistakes in child rearing such as verbal or physical abuse, can significantly impact a child's emotional intelligence.  This can lead to children with problematic personalities or low emotional intelligence. Unlike the home and family environment, the school environment is often "absolute" and it is not uncommon to hear children saying "But, Mom, Dad, the teacher said this is the right one." This shows that the influence of school in shaping children's mindset and character is also very significant.

Furthermore, it can be seen that ethos building has not been optimal in graduates from formal educational institutions as these institutions are prioritizing the formation of cognitive abilities and ignoring the affective and psychomotor elements, which form the intelligence required to engage and function efficiently in social life.⁴ Thus, teachers must explore modern ideas in learning⁵ and foster a culture of collaboration and group communication. Importantly, they must remain committed to carrying out their profession as ethos developers.

Various studies related to character development have been conducted. Topics explored include the problems of character development focusing on the use of national, cultural and religious values as well as various media, to build character both in school and at home.⁶ Other research has explored the influence of various scientific disciplines regarding character education on the development of the nation's ethos.⁷ This research seeks to assess the efficacy of ancestral advice contained in classical literature, such as the Latoa Manuscript and Muhammadan Traditions in Hadīth Literature, in shaping the character of today's children and addressing contemporary life challenges.

This research posits that conveying classical advice can effectively develop the affective elements in children's education.⁸ The aim of this research is to show that Luqman al-Hakim's 'Sparkling Pearls' conception in the Latoa Manuscript contains noble ethos values and norms, and has character conformity with the Hadīths as Muhammadan traditions. By identifying the values of the local civilization in this conception, this study determines the relevancy of the conception to Islamic ethos development.

2. Literature Review

A prevalent challenge today is finding a proper format for mental education, ethos development and youth national character building.⁹ Character education is widely discussed in various academician circles. Previous studies have shown that strengthening the character of students as educational products has not been completely successful leaving personalities still lacking in strength.¹⁰ Ethos development cannot be separated from education's three main functions: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. Cognitive function is closely related to the mind, reasoning, numeracy, and intellect. The affective function is more related to the psyche, soul, and taste, and the psychomotor involves the coordination of physical activity to mental and psychological activity. All of these intelligences are formulated into a number of different domains, as per the reasoning of Bloom.¹¹

Character education represents the accumulation of knowledge and wisdom necessary to create welfare and harmony, thereby ensuring the smooth functioning of society.¹² According to Morgan, character education teaches students values such as accountability, responsibility, discipline, patience, and diligence. Families are at the frontlines in character education, and thus provide an effective means of conveying values and beliefs.¹³ Schools also play an important role in imparting knowledge to students, and to shape their attitudes, behaviors, character, and abilities and, thus, building future generations.¹⁴

Many studies have delved into the importance of ethos values, exploring religious, cultural, and national values as elements of ethos building.¹⁵ Some of these studies have focused on the role of literature in shaping the character of children both at home and at school.¹⁶ Other studies have explored the parenting Hadīth as a basis for character education for children. The parenting Hadīth includes several steps: 1) the formation of the foundation of faith and devotion from an early age; 2) the formation of exemplary ethical behavior; and 3) the provision of basic knowledge about social life.¹⁷ Consequently, ethos education from the view of Ki Hajar Dewantoro has been stated as "ngerti–ngerasa–ngelakoni," which means realizing, converting, and doing. Ethos education needs to focus more on the behavior and actions of students to appreciate and implement ethos values into daily life.¹⁸

The Latoa Manuscript, a collection of pieces of advice from several kings and wise men spanning the 13^th to 18th centuries AD, elucidates various matters of ethos, especially the obligations of the king and the servants to the state and its people.¹⁹ The contents of the Latoa manuscript, which form the mindset of the Bugis people in social life outlined in the basic principles of life called pangangaderreng are the guidelines for the social life of the Bugis community.²⁰

Returning to the discussion of the currently implemented education system, the facts show that there are aspects that need to be reorganized or reassessed to prevent the deterioration of the mentality of society.²¹ The character of the eastern nations includes the values of Islamic civilization, such as the attitude of mutual cooperation in helping others, the character of mutual respect and mutual glorification between fellow human beings. The novelty in classical literature research offered through this work is the relevancy of classical Latoa literature from the Bugis ethnic group in Indonesia to character value development in an Islamic dominated eastern nation, by using functional structuralism theory as a theoretical framework.²²

According to the functionalism and structuralism theory proposed by Talcott Parsons, societal harmony and balance are achieved when the state and social institutions are able to maintain stability by effectively carrying out their functions well in alignment with appropriate social values and norms.²³ This theory was used to explore the cultural character values depicted by the 'Sparkling Pearls' concept and analyzing their relevance to Islamic ethos development as an alternative approach to sustaining future civilization.

The trend in existing literature has been a focus on the western scholarly perspectives. Local eastern values in classical manuscripts have not been widely discussed, despite the uniqueness of classical manuscripts, in particular those of the Bugis community. However, this uniqueness has been successfully revealed by Christian Pelras in his book 'The Bugis' published in 1996. In addition, the point of returning to using classical literature depicting eastern wisdom is to find an Islamic form of ethos and character development for the youth as a way of sustaining the future of Islamic civilization. This article has significance as it focuses on the study of local cultures and Muhammadan traditions, offering insights into alternative approaches to character development rooted in Islamic ethos.

2. Methodology

This research adopts a descriptive qualitative research approach with a focus on literature study/analysis.²⁴ The literature study approach focused on the Latoa Classical Manuscript and the Book of Hadīth which contain Muhammad's traditions. The Latoa manuscript is the main object of this research because it contains a comprehensive guide to life (panggaderreng) written in Bugis language ²⁵ and later revised after Islam became the formal religion of the Buginese Kingdoms. Moreover, the manuscript features Muslim figures such as Luqman al-Hakim, and the Bugis people who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Hadīth literature containing Muhammad's traditions was also used as a source of research data, because the Six Main Books of Hadīth literature (al-kutub al-sittah) contain Muhammad's sayings and traditions which are very relevant to the ancestral teachings of the Latoa Manuscript. The research highlights the prevalent natural traditional atmosphere of the community when the Latoa manuscript was written.  The study of these classical texts is important for the continued development of Islamic civilization in the progressive era of technology.

The primary data collected is derived from the Latoa Manuscript. This manuscript was transliterated and translated by Mattulada, after being published by Matthes in 1872 AD, and specifically discusses the concept of a noble generation, which has been translated into the term 'Sparkling Pearls," from Luqman al-Hakim's advice. A schematic representation of the data collection process, from observations to conclusions, can be seen in the following chart:

Stage 1

Observations and re-checking of data

Stage 2

Categorizing the obtained data

Stage 3

Reducing, selecting and sorting

Stage 4

Classifying and analyzing

Stage 5

Analyzing and contextualizing

Stage 6

Concluding

4. Values of Local Civilization Contained in Luqman al-Hakim's
"Sparkling Pearls" Conception

4.1 Luqman al-Hakim and the Latoa Manuscript

Luqman al-Hakim's biography is not mentioned explicitly in the Latoa Manuscript but rather drawn from historical writings. Some traditions state that his full name was Luqman Ibn A'ura bin Tarīkh. Tarikh is another name for Azar, Ibrahim's father. Al-Hakim, which means wise, was added to his name. Thus, Luqman al-Hakim is a symbol of wisdom.²⁶ In al-Alusi's opinion, the majority of scholars believe that Luqman lived during the time of David.²⁷ However, whether Luqman was a slave or a free person is still a matter of debate. The majority of scholars say he was a slave from Ethiopia and not a prophet,^[28 but rather a pious and devout servant of Allah, endowed with wisdom.²⁹ Luqman was very persistent in giving advice to his son until the end of his life. A part of his will is stated in the Qur'ān in Luqman's letter.

In the Latoa manuscript, which is in Bugis language (a manuscript written on palm leaves), Luqman al-Hakim's name is found on page 145. His name is immortalized in a particular discussion which describes much advice related to social life ethos during the classical Bugis era when Islam was formalized as a religion in the local kingdoms of the Bugis people in the 16-17th centuries. The Latoa Manuscript also depicts the Bugis people's principles of life including religious, social, cultural, state and legal norms, which were based on the original elements of adeq (customs), rapang (jurisprudence), bicara (judiciary), warik (stratification of social strata). After Islam was accepted as the formal religion of the Kingdoms, elements of sarak (Islamic teachings) entered these views of life expanding the elements to five and integrating them into one value system referred to in Buginese language as Pangngaderreng (five principles of life).

The Manuscript of Latoa belongs to the Lontara' type that describes the value system and forms of political culture of the Bugis people, the largest ethnic group in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The main characters in this manuscript are Kings and the Society who lived in a monarchy-democracy system. Latoa himself was appointed the King of Bone in the Classical Kingdom, namely Kajaolaliddo, shifting him from the role of an advisor. Today, the Latoa Manuscript is an easily accessible work of the anthropologist Mattulada entitled Latoa: An Analytical Painting of the Political Anthropology of the Bugis. It was first published in 1985 by Gajah Mada University Press, Yogyakarta. His work was based on the Lontara' Manuscript which was adapted by Benjamin Frederik Matthes and published in 1872 in Amsterdam. The text contains advice from ancestors and a collection of regulations and laws that applied in the Kingdom of Bone. The following is Figure 1 of Latoa's manuscript:

Figure 1. Photo of the Latoa manuscript

Islam became the official religion in the Bone kingdom in 1611 AD. The fact that Islamic values are expressed in the five principles of life system indicates that Latoa speakers did not receive Islamic teachings in a textually literate way, but rather in a meaningful and contextual way from Islamic preachers at that time. Thus, the Latoa manuscript contains no texts from the Qur'ān and Hadīth, nor any explicit opinions of ulama (Muslim scholars). However, Islamic values were still absorbed and integrated with Bugis traditional teachings in the Latoa text. The Latoa Manuscript differs from other Bugis manuscripts, making it an important subject of study to ensure that the Islamic ethos can provide a sustainable civilization of the Muslims societies.

Talcott Parsons's functional theory of structuralism is very appropriate for the analysis of the internalization of Islamic principles (sarak) into the life guidance system (pangngaderreng) of the Bugis community at that time. Religious leaders and traditional custom holders were right to restore the function and role of the social structure that existed in Bugis society before Islamic teachings were introduced, because this allowed the adaptation of Islamic values into social traditions as well as the integration of existing traditional values into Islamic teachings (sarak) without encountering significant resistance. Notably, the structure in Bugis society continues to exist and is able to carry out its role positively. This is in line with what Parson highlighted - that a functionally strong social structure is able to create a stable and orderly social life.³⁰

4.2 Luqman al-Hakim's "Sparkling Pearls" Conception in the Latoa Manuscript

The forging of children with Islamic ethos values is very relevant to Luqman al-Hakim's conception in the Latoa Manuscript, as viewed from Muhammadan tradition perspectives. The various aspects implemented in life by Luqman al-Hakim are summarized in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The Four Pillars of Sparkling Pearls

This Figure 2 represents the term "Paramata Mattappa (Sparkling Pearls)" as a noble ethos. This term is an allusion to a whole generation formed from a combination of the four main pillars, namely: Teppe (faithful), Isseng (knowledgeable), Gau patujue (of good conduct), and Siri'e (dignified).³¹ These conception pillars are classified into the following categories:

4.2.1. Faithful

Faithfulness (Teppe) is an essential element of spirituality for the Bugis. Those who prioritize teppe as the foundation of their principles of create a self-character that is constantly mindful of the presence of God and understands wholesome behavior and practice.  The term teppe in Bugis is similar to the term 'iman' in Islam. 'Iman' is derived from an Arabic term which means peaceful, calm, safe, honest, and trustworthy.³²

From this, we can infer that those who believe in Allah (mukmin) have peace of mind, arising from honesty. They always feel safe, both physically and mentally. In Hadīth terminology, faith not only covers the oral pledge dimensions, but it must be accompanied by belief and justification in the inner heart as a form of religious honesty. This is evident in the following Hadīth narrated by Ibnu Majah via Hadīth Ali bin Abi Thalib as follows:

The question of faith seems to be understood to stop at the theological realm within the six pillars of faith in Islam; however, the Qur'ān and Hadīths state unequivocally that faith is always associated with good conduct and morals. This means that trust in Allah must be accompanied by good deeds at every opportunity. The Latoa Manuscript is of relevance to the faith values and principles elaborated in the Qur'ān and Hadīths in the following table.

In relation to the element of faith, there are two sentences of valuable advice from the Prophet Muhammad depicted in a Hadīth Indexed by Muslim no. 38:

and by Luqman al-Hakim, as depicted in the Latoa Manuscript:

Believing in Allah is a practice of the heart, while "istiqamah" is obedience that includes the practice of limbs (jawarīh).

4.2.2. Knowledgeable

The concept of knowledgeable (Isseng) can be interpreted as an attitude of knowing and understanding something. Isseng is different from acca (smart). Acca is cognitive ability, while isseng is meta-cognitive. In Bugis culture, people who have the ability of isseng are called tau paisseng (knowledgeable people) and are considered knowledgeable and morally upright individuals who fulfil their duties with a sense of responsibility.  People who have the capacity of acca are called tau acca and are considered smart people, who may possess intellectual prowess but may not necessarily adhere to moral principles. Such individuals, labelled as "macca bawangmi," are considered smart but unethical.

It can be seen from the above description that the term isseng means 'to understand' whereas acca means 'to know'. One who knows does not necessarily understand, but one who understands, surely knows. This classification of intelligence levels indicates that in each human being there is potential to reach the meta-cognitive level as Luqman said:

Page/Line	Main Text Latoa Manuscript	Translation
Latoa Page: 28 Line: 26-35. Latoa Page: 29 Line: 1-5		Luqman al-Hakim said: 'There are four kinds of things to remember or think about: First, building words (sentences/talks); second, building harmony and appropriate meaning in sentence relations; third, facing the question and dominating the person asking, answering that person's question and defeating it (with an accepted argument); fourth, parsing the sentence and explaining it - if the conversation is chaotic and no one knows the conversation anymore, then he is the one who speaks, and everyone succumbs. That is what is called knowing - to parse a sentence and explain it'

Science or knowledge is light (paddisengeng) for humans. Without science, there is no civilization. There are many Hadīths which describe the virtues of knowledgeable people. One Hadīth advocates for lifelong study, from birth until death.  There is also a Hadīth that highlight the elevated status of knowledgeable people compared to others, as narrated by Al-Darimi no. 356, as follow:

4.2.3. Of Good Conduct

Good conduct (Gau patujue) encompasses virtuous deeds and righteous behaviour. Commendable behaviour includes good attitude, speech, and deeds. Every human being must have commendable behaviour because it is a reflection of self and is crucial to happiness in life.³⁶ Gau patujue is in accordance with the akhlāq value of Islamic teachings. In the good conduct framework, people who behave commendably and exhibit good character in daily interactions will be loved by others. Other commendable behaviours related to the gau patujue values, include honesty, straight-heartedness, truthfulness, not cheating, sincerity, responsibility, and discipline. This description of good conduct is in accordance with the following message of Luqman al-Hakim:

Akhlāq or good conduct is contained in the Hadīth of the Prophet Muhammad as narrated by Muslim as follow:

The saying of Ibn Daqīq 'al-birru husnul khuluq' indicates that goodness in this Hadīth is to act fairly, objectively, and gently when exchanging ideas, to be fair in living under the law, and to willingly do good. This Hadīth demonstrates that sin has two signs: internal and external omens. Examples of internal signs are the feelings of being upset, restlessness, and being uncomfortable in doing a deed, while external signs include the feeling of displeasure that people are seen doing a deed: the fear that one would be reproached for what one had done.³⁷ In the recognition of bad conduct (suu' khuluq), which is a hateful attitude and nature in Islamic view, Luqman al-Hakim said the following:

4.2.4. Dignified

In the lives of Bugis people, being dignified (siri`e) is a principle element. Siri` represents their soul, self-esteem and dignity. Therefore, in order to establish and defend siri` that is considered questionable or tainted by others, Bugis people are willing to sacrifice anything including the most precious part of the soul for the sake of the establishment of siri` in their lives.

Matthes describes the meaning of Siri` as shame. In this description, Matthes acknowledges that the descriptions both in Indonesian and in Dutch do not fully encompass the true meaning.<sup>38</sup> It can be argued that Siri` is not just the common feeling of dignity that exists in every person. The dignity described by Siri` is a 'unique' one that differs from the sense of shame possessed by other social groups in Indonesia.<sup>39</sup> It concerns the most sensitive issue in human beings, and is related to the dignity of self-esteem, reputation and honor, all of which must be nurtured and upheld in social life. Each family member and relative has a shared obligation to maintain their Siri` so as not to allow it to pollute public social life.

The Siri` element is abstract and has similarities to the spiritual element al-hayaa`. It plays an active role in life both in the orientation of worldly life and the orientation of spiritual life.⁴⁰ Luqman al-Hakim explained the elements of Siri` in Latoa as follows:

The Siri' element is also strengthened by the following Hadīth of the prophet Muhammad as narrated by Bukhari as follows:

The expression contains dual meanings. The first is the command in mubāh (allowed) point of view, it implies that if an action doesn't cause embarrassment, then it is permissible to proceed.  Secondly it conveys the idea of news. He who has no shame will be plunged into evil, and shame is generally a deterrent from this evil.⁴¹

These points from the 'Sparkling Pearls' concept represent cultural values that have become a social system in Bugis society that shields the lives of the Bugis people. These main values – faithful, knowledgeability, good conduct, and dignity - are internalized in the character of the Bugis people.⁴²

• Relevancy of the Sparkling Pearls Conception to Islamic Ethos Development

Luqman al-Hakim's words of guidance in the Latoa manuscript provide a glimpse into Bugis social life at the time. The specific character values within the text are in line with Hadīth textual messages. All of Luqman al-Hakim's advice is closely related to ethics and behavior in social interactions. This research has attempted to contextualize and internalize the ethos values set out in Table 1 and 2 of Luqman al-Hakim's conception in the Latoa and the Hadīth texts.

In the Latoa manuscript, Luqman al-Hakim teaches Islamic character values, such as honesty, concern, steadfastness, accuracy, fairness and love, and devotion to Allah Almighty. His concept illustrates that all work carried out with full trust, sincerity, and responsibility will be rewarded in the form of benefits and appreciation from those around you.⁴³ Attention, persistence, accuracy, acting reasonably, and compassion are ethos values for both personal and collective interests.

In fostering a great social life, there are several values that Luqman highlights as needing to be avoided: indulging in lust, lying, talking unnecessarily (fussiness), falling into extreme poverty, exaggerated expressions of joy, high levels of speculation, greed, prejudice, and arrogance. In order to avoid these negative character traits, Luqman introduced mau'idzah hasanah (wisdom and good exhortation) to his audiences as a form of self-control. This consisted of the following points: 1) the height of delusion is controlled by siri` (shame and dignity) and death needs to be remembered; 2) lies are controlled by fear of Allah; 3) useless speech is controlled by silence; 4) adversity is controlled by patience; 5) expressions of joy are controlled by gratitude; 6) greed is controlled by a trusting attitude; 7) prejudice is controlled by resignation (tawakkul); 8) the feeling of arrogance (takabbur) is controlled by humility; and 9) the feeling of self-praise (ujūb) is controlled by remembering Allah almighty. Luqman al-Hakim said:

The values from this conception can be contextualized with an attitude of trustworthiness, honesty, and responsibility for developing a social life and an attitude of togetherness for any work. Classic manuscripts packaged in new ways can attract children, students and people to participate in the ethos development process by giving them space to be involved in the learning process. The four 'sparkling pearls' pillars are clearly suitable for values for modern ethos education in Indonesia.

The aim of this study was to explore a model for developing Islamic ethos values from the conception summarized in the Latoa manuscript, with the purpose of creating a reliable future generation as well as to develop better Muslims societies. The concepts contained in "Sparkling Pearls" are still very relevant today and could even be the main reference for the formulation of current development goals. Due to its ethos development content, Latoa goes beyond Bloom's taxonomic domains and can be a reference in the development of future Islamic ethos as well as in the preparation of the younger Muslim generation.

The points conceptualized by Luqman al-Hakim are very closely related to several work ethic indicators. The three main characteristics of work ethic are:

1. personality skills which determine the ability of people to establish working relationships with others, outside or within the organization where they work.
2. initiative and responsiveness that encourages people to improve their work performance.
3. reliability which relates to the expectations regarding employee or worker performance. This final character, reliability, in accordance with the 'sparkling pearls' conception values, is the ability to follow instructions, comply with regulations, and be trusted, careful and honest.⁴⁴ Figure 3 presents these values as a flowchart.

The Islamic ethos values scheme shown in Figure 3 gives insight into how to develop the character of the youngest generation.⁴⁵ Work ethics in the Islamic world view refer to a system of faith that has a positive outlook on work performance. Luqman al-Hakim`s conception in the doctrine mentions faith (Teppe`) as the element forming the basis of the 'Sparkling Pearls.'

Figure 3. Relevance of the Sparkling Pearls Concept to Islamic Ethos Development

From this, it appears that the main teaching of Luqman al-Hakim in character building for his children was not to commit acts of shirk, namely the act of worshiping anyone or anything other than Allah. This shows Luqman's commitment to ensuring his children lived in a state of monotheism to Allah, the Lord of the Universe. Furthermore, he wanted the formation of a rabbaniyah community that upholds the word monotheism "laa ilaha illallah" as a place for his children to live, grow and develop. Therefore, the first step for developing a Muslim's personality is to teach them the true faith, which has an impact on the correct direction of life.

Islam has established guidelines for parents to prioritize faith education for their children. If this guideline is used as the main reference in education, a shield will automatically be formed that will protect the child's personality from slipping into wrongdoing, improper actions and mistakes. Collective display of virtuous attitudes and behaviour in a particular community are a reflection of the civilization of that nation. Indicators of virtue that are easily seen in the practice of daily social life include people's self-discipline and work discipline, and obedience to legal rules and moral virtue. If the behaviour of upholding high morals is neglected in society, then the existence of the nation is considered to have ceased to exist. As Parson theorized, a functionally strong social structure will be able to create a stable and orderly social life. Therefore, transparency, accountability and effective control functions by various elements and social structures could also prevent character crises in the life of society.

This research has succeeded in revealing that the values of faith, knowledge, being of good conduct, and dignity, which are summarized in the concept of "Sparkling Pearls", have strong relevance in shaping the character of the nation's younger generation in the future, especially in forming an Islamic ethos as a guarantee for the sustainability of Islamic civilization. The process of developing ethos through a manuscript study approach is framed into two critical phenomena. First, a paradigm shift is currently being experienced in the Indonesian education system⁴⁶ which has led to the classical manuscript approach becoming a new source of inspiration in developing work ethic and character formation. This approach has the ability to attract the younger generation to return to studying ancestral wisdom.⁴⁷ The ability of parents and teachers to use various approaches determines the success of developing a child's work ethic and character formation.⁴⁸ Second, this research shows that classical texts can and have been used as a medium to convey and encourage the internalization of certain ethos values in forming a work ethic and instilling character values in children. This research supports the argument that the study of classical manuscripts offers an excellent medium for ensuring that children, students, and society have the desired competencies.⁴⁹ In addition, manuscript reviews have also been proven to improve intellectual abilities, emotional maturity and spiritual piety.⁵⁰

Finally, the study of classical manuscripts to reveal moral messages that are important for strengthening work and study ethics needs continual development. Parents should review the messages and advice of their ancestors to better educate and equip their children as the next generation.

5. Conclusion

Luqman al-Hakim's conception of 'Sparkling Pearls' written in the Latoa Manuscript highlights dimensions of morality related to Islamic ethos development within local civilization. This conception consists of teppe (faithful), isseng (knowledgeability), gau patuju (good conduct), and siri` (dignity). The manuscript of Latoa provides a valuable opportunity to use classical manuscripts as a source of ethos value and character education learning because it provides an opportunity to adopt moral values in the family through parental guidance without the teacher needing to dominate the educational process.

The 'Sparkling Pearls' conception has much relevancy to work ethics, character development and human behavior in social interactions, all of which are in line with the sustainability of the Islamic civilization goals highlighted by Luqman al-Hakim. This conception has become a social system which has a structural function in society that is able to act as a shield in the lives of the Bugis people wherever they are. The classical Latoa manuscript is an example of the ancestral heritage of the Bugis people and is part of an expansive treasure trove of heritage of the Indonesian archipelago as a Muslim country. The contextualization of Islamic ethos values depicted in the past to the reality of the present day can shape the ethos of children and youth. This can sustain human development for future civilization in the wider region.

This research lacks comparative perspective from a broader range of manuscripts. Thus, future research should not only cover classical Bugis manuscripts, but also incorporate other manuscripts from the various ethnic groups scattered across the archipelago of Indonesia. Comparative research is needed to allow for differences in curricular orientations to accommodate various typologies of ethnic families all over the world. Finally, digitalization of the archipelago's classical manuscripts is needed, so that they can be presented to millennial readers in a way that avoids cultural discontinuity.