Mapping Biological Concepts in Bugis Folklore: Implications for Contextual Biology Education

Abstract

Folklore is more than a collection of cultural stories; it also preserves knowledge that communities have accumulated across generations. In biology education, however, scientific concepts are often taught apart from students’ cultural experience, creating a need for locally meaningful contexts. This conceptual literature review maps biological concepts across six forms of Bugis folklore and traditional knowledge from South Sulawesi, Indonesia: the I La Galigo epic and Sawerigading myth, the Mappacci ritual, the siri’ na pacce philosophy, Sawerigading rice traditions, narratives of forests and sacred springs, and traditional medicinal knowledge (ethnobotany). The study combines a conceptual literature review, thematic content analysis, and limited cultural observation. Sources were identified through Google Scholar, ERIC, Semantic Scholar, and related academic outlets, while observation was used to document selected cultural materials and biological objects associated with Bugis traditions. The mapping identifies connections with genetics and kinship, plant morphology and phytochemistry, insect metamorphosis, fruit anatomy, domestication and breeding, ecology, conservation, and ethnobotany. Rather than treating these cultural elements as isolated examples, the study brings them together in an integrative framework aligned with major biology curriculum domains. The analysis suggests that Bugis folklore is an underused ethnoscience resource for contextual biology education. It may inform Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL), technology-assisted learning, and other culturally grounded approaches, provided that symbolic meanings are kept analytically distinct from scientific evidence. The framework is intended for curriculum design and still requires cultural validation and classroom-based testing before claims of instructional effectiveness can be made.