There is a large Wolio fortress located in the area of the Buton Sultanate in Southeast Sulawesi. The fortress, which covers 22.8 hectares, contains an interesting cave called Liana Latoondu on the eastern wall. This cave served as a hideout for Arung Palakka when forces from the Kingdom of Gowa came searching for him around 1660-1661. Despite promises from the Sultan of Buton that the people would suffer illness if Arung Palakka was found there, the king and people did not succumb as Arung Palakka hid in the rocky cave rather than above ground. The intact cave continues to be visited by tourists today via a footpath along the

1. Di daerah Buton (Bau Bau), Sulawesi
Tenggara,terdapat benteng Wolio dalam wilayah
Keraton Kesultanan Buton. Menurut informasi,
benteng itu menjadi yang terluas di dunia, yaitu
seluas 22,8 hektar.
Ada satu tempat menarik di benteng Wolio yaitu
gua Liana Latoondu, gua di dinding tebing bagian
timur. Gua itu adalah tempat persembunyian
Arung Palakka dari pasukan Bontomarannu yang
datang mencarinya.
Diceritakan bahwa sekira tahun 1660-1661, pasukan Bontomarannu dari Kerajaan Gowa datang
ke Kesultanan Buton untuk mencari Arung Palakka. Ketika bertemu Sultan Buton, La Awu Sultan
Malik Surullah, terjadi perdebatan tentang keberadaan Arung Palakka. “Saya tidak bohong. Tapi
kalau benar Arung Palakka ada di atas tanah Buton, saya bersumpah seluruh rakyat Buton akan
terkena pogoso (bibir pecah-pecah),” kata sultan Buton untuk meyakinkan pasukan
Bontomarannu.
Raja Buton dan rakyatnya akhirnya memang tidak termakan sumpah, sebab Arung Palakka yang
bergelar Petta Malampe’e Gemme’na (Pangeran yang Berambut Panjang) itu bersembunyi di
sebuah ‘gua’ berbatu, bukannya di atas ‘tanah’ Buton.
Hingga kini, gua persembunyian Arung Palakka itu masih utuh dan sering dikunjungi para
wisatawan. Jalanan setapak di bibir tebing curam yang di sekitarnya sudah disemen dibangun
untuk memudahkan orang mencapai dan
melihat gua.
Di Buton, Arung Palakka dikenal dengan
nama Latoondu. Diambil dari dua kata: La
(awalan untuk nama laki-laki di masyarakat
Buton) dan Tounru (Sang Penakluk, salah
satu julukan Arung Palakka). Karenanya, gua
persembunyian Raja Bone itu dinamai Liana
Latoondu, guanya Arung Palakka.
Gua Liana Lantoondu
Vina Widya Putri
X-H

2. In the area of Buton (Baubau), Southeast
Sulawesi, there’s a Walio fortress in the area of
royal palace Buton. According to information,
the fort is the widest in the world, which
contains 22.8 acres.
There is one interesting place in that fortress,
called Wolio Latoondu Liana cave, which
located in the east wall of the fort. The cave
was a hideout of Arung Palakka form
Bontomarannu forces which looking for him.
About 1660-1661 years, forces of the Kingdom of Gowa Bontomarannu came to the Sultan of
Buton to find Arung Palakka. When he met the Sultan of Buton, La Awu Sultan Malik Surullah,
there was a debated about the existence of Arung Palakka. "I don’t lie. But if it’ss true that
Arung Palakka is on the ground of Buton, I swear all the people in here will get Pogoso (chapped
lips), "said the sultan of Buton to convince Bontomarannu forces.
King of Buton and people ultimately didn’t get Pogoso, because Arung Palakka who titled Petta
Malampe'e Gemme'na (Long-haired prince) was hiding in a rocky 'cave', rather than on the top
of the Buton ‘ground’.
Until now, the cave as a hideout of Arung Palakka is still intact and often visited by tourists.
Footpath on the edge of the cave wall has been cemented to facilitate people to reach and see
the cave.
In Buton, Arung Palakka is known as Latoondu.
Taken from two words: La (prefix for male
names in Buton) and Tounru (the Conqueror,
one of the nickname Arung Palakka). Therefore,
the cave as a hideout the King of Bone was
named Liana Latoondu.
Liana Lantoondu Cave
Vina Widya Putri
X-H