Parani, Daing (?-1724?), was the most famous leader of the Bugis, a group of people from Sulawesi, Indonesia. They conquered much of Malaya in the 1700’s. The Bugis were seafarers who had begun to spread over the Indonesian Archipelago in the 1600’s. They traded and fought around the coasts of Java, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula.
Daing Parani was the eldest of five sons. His father was a Bugis prince from Sulawesi. Daing Parani killed another prince in a fight and, as a result, the whole family was forced to flee. They wandered through Java, Johor, Melaka, and Siantan in the South China Sea.
In 1722, Daing Parani led his warriors into the Malay state of Johor. They drove out the ruler, Rajah Kecil, and put Sulaiman, the son of a previous ruler, on the throne. But for many years, the Bugis were really in control.
In 1723, Rajah Kecil threatened the rulers of Kedah. Daing Parani led a fleet of 60 boats to the rescue. A conflict followed, and Daing Parani was mortally wounded later as he sailed up the Kedah River.
