Puang Lakipadada is the founder of the princely ramages in puang-regions (Tallulembangna) in Tana Toraja, and of the rulers of the Buginese kingdom of Luwu' and the Makassarese kingdom of Goa.

Lakipadada, contemplating the problems of death, conceived the plan of going in search of immortality. In the company of his faithful dog, he set out. The dog remained by him as far as the edge of the ocean, close to heaven, and then could not accompany him further. Here at this place Lakipadada met a pure white water buffalo, Bulan Panarring, who spoke to him: "If I beat you over the ocean, you will agree not to eat of my flesh, not of the flesh of my descendants. The white buffaloes which will be born in your country will be blind". Lakipadada accepted the proposition. The buffalo, however, could not complete the passage. He drowned. Puang Lakipadada saved himself, climbing onto a limestone rock. He had been perching there a long time when a giant sea crab accosted him, offering to carry him to heaven. When Lakipadada finally arrived there, Puang Matua granted him eternal life on the condition that he would not sleep for seven days and seven nights. For six days Lakipadada remained awake, but on the seventh he fell into a deep slumber. Puang Matua then removed something from Lakipadada's sword as proof that sleep had overcome him. The god then told him of his failure, but allowed him to live for six generations.

Throughout his long life, Puang Lakipadada made many journeys, bringing back home a small number of remarkable swords, the la'bo' penai. These swords were the Sudan, originating from the Sudan, Africa, and now in the possession of the princes of Goa; the Maniang and the Doso, now the property of the puang of Ma'kale; and the Bunga aru, or Bunga waru, owned by the datu (prince) of Luwu'.

On one of his voyages, Lakipadada was shipwrecked but could rescue himself on a rock. Gradually he was covered over completely with seaweed. Happily he could sustain life by eating mangga-fruits, for a mangga-tree was growing from the rock. For seven years he fed from this tree. One day a certain sea eagle or garuda, Langkang Muga, alighted on the rock. After eating from the mangga-fruit the bird fell asleep and Lakipadada then grabbed hold of one of the bird's spurs. On his person Lakipadada stowed away a pit of a mangga. The eagle flew on high with Lakipadada clinging fast to its spur. Above Goa, the bird began to descend. Lakipadada loosened his hold and fell onto a forked branch. The garuda, flying on, disappeared from sight. Lakipadada, draped in seaweed, looked more like a strange beast than a man. People who came to draw water, saw Lakipadada. First a slave (kaunan) of the raja tried to drag Lakipadada from the tree, but the slave died. Then a to makaka came. He, too, tried to dislodge Lakipadada from the tree but he too, perished. Then the Raja of Goa himself came, and only then Lakipadada could descend from his lofty perch. The raja ordered Lakipadada to be cleaned. Initially, the seaweed refused to come off. Then a bird cried, "Wash him with an extract of lemo laa' (citrus fruit); he then will regain the colour of a danga-danga (species of gladiola)". The advice was followed, whereupon the seaweed peeled away. Lakipadada now received food from plates presented in succession by a number of people belonging to different classes. None of these were of noble blood, and they all died. Finally, the raja offered him food from his own dish. Since the raja did not die, it was evident that this unseeming and extraordinary stranger must be a person of princely blood. In the meantime drums were beaten without cessation. Lakipadada asked what this meant. He was told that the raja's wife was on the point of delivering a baby. Up to that time women in Goa could not give birth except by means of an operation. Lakipadada inquired what his reward would be if he helped the wife of the raja bear her child without the use of any artificial aids, and he added, "Actually, I don't really want any reward. I only want your child if she happens to be a girl." All the time the raja had realized that Lakipadada was not an ordinary person. He agreed, Lakipadada assisted at the delivery and all went well. Later he married the princess who, by his help, had seen the light of day. From their marriage three sons were born: Patala Bunga, Patala Bantan, and Patala Merang.

Before he died, Lakipadada climbed a peak of the Latimojon and divided his realm into three parts. Patala Merang acquired Goa and the title of Samba ti Goa; Patala Bunga received Palopo, i.e. the region north of Bone Puto and east of Buntu Puang. He acquired the title of Datu i Waraë and Payung ti Luwu'. Patala Bantan received the area now known as Tana Toraja (but the territory alotted to him by Lakipadada is not the same as contemporary Tator; it encompassed the region north of the Mappolo Lambang as far as the Tomini-bend). This son was endowed with the title Puang Matasak ti Toraja.

The ruler of Goa inherited the sword Sudan and the doi' i manuk (literally: money with a bird, 'fighting cock farthing', a coin minted by the English). The datu of Luwu' was given the sword Bunga Waru. The son who reigned over Tana Toraja received the Bate Manurun, a flag descended from heaven, a red cloth carrying the image of a garuda. The flag may be exhibited only when a pig is sacrificed. It is on display at mortuary rituals, or solemn state occasions, and on official visits by high dignitaries. This same royal son was presented with V.O.C. (Dutch East Indian Company) coins as pusaka (!) together with a kandaure, an ornament of beads, named Pattara. According to Nobele he also received two ancient textiles: Indo' Lebo and Arang to Buang. The sword Maniang also remained in Tana Toraja, in Makale itself.