Minangkabau

By Andrea Sanchez

The Beginning  They believed that through the light of Mohammed God created the

universe. From the light came the angels and Adam and from Adam came Alexander the Great whose wife was a nymph from Paradise. After Alexander’s death his three sons [Diraja, Alif, and Depang] set sail around the world. The story says that the princes fought for the rightful ownership of the crown. During their voyage, they lost the crown. A trickster who was also a master goldsmith created a replica of the crown and told Diraja to tell his brothers that he found the original. He did so and they separated. Prince Depang sailed to the Land of Sunrise where he became the Emperor of Japan. Prince Alif said to the Land of Sunset where he became Sultan of Turkey. Prince Dirija found the Land between the Sunrise and Sunset where the Minangakabau began and Maharaja Diraja became their first king.

 A legend says that the name comes from the victory

over Javanese invaders. They had a calf fight with a bull with knives on its horns and the calf killed the bull. Minang meant victories and Kerbau meant buffalo.  Another version of this story said that it was a baby buffalo instead of a calf that was to fight the bull from another village.

 The Minangkabau live in West

Sumatra in Indonesia.  There are 4 million Minangkabau  They are Indonesia’s 4th largest ethnic group  They call their home the Alam Minangkabau which means Minangkabau World.  Their world is split into two regions.

The Darat and Rantau. 

Darat is the highland home for them.



Rantau is applied to the outlying districts.

 The Darat is divided into three more

groups.  Tanah Datar  Agam  Lima Puluh Koto

 The Minangkabau are matrilineal  They are the largest matrilineal society in the world  The Minangkabau stress education a lot and are

well-represented in all the educated professions in Indonesia.

Ceremonies  Turun mandi - baby blessing ceremony  Sunat rasul - circumcision ceremony  Baralek - wedding ceremony  Batagak pangulu – Inaugurates the clan leader  Turun ka sawah - community work ceremony  Manyabik - harvesting ceremony  Hari Royo – Islamic festivals  Adoption ceremony  Adat ceremony

 Funeral ceremony  Wild boar hunt ceremony  Maanta pabukoan - sending food to mother-in-law for Ramadan  Tabuik - Muslim celebration in a coastal village

Religion  The Minangkabau are Muslims, but also believe in

Animism which means that they believe that spirits exist in plants, animals, and things other than humans.  Before the 18th century, Islamic practices were weakly observed

Beliefs  They believe that people have two souls, a real soul

and one that can disappear which is called a semangat.  They believe that illness is caused by the capture of a semangat by an evil spirit and the shaman or pawang helps the family  They sacrifice things to spirits and use things as amulets for protection

Adat  The Adat is their law.  It has rules of conduct, belief, and social organization.  According to the tambo (their historical legend), the

adat was given to the royal family.  The first adat talks about the laws of nature.  The second adat talks about the essence of their social organization.  The third category is about the preserving of tradition.  The fourth adat talks about social behavior that is appropriate.  Adat and Islam reinforce each other

 In the 19th century the peaceful coexistence of adat

was hurt with the Padri wars. The Padri leaders displaced adat and substituted it with strict Islam.

Merantau  The practice of voluntary outmigration.  They were originally sedentary agriculturalists and

their land in the darat was productive for their rice, but after the growth in population, traders had to go to the rantau.  The merantau has changed location. At first it meant that the merchants left from the darat to the rantau, but at now it applies to people who keep ties to their village, but travel elsewhere to work.

Economics  Their main source of income comes from wet-rice

cultivation.  They also grow fruits, vegetables, peanuts, peppers, maize, and tomatoes.  The local markets sell more than just produce. They sell fish, meat, clothes, jewelry, books, and textiles.  Artisans work In large cities and sell bamboo carvings, pottery, and weaving among other things.

Performing Arts

 The Minangkabau’s music consists

of singing with a bamboo flute and gong-chime music  Their dances include the tari piring (plate dance), tari payung (umbrella dance) and tari indang  They also perform the silat martial art  Randai is performed at festivals and ceremonies and it is a folk theater tradition that includes music, singing, dancing, drama, and silat martial art

Sociopolitcal Organization  All matrilineal segments have a linage chief called the

penghulu.  Even though they are matrilineal, some leaders are men  They perform ceremonies like weddings and funerals  The penghulu have political, economic, social, and ceremonial power.  They have three associates.   

One helps solves disputes Another helps watch over security The third gives advice about the Islamic law

Architechture

 Rumah Gadang are the

traditional homes.  Rumah Gadang means big house.  Women own the home  The roof is multi-tiered with upswept gables  Rumah Gadang usually refers to communal homes, but some singleresidence homes have the same characteristics