Minangkabau

Minangkabau
Minangkabau woman dressed in traditional clothes
Total population
8 million[citation needed]
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia (2000 census) 5,475,000 [1]         West Sumatra 3,747,000         Riau 535,000         North Sumatra 307,000         Jakarta 265,000         West Java 169,000         Jambi 132,000  Malaysia 538,826
Language(s)
Minangkabau, Indonesian and Malay.
Religion(s)
Sunni Islam[2]

The Minangkabau ethnic group (also known as Minang or Padang) is indigenous to the highlands of West Sumatra, in Indonesia. Their culture is matrilineal, with property and land passing down from mother to daughter, while religious and political affairs are the province of men (although some women also play important roles in these areas). Today 4 million Minangs live in West Sumatra, while about 3 million more are scattered throughout many Indonesian cities and towns.

The Minangkabau are strongly Islamic, but also follow their ethnic traditions, or adat. The Minangkabau adat was derived from animistic and Hindu beliefs before the arrival of Islam, and remnants of animistic beliefs still exist even among some practicing Muslims. The present relationship between the Islam and adat is described in the saying "tradition founded upon Islamic law, Islamic law founded upon the Qur'an" ("adat basandi syara', syara' basandi Kitabullah").

Their West Sumatran homelands were the location of the Padri War from 1821 to 1837.

Etymology

Rumah gadang in the Pandai Sikek village of West Sumatra, with two rice barns (rangkiang) in front.

The name Minangkabau is thought to be a conjunction of two words, minang ("victorious") and kabau ("buffalo"). There is a legend that the name is derived from a territorial dispute between the Minangkabau and a neighbouring prince. To avoid a battle, the local people proposed a fight to the death between two water buffalo to settle the dispute. The prince agreed and produced the largest, meanest, most aggressive buffalo. The Minangkabau produced a hungry baby buffalo with its small horns ground to be as sharp as knives. Seeing the adult buffalo across the field, the baby ran forward, hoping for milk. The big buffalo saw no threat in the baby buffalo and paid no attention to it, looking around for a worthy opponent. But when the baby thrust his head under the big bull's belly, looking for an udder, the sharpened horns punctured and killed the bull, and the Minangkabau won the contest and the dispute.

The roofline of traditional houses in West Sumatra, called Rumah Gadang (Minangkabau, "big house"), curve upward from the middle and end in points, in imitation of the water buffalo's upward-curving horns.

History

A statue believed to be Adityawarman, founder of a Minangkabau kingdom.

People who spoke Austronesian languages first arrived in Sumatra around 500 BCE, as part of the Austronesian expansion from Taiwan to Southeast Asia. The Minangkabau language is closest to the Malay language, though when the two languages split from a common ancestor and the precise historical relationship between Malay and Minangkabau culture is not known. Until the 20th century the majority of the Sumatran population lived in the highlands. The highlands are well suited for human habitation, with plentiful fresh water, fertile soil, a cool climate, and valuable commodities such as gold and ivory. It is probable that wet rice cultivation evolved in the Minangkabau highlands long before it appeared in other parts of Sumatra, and predates significant foreign contact.^[3]

Adityawarman, a follower of Tantric Buddhism with ties to the Singhasari and Majapahit kingdoms of Java, is believed to have founded a kingdom in the Minangkabau highlands at Pagaruyung and ruled between 1347 and 1375, most likely to control the local gold trade. The establishment of a royal system seems to have involved conflict and violence, eventually leading to a division of villages into one of two systems of tradition, Bodi Caniago and Koto Piliang, the later having overt allegiances to royalty.^[4] By the 16th century, the time of the next report after the reign of Adityawarman, royal power had been split into three recognized reigning kings. They were the King of the World (Raja Alam), the King of Adat (Raja Adat), and the King of Religion (Raja Ibadat), and collectively they were known as the Kings of the Three Seats (Rajo Tigo Selo).^[5] The Minangkabau kings were charismatic or magical figures who received a percentage of gold mining and trading profits, but did not have much authority over the conduct of village affairs.^[6][4]

Tuanku Imam Bonjol, a leader in the Padri War.

In the mid-16th century, the Aceh Sultanate invaded the Minangkabau coast, occupying port outlets in order to acquire gold. It was also around the 16th century that Islam started to be adopted by the Minangkabau. The first contact between the Minangkabau and western nations occurred with the 1529 voyage of Jean Parmentier to Sumatra. The Dutch East India Company first acquired gold at Pariaman in 1651, but later moved south to Padang to avoid interference from the Acehnese occupiers. In 1663 the Dutch agreed to protect and liberate local villages from the Acehnese in return for a trading monopoly, and as a result setup trading posts at Painan and Padang. Until early in the 19th century the Dutch remained content with their coastal trade of gold and produce, and made no attempt to visit the Minangkabau highlands. As a result of conflict in Europe, the British occupied Padang from 1781 to 1784 during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, and again from 1795 to 1819 during the Napoleonic Wars.

Late in the 18th century the gold supply which provided the economic base for Minangkabau royalty began to be exhausted. Around the same time other parts of the Minangkabau economy had a period of unparalleled expansion as new opportunities for the export of agricultural commodities arose, particularly with coffee which was in very high demand. A civil war started in 1803 with the Padri fundamentalist Islamic group in conflict with the traditional syncretic groups, elite families and Pagaruyung royals. A large part of the Minangkabau royal family were killed by the Padri in 1815. As a result of a treaty with a number of penghulu and representatives of the murdered Minangkabau royal family, Dutch forces made their first attack on a Padri village in April 1821.^[4] The first phase of the war ended in 1825 when the Dutch signed an agreement with the Padri leader Tuanku Imam Bonjol to halt hostilities, allowing them to redeploy their forces to fight the Java War. When fighting resumed in 1832, the reinforced Dutch troops were able to more effectively attack the Padri. The main center of resistance was captured in 1837, Tuanku Imam Bonjol was captured and exiled soon after, and by the end of the next year the war was effectively over.

With the Minangkabau territories now under the control of the Dutch, transportation systems were improved and economic exploitation was intensified. New forms of education were introduced, allowing some Minangkabau to take advantage of a modern education system. The 20th century marked a rise and cultural and political nationalism, culminating in the demand for Indonesian independence. Later rebellions against the Dutch occupation occurred such as the 1908 Anti-Tax Rebellion and the 1927 Communist Uprising. During World War II the Minangkabau territories were occupied by the Japanese, and when the Japanese surrendered in August 1945 Indonesia proclaimed independence. The Dutch attempts to regain control of the area were ultimately unsuccessful and in 1949 the Minangkabau territories became part of Indonesia as the province of Central Sumatra.

In February 1958, dissatisfaction with the centralist and communist-leaning policies of the Sukarno administration triggered a revolt which was centered in the Minangkabau region of Sumatra, with rebels proclaiming the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) in Bukittinggi. The Indonesian military invaded West Sumatra in April 1958 and had recaptured major towns within the next month. A period of guerrilla warfare ensued, but most rebels had surrendered by August 1961. In the years following, West Sumatra was like an occupied territory with Javanese officials occupying most senior civilian, military and police positions.^[7] The policies of centralization continued under the Suharto regime. The national government legislated to apply the Javanese desa village system throughout Indonesia, and in 1983 the traditional Minangkabau nagari village units were split into smaller jorong units, thereby destroying the traditional village social and cultural institutions.^[8] In the years following the downfall of the Suharo regime decentralization policies were implemented, giving more autonomy to provinces, thereby allowing West Sumatra to reinstitute the nagari system.^[9]

Historiography

The village of Pariangan, located on the slopes of Mount Marapi, is in folklore said to be the first Minangkabau village.

The traditional historiography or tambo of the Minangkabau tells of the development of the Minangkabau World (alam Minangkabau) and its adat. These stories are derived from an oral history which was transmitted between generations before the Minangkabau had a written language. The first Minangkabau are said to have arrived by ship and landed on Mount Marapi when it was no bigger than the size of an egg, which protruded from a surrounding body of water. After the waters receded the Minangkabau proliferated and dispersed to the slopes and valleys surrounding the volcano, a region called the darek. The darek is comprised of three luhak - Limapuluh Koto, Tanah Datar and Agam. The tambo claims the ship was sailed by a descendant of Alexander the Great (Iskandar Zulkarnain).^[10]

A division in Minangkabau adat into two systems is said to be the result of conflict between two half-brothers Datuk Ketemanggungan and Datuk Perpatih nan Sabatang, who were the leaders who formulated the foundations of Minangkabau adat. The former accepted Adityawarman, a prince from Majapahit, as a king while the latter considered him a minister, and a civil war ensued. The Bodi Caniago system formulated by Datuk Perpatih nan Sabatang is based upon egalitarian principles with all panghulu (clan chiefs) being equal while the Koto Piliang system is more autocratic with there being a hierarchy of panghulu. Each village (nagari) in the darek was an autonomous "republic", and governed independently of the Minangkabau kings using one of the two adat systems. After the darek was settled, new outside settlements were created and ruled using the Koto Piliang system by rajas who were representatives of the king.^[10]

Culture

The Minangs are the world's largest matrilineal society, in which properties such as land and houses are inherited through female lineage. Some scholars argue that this might have caused the diaspora (Minangkabau, "merantau") of Minangkabau males throughout the Malay archipelago to become scholars or to seek fortune as merchants. As early as the age of 7, boys traditionally leave their homes and live in a surau (a prayer house & community centre) to learn religious and cultural (adat) teachings. When they are teenagers, they are encouraged to leave their hometown to learn from schools or from experiences out of their hometown so that when they are adults they can return home wise and 'useful' for the society and can contribute their thinking and experience to run the family or nagari (hometown) when they sit as the member of 'council of uncles'.

This tradition has created Minang communities in many Indonesian cities and towns, which nevertheless are still tied closely to their homeland; a state in Malaysia named Negeri Sembilan is heavily influenced by Minang culture.

Due to their culture that stresses the importance of learning, Minang people are over-represented in the all walks of life in Indonesia, with many ministers from Minang and the first female minister was a Minang scholar.

In addition to being renowned as merchants, the Minangs have also produced some of Indonesia's most influential poets, writers, statesmen, scholars, and religious scholars. Being fervent Muslims, many of them embraced the idea of incorporating Islamic ideals into modern society. Furthermore, the presence of these intellectuals combined with the people's basically proud character, made the Minangkabau homeland (the province of West Sumatra) one of the powerhouses in the Indonesian struggle for independence.

Today both natural and cultural tourism have become considerable economic activities in West Sumatra.

Ceremonies and festivals

Women carrying platters of food to a ceremony

Minangkabau ceremonies and festivals include:

• Turun mandi - baby blessing ceremony
• Sunat rasul - circumcision ceremony
• Baralek - wedding ceremony
• Batagak pangulu - clan leader inauguration ceremony. Other clan leaders, all relatives in the same clan and all villagers in the region are invited. The ceremony will last for 7 days or more.
• Turun ka sawah - community work ceremony
• Manyabik - harvesting ceremony
• Hari Rayo - Islamic festivals
• Adoption ceremony
• Adat ceremony
• Funeral ceremony
• Wild boar hunt ceremony
• Maanta pabukoan - sending food to mother-in-law for Ramadhan
• Tabuik - Muslim celebration in the coastal village of Pariaman
• Tanah Ta Sirah, inaugurate a new clan leader (Datuk) when the old one died in the few hours (no need to proceed batagak pangulu, but the clan must invite all clan leader in the region).
• Mambangkik Batang Tarandam, inaugurate a new leader (Datuk) when the old one died in the pass 10 or 50 years and even more, must do the Batagak Pangulu.

Performing arts

Saluang performance

Traditional Minangkabau performing arts include:

• Randai, folk theater which includes music, dance and drama
• Saluang Jo Dendang ("bamboo flute and singing")
• Talempong (gong-chime) music
• Tari Piring ("Plate dance")
• Tari Payung ("Umbrella dance")
• Tari Indang, traditional dance
• Pidato Adat (also known as Sambah Manyambah), ceremonial orations.
• Pencak Silat, performances based upon the Silat martial art

Crafts

Minangkabau crafts include:

• Hand weaving of Songket cloth
• Embroidery
• Wood carving
• Goldsmithing and silversmithing of jewelry by filigree and granulation techniques

Cuisine

Rendang

The staple ingredients of the Minangkabau diet are rice, fish, coconut, green leafy vegetables and chili. The usage of meat is mainly limited to special occasions, and beef and chicken are most commonly used. Pork is not halal and therefore not consumed, while lamb, goat and game are rarely consumed for reasons of taste and availability. Spiciness is a characteristic of Minangkabau food, and the most commonly used herbs and spices are chili, turmeric, ginger and galangal. Vegetables are consumed two or three times a day. Fruits are mainly seasonal, although fruits such as banana, papaya and citrus are continually available.^[11]

Three meals a day are typical with lunch being the most important meal, except during the fasting month of Ramadan where lunch is not consumed. Meals commonly consist of steamed rice, a hot fried dish and a coconut milk dish, with a little variation from breakfast to dinner.^[11] Meals are generally eaten from a plate using the fingers of the right hand.^{[citation needed]} Snacks are more frequently eaten by people in urban areas than in villages. Western food has had little impact upon Minangkabau consumption and preference to date.^[11]

Rendang is a dish which is considered to be a characteristic of Minangkabau culture, and is cooked 4-5 times a year.^[11] Other characteristic dishes include Asem Padeh, Soto Padang, Sate Padang, Dendeng Balado (beef with chili sauce).

Food has a central role in the Minangkabau ceremonies which honor religious and life cycle rites.

Minangkabau food is popular among Indonesians and restaurants are present throughout Indonesia. Nasi Padang restaurants, named after the capital of West Sumatra, are known for placing a variety of Minangkabau dishes on a customer's table along with rice and billing only for is taken. Nasi Kapau is another restaurant variant which specializes in dishes using offal and the use of tamarind to add a sourness to the spicy flavor.^{[citation needed]}

Architecture

Rumah gadang (Minangkabau: 'big house') are the traditional homes (Indonesian: 'rumah adat') of the Minangkabau. The architecture, construction, internal and external decoration, and the functions of the house reflect the culture and values of the Minangkabau. A rumah gadang serves as a residence, a hall for family meetings, and for ceremonial activities. With the Minangkabau society being matrilineal, the rumah gadang is owned by the women of the family who live there - ownership is passed from mother to daughter.

The houses have dramatic curved roof structure with multi-tired, upswept gables. Shuttered windows are built into walls incised with profuse painted floral carvings. The term rumah gadang usually refers to the larger communal homes, however, smaller single residences share many of its architectural elements.

Oral traditions and literature

A Minangkabau bride and groom.

Minangkabau culture has a long history of oral traditions. One oral tradition is the pidato adat (ceremonial orations) which are performed by panghulu (clan chiefs) at formal occasions such as weddings, funerals, adoption ceremonies, and panghulu inaugurations. These ceremonial orations consist of many forms including pantun, aphorisms (papatah-patiti), proverbs (pameo), religous advice (petuah), parables (tamsia), two-line aphorisms (gurindam), and similes (ibarat).

Minangkabau traditional folktales (kaba) consist of narratives which present the social and personal consequences of either ignoring or observing the ethical teachings and the norms embedded in the adat. The storyteller (tukang kaba) recites the story in poetic or lyrical prose while accompanying himself on a rebab.

Malin Kundang is a folktale about retribution on an ungrateful son. A sailor from a poor family, the protagonist voyages to seek his fortune, becoming rich and marrying a princess. On his return to his home village, he is ashamed of his humble origins and refuses to recognize his elderly mother. She curses him, and when he sets sail, he and his ship are turned to stone. Padang, has a rock formation called Batu Malin Kundang that is said to be the remains of his ship.

Cindua Mato (Staring Eye) is a folktale relating to the traditions of Minangkabau royalty. The story involves a mythical Minangkabau queen, Bundo Kanduang, who embodies the behaviors prescribed by adat. Cindua Mato, a servant of the queen, uses magic to defeat hostile outside forces and save the kingdom.^[12]

Sabai nan Aluih (The genteel Sabai) is a folktale about a young girl named Sabai, the hero of the story, who avenges the murder of her father by a powerful and evil ruler from a neighboring village. After her fathers murder her cowardly elder brother refuses to confront the murderer and so Sabai decides to take matters into her own hands. She seeks out the murderer and shoots him in revenge.^[13]

Rancak diLabueh is a folktale of a mother acts as teacher and adviser to her two growing children. Initially her son is vain and headstrong and only after her perseverance does he become a good son who listens to his mother.

Language

Main article: Minangkabau language

The Minangkabau language (Baso Minangkabau) belongs to the Malayic linguistic subgroup, which in turns belongs to the Malayo-Polynesian branch. The Minangkabau language is closely related to the Negeri Sembilan Malay language used by the people of Negeri Sembilan, many of which are descendants of Minangkabau immigrants. The language has a number of dialects and sub-dialects, but native Minangkabau speakers generally have no difficultly understanding the variety of dialects. The differences between dialects are mainly at the phonological level, though some lexical differences also exist. Minangkabau dialects are regional, consisting of one or more villages (nagari), and usually correspond to differences in customs and traditions. Each sub-village (jorong) has its own sub-dialect consisting of subtle differences which can be detected by native speakers.^[14] The Padang dialect has become the lingua franca for people of different language regions.^[15]

The Minangkabau society has a diglossia situation, whereby they use their native language for everyday conversations, while the Indonesian language is used for most formal occasions, in education, and in writing, even to relatives and friends.^[14] The Minangkabau language was originally written using the Jawi script, an adapted Arabic alphabet. Romanization of the language dates from the 19th century, and a standardized official orthography of the language was published in 1976.^[15]

Despite widespread use of Indonesian, they have their own mother tongue. The Minangkabau language shares many similar words with Malay, yet it has a distinctive pronunciation and some grammatical differences rendering it unintelligible to Malay speakers.^{[citation needed]}

Adat and religion

Traditional Minangkabau mosque

Animism has been an important component of Minangkabau culture. Even after the penetration of Islam into Minangkabau society in the 16th century, animistic beliefs were not extinguished. In this belief system, people were said to have two souls, a real soul and a soul which can disappear called the semangat. Semangat represents the vitality of life and it is said to be possessed by all animals and plants. An illness may be explained as the capture of the semangat by an evil spirit, and a shaman (pawang) may be consulted to conjure invisible forces and bring comfort to the family. Sacrificial offerings can be made to placate the spirits, and certain objects such as amulets are used as protection.^[17]

Until the rise of the Padri movement late in the 18th century, Islamic practices such as prayers, fasting and attendance at mosques had been weakly observed in the Minangkabau highlands. The Padri were inspired by the Wahhabi movement in Mecca, and sought to eliminate societal problems such tobacco and opium smoking, gambling and general anarchy by ensuring the tenets of the Koran were strictly observed. All Minangkabau customs allegedly in conflict with the Koran were to be abolished. Although the Padri were eventually defeated by the Dutch, during this period the relationship between adat and religion was reformulated. Previously adat was said to be based upon appropriateness and proprietary, but this was changed so adat was more strongly based upon Islamic precepts.^[18][2]

Notable Minangkabau people

Mohammad Hatta, Indonesian nationalist and first vice president of Indonesia

Main article: List of notable Minangkabaus

• Abdul Muis, Indonesian writer, famous novels : Salah Asuhan, Azab dan Sengsara
• Agus Salim, Indonesian diplomat, former Indonesian government minister
• Mohammad Hatta, former Indonesian government prime minister and vice president
• Muhammad Yamin, former Indonesian government minister
• Rasuna Said, Indonesian nationalist political leader, first female minister of Indonesia
• Sutan Sjahrir, former Indonesian government prime minister, founder of Socialist Party
• Tan Malaka, Indonesian nationalist activist and communist leader
• Yusof Ishak, half-Minangkabau descent, first President of Singapore
• Chairil Anwar, famous poems : Aku, Krawang-Bekasi
• Tarmizi Taher, former Indonesian government minister
• Tuanku Imam Bonjol, leader in the Padri movement
• Lieutenant Adnan Bin Saidi, World War II hero
• Zubir Said, Composer of Majulah Singapura, National Anthem of Singapore

References

General

Notes

See also

• West Sumatra
• Negeri Sembilan
• Rumah gadang

External links

• On Culture's Loom
• The Carvers of Bukittinggi

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