Minangkabau people

The Minangkabau are an ethnic group on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, and with over three million members of the matrilineal and matrilocal largest existing culture worldwide. The Minangkabau are for the most part as orthodox Muslims ( Santris ), but at the same time follow to varying degrees their customary law ( adat ), so they practice a patrilineal oriented religion in a matrilineal society. Thus, the rice fields are inherited by the daughters of which still exist and Minangkabau women especially in private life a strong authority.

The settlement area of largely homogeneous ethnic group extends from the traditional ancestral heartland, the highlands of West Sumatra, surrounded by the volcanoes of Gunung Singgalang, Gunung Marapi, Gunung Sago, Gunung Malintang and the Barisangebirge, to the ancestral territory in the direction of Padang, the traditional Rantau Minangkabau. On the Malay Peninsula, in Malacca Negeri Sembilan and, Minangkabau immigrants have influenced the history before the arrival of the Portuguese.

You speak as a native language Minangkabauisch, a Malayo - Polynesian language, and lately increasingly the Indonesian official and instruction language, Bahasa Indonesia.

Name

Minang (also Menang ) means " victory" and Kabau (now Kerbau ) is called "Buffalo ". According to one version of the name Minangkabau goes back to a traditional double word creation: " the lucky ones " and " the have a water buffalo " ( and thus a good means of nutrition). Another version is based on a legend, " The victorious buffalo ", after the once a huge Javanese army to conquer the land of the Minangkabau. The kings agreed to let two buffaloes fight each other. The Minangkabau were now before the fight a young calf starving longer time and fixed a spearhead on its snout. It plunged thirsty on the buffalo of the Javanese and killed him like that.

History

Sources for the culture of the Minangkabau there is only since the colonization of Indonesia by the Portuguese in the 16th century and especially by the records of English and Dutch colonial officials and military. Although the Minangkabau possessed a font that is but receive only a few stone relics. The wooden houses with their textile design could not survive in the hot, humid climate, so that only a few representational legacies have survived from earlier centuries. The Minangkabau even tell her story with various myths.

It is known that it has acted in the Minangkabau for a kingdom with very decentralized management structure and without the military. The gold trade seems to have played an important economic role. After Islamization of West Sumatra, which took place about 100 years later than in the rest of Indonesia due to the physical inaccessibility, the old adat system has not fundamentally changed, but transformed and integrated into the self-understanding of the Minangkabau accordingly.

In recent years, increasing efforts of culturally conscious circles, to emphasize the traditional rules of adat that make up the political and social system of the Minangkabau and to protect them from decay. The mediation of adat rules to the subsequent male generation also takes place today - despite the dramatic increase of nuclear families in the new home instead of matrilocal kinship major units - the adat house, by the men of their own kin group.

Culture

The Minangkabau have rather complex social and societal structures. Four clans ( suku ), the Bodi, Caniago, Koto and Piliang are the oldest ethnic groups in West Sumatra.

The Adat determined in addition to the matrilineal succession, among other things:

• The inalienability of communal land ownership of the clan
• The inheritance of intangible adat titles of rank and influence within the adat decision-making structures of uncle to nephew within a clan mother
• Marriage rules
• The autonomous control of the social, political and economic affairs of the nagari in Adatsitzungen by the elders of the clans ( Penghulu )
• The matrilocal residence
• The dress code and cultural everyday and festive rules
• The language rules for the men in the ritual representation of the Adat
• The self-defense art
• Merentau to the provisions of adolescent male adolescents adopted, ie to leave the mother's house and in a men's house ( in a Surau since Islamization ) to live and learn.

Nevertheless, it is with the formation of small families also the matrilineal inheritance, a centerpiece of the Adat, gradually undermined. Parallel to the changes in inheritance law also changes in the living conditions. While in the traditional society of the place of residence of women matrilocal, that of men, however, was duolokal, has significantly transformed into a combination of matrilokalem residence in the emergence of a nuclear family so.

According to legend, Islam rose from the coasts, while Adat came down from the mountains, which have a peaceful coexistence causes. To what extent this is a konfliktreduzierende theory that does not correspond to reality, can be determined only on the basis of individual indicators. The writing codified norms of adat and Islam, the tambo and the Koran, at least leave much room for interpretation and are often consulted by the Minangkabau depending on the situation as Legitimierungsquelle. However, Islam is a - become central culturally significant power - read not only in the temperate practiced in Indonesia dress codes for women.

Historical stories and myths are packed into the Pantun - verse and presented in the traditional style of singing Saluang jo dendang with the accompanying bamboo flute Saluang. When folk theater Randai occurs to a larger orchestra.

Importance today

The research interest is large and focused at this living between modernity and traditional adat norms culture by various disciplines ( anthropology, sociology, anthropology, education ) and in particular the gender perspective.

Food

In the Minangkabau there is a special form of traditional Padang cuisine ( Masakan Padang ), the rendang mostly made ​​of beef.