Getting to Know the Rich History of the Minangkabau Tribe
Ditulis pada: January 16, 2022
Do you know the history of the Minangkabau tribe? Indonesia, which consists of thousands of islands totaling approximately 18,306, is lined up from Sabang to Merauke. Cultural diversity is diverse, because Indonesia has various ethnic groups with various regional languages.
The dominant ethnic group in Indonesia is the Javanese with their thick Javanese language. Apart from the Javanese, there are many other tribes that live in Indonesia, which adds to the richness of culture in Indonesia.
Getting to know the Minangkabau Tribe and the History of the Minangkabau Tribe
In this explanation, we will discuss the history of the Minangkabau tribe which has many advantages as well. The Minangkabau tribe belongs to the province of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Minangkabau people are also called the Padang people. The languages used daily are Minang, Indonesian, and also Malay.
Because the area of West Sumatra is close to neighboring countries, it is certain that cultural similarities with them can almost happen and even become a feud between countries, because they are fighting over each other, especially our neighboring country Malaysia. The majority of the Minangkabau population embraces Islam and the Minangkabau population is approximately 3,747,343.
The advantage of the Minangkabau tribe is that most of the people are prominent in trade and education issues. The Minangkabau tribe has a high mobility life, because they are often overseas. In fact, the spirit of their mobility or wandering life is the highest in Indonesia.
History of Minangkabau
Etymologically the name Minangkabau comes from two words, namely the word minang which means to win and the word kabau which means buffalo. According to the legend there, when the Singasari kingdom held an expedition to the Minangkabau region, the local population gave the idea of holding a Minang buffalo fight with Javanese buffalo to avoid fighting there.
In the end, the buffalo fight was won by the local people because they used a trick to beat the Javan buffalo by using a hungry calf equipped with a knife in its horn. That's what makes the locals give the name Minangkabau to their region.
Based on the Mmuda or also called the Deutro Malay community. Approximately 2,500 - 2,000 years ago, the Young Malays migrated from South China to the island of Sumatra, entering from the east of Sumatra, then along the Kampar or Minang Kawa River, until they were in the Luhak nan Tigo (darek) plateau, then spread to the west coast of Sumatra Island, which was also visited by many immigrants from India and Persia.
One of the causes of migration in the west coast of Sumatra, because at that time this area was a trading port other than Malacca.
Number of Tribes in Minangkabau
The Minagkabau tribe has many ethnic clans. Minangkabau culture initially only had 4 tribes from two lareh (laras) or also called harmony, the tribes were the Koto tribe, the Piliang tribe, the Bodi tribe, and the Caniago tribe.
The two alignments are that Lareh Koto Piliang, with Datuk Ketumanggungan as the initiator, adheres to a militaristic aristocratic culture system, while Lareh Bodi Caniago, whose initiator is Datuk Perpatih Nan Sebatang, adheres to a socialist democratic cultural system.
Currently, there are a lot of new tribes in Minangkabau because they are experiencing rapid development, sometimes even experiencing obstacles, namely the difficulty of equating with the parent tribe.
The development of the tribes in Minangkabau could have been influenced by the emergence of a new harmony called Lareh Nan Panjang with the initiator, namely Tuan Datuk Sakalok Dunia nan Bamego-mego.
The new tribes are:
• The Cape Tribe;
• Sikumbang tribe
• Sipisang tribe
• Bendang Tribe
• Malays (Minang)
• Guci Tribe
• Panai Tribe
• Jambak tribe
• Kutianyie Tribe or Koto Anyie Tribe
• Kampai Tribe
• Payobada tribe
• Pitopang or Patopang tribes
• Mandailing people
• Mandaliko tribe
• Sumagek Tribe
• Dalimo tribe
• Simabua Tribe
• Salo tribe
• Singkuang or Singkawang tribes
The Minangkabau tribe has a traditional house called the rumah gadang. As a tribe that adheres a lot to Islam, of course the Minangkabau area has a heritage of historic mosques. The ancient and historic mosques in Minangkabau are:
- The Sa'adah Mosque
- Tuanku Pamansiangan Mosque
- Taluak Mosque
- New Tuo Koto Mosque
- Sicincin Ijuk Roof Surau
- Surau Gadang Bintungan;
- Surau Gadang Syekh Burhanuddin Ulakan
- Surau Latiah
- Surau Raja Sontang
- Lubuk Bauk Surau
In the Minangkabau region, there are many so-called nagari. Nagari is an autonomous region that has the highest power in the Minangkabau tribe. Nagari adat in Minangkabau cannot be interfered with by social and political power. Each nagari is led by a council which is the tribal leader of all the tribes in the nagari.
Factors Causing Minangkabau People to Migrate
As for the character of the Minangkabau tribe who always migrate to other areas in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta and even to foreign countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and even the Philippines. The factors that cause the Minangkabau tribe to always go overseas are as follows.
1. Cultural Factors
Because they want to get a better life from their life in their village or in their own homeland, especially those who adhere to the matrilineal kinship system, namely the system in terms of controlling inheritance which is fully held by women, this is what causes the rights they have by men is small when compared to women's rights.
As a result, many Minangkabau men went abroad to try their luck in new lands. Not only men who go abroad, even women who also go abroad, not only for reasons to follow their husbands, but also want a career in education, trade, and so on.
2. Economic Factors
In the economic field, what makes some Minangkabau residents migrate is the lack of sources of income in their homeland. In the past, agricultural land and plantation yields were still far from what was expected. In the past, natural resources were still not optimally processed so that they were not sufficient to meet the common needs that had to be shared with other families.
In addition, there were new opportunities in the opening of new areas for plantations and mining. This is what requires Minangkabau people to go out looking for a new life in a new area. As the beginning of life in the overseas land, they work as a small trader and usually live together first in the family house which is considered as the landlady.
The Minangkabau tribe, also known as an educated tribe, produces many people who are experts in the fields of politicians, writers, scholars, teachers, journalists, and traders. There are several examples of the success of the Minang people in overseas lands, such as the Minangkabau clerics, namely Tuan Dato Ri Bandang and Tuan Dato Ri Tiro, who succeeded in spreading Islam in Eastern Indonesia and also succeeded in Islamizing the kingdom of Gowa. This happened in the late 16th century.
The Minangkabau tribe migrated to Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and succeeded in appointing a king for their new country from among them in the 14th century. This is what causes the similarities between Indonesian and Malaysian cultures, because we have Minang people who live in Malaysia because of their past migration to the area. This sometimes creates problems for Indonesia because of Malaysia's attitude which always claims Indonesian culture as their own.
In addition, in the field as writers and journalists from among the Minangkabau people, namely Marah Rusli, Abdul Muis, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, Idrus, Hamka, and AA Navis as novel writers. Chairil Anwar and Taufik Ismail through poetry, and Abdul Rivai, Djamaluddin Adinegoro, Rosihan Anwar and Ani Idrus as journalists.
As for some Minangkabau people who have succeeded abroad, such as Tuanku Abdul Rahman (Malaysia's first Yang Dipertuan), Yusof bin Ishak (Singapore's first president), and Zubir Said (composer of Singapore's national anthem, Majulah Singapura).
In the Netherlands, Roestam Effendi, who represented the Dutch Communist Party, was the only Indonesian who had ever sat as a member of parliament. Those are some of the achievements made by the Minangkabau people who gave their own influence in the history of Indonesia, that the Indonesian nation has many great people who cannot be underestimated.
This is a piece of the history of the Minangkabau tribe, which is widely known for its matrilineal customs. Most of the Minangkabau tribe are overseas, even almost half of the population in West Sumatra. They are widely spread to big cities such as Jakarta, Bandung, Pekanbaru, Medan, Batam, Palembang, and Surabaya.
Outside Indonesia, many Minangkabau live in Malaysia, especially in Negeri Sembilan and also spread to Singapore. The Minangkabau cuisine, which is very popular throughout the country, is "Padang Cuisine" and is much loved by the people of Indonesia because it is rich in spices and has a spicy taste.
Hopefully the information above can add to your insight how rich Indonesia is with various cultures from several regions in Indonesia.
