Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent islands such as the Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, Enggano, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung and Krakatoa archipelago.
Minangkabau people, also known as Minang, are an ethnic group native to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The Minangkabau's West Sumatran homelands was the seat of the Pagaruyung Kingdom, believed by early historians to have been the cradle of the Malay race, and the location of the Padri War.
Riau is a province of Indonesia. It is located in the central eastern coast of Sumatra along the Strait of Malacca. Until 2004 the province included the offshore Riau Islands, a large group of small islands located east of Sumatra Island and south of Singapore, before these islands were split off as a province in July 2004. The provincial capital and the largest city of Riau is Pekanbaru. The province shares land borders with North Sumatra to the northwest, West Sumatra to the west, and Jambi to the south. The total area for Riau province is 87,023.66 square kilometres (33,600.02 sq mi), which stretches from the slopes of the Bukit Barisan to the Strait of Malacca. Riau has a wet tropical climate with average rainfall ranging between 2000 and 3000 millimeters per year, and the average rainfall per year is about 160 days. Riau is currently one of the richest provinces in Indonesia and is rich in natural resources, particularly petroleum, natural gas, rubber, palm oil and fibre plantations. Extensive logging and plantation development in has led to a massive decline in forest cover Riau, and associated fires have contributed to haze across the larger region.
West Sumatra is a province of Indonesia. On the west coast of the island of Sumatra, the province has an area of 42,012.89 km2, and it had a population of 4,846,909 at the 2010 Census and 5,534,472 at the 2020 Census. The province includes the Mentawai Islands off the coast and borders the provinces of North Sumatra to the north, Riau and Jambi to the east, and Bengkulu to the southeast. West Sumatra is sub-divided into twelve regencies and seven cities. It has relatively more cities than other provinces outside of Java, although several of them are relatively low in population compared with cities elsewhere in Indonesia. Padang is the province's capital and largest city.
The karambit or kerambit, kurambik or karambiak is a small Indonesian curved knife resembling a claw from Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. Kerambit is one of the weapons commonly used in pencak silat.
The culture of Indonesia has been shaped by long intermction between original indiges customs and multiple foreign influences. Indonesia is centrally-located along ancient trading routes between the Far East, South Asia and the Middle East, resulting in many cultural practices being strongly influenced by a multitude of religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Islam, all strong in the major trading cities. The result is a complex cultural mixture very different from the original indigenous cultures.
Bukittinggi is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010 and 121,028 in 2020, and an area of 25.24 km2. It is in the Minangkabau Highlands, 90 km by road from the West Sumatran capital city of Padang. The whole area directly borders to the Agam Regency, making it an enclave, and is located at 0°18′20″S100°22′9″E, near the volcanoes Mount Singgalang (inactive) and Mount Marapi. At 930 m above sea level, the city has a cool climate with temperatures between 16.1° to 24.9 °C.
Pencak silat is an umbrella term for a class of related Indonesian martial arts. In neighbouring countries, the term usually refers to professional competitive silat. It is a full-body fighting form incorporating strikes, grappling and throwing in addition to weaponry. Every part of the body is used and subject to attack. Pencak silat was practiced not only for physical defense but also for psychological ends.
Rumah Gadang or Rumah Bagonjong "house for the Minangkabau people" are the traditional homes of the Minangkabau in West Sumatra, Indonesia. 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. In the matrilineal Minangkabau society, the Rumah Gadang is owned by the women of the family who live there; ownership is passed from mother to daughter.
Songket is a fabric that belongs to the brocade family of textiles of the Malay world (today, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It is hand-woven in silk or cotton, and intricately patterned with gold or silver threads. The metallic threads stand out against the background cloth to create a shimmering effect. In the weaving process the metallic threads are inserted in between the silk or cotton weft threads in a technique called supplementary weft weaving technique.
Lemang is a Malay and Minangkabau traditional food that made from glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt. It is cooked in a hollowed bamboo tube coated with banana leaves in order to prevent the rice from sticking to the bamboo. Apart from the Malay peninsula, Malay also spread throughout Indonesia, especially in Sumatra and Borneo. In terms of food, Malay has greatly influenced Indonesia’s culture. Lemang is commonly found in Maritime Southeast Asian countries, especially in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The food is also eaten throughout Mainland Southeast Asia.
The architecture of Indonesia reflects the diversity of cultural, historical and geographic influences that have shaped Indonesia as a whole. Invaders, colonizers, missionaries, merchants and traders brought cultural changes that had a profound effect on building styles and techniques.
Pagaruyung Palace is the istana of the former Pagaruyung Kingdom, located in Tanjung Emas subdistrict near Batusangkar town, Tanah Datar Regency, West Sumatra, Indonesia. It was built in the traditional Minangkabau Rumah Gadang vernacular architectural style, but had a number of atypical elements including a three-story structure and a larger dimension in comparison to common rumah gadang.
Rumah adat are traditional houses built in any of the vernacular architecture styles of Indonesia, collectively belonging to the Austronesian architecture. The traditional houses and settlements of the several hundreds ethnic groups of Indonesia are extremely varied and all have their own specific history. It is the Indonesian variants of the whole Austronesian architecture found all over places where Austronesian people inhabited from the Pacific to Madagascar each having their own history, culture and style.
Rangkiang is a granary or rice barn of the Minangkabau people used to keep rice. The rangkiang is a distinctive feature of Minangkabau architecture. The structure is traditionally found in the courtyard of a rumah gadang, the traditional house of Minangkabau people.
Adityawarman Museum is a State Museum located in Padang, Western Sumatra. As a State Museum, Adityawarman Museum is officially known as the State Museum of West Sumatra. The museum displays ethnographic collections of items related to the culture of the Province of West Sumatra, particularly the culture of Minangkabau and Mentawai.
Islam is the most adhered religion in West Sumatra, a province of Indonesia, embraced by 97.42% of the whole population. The Muslim population increases to 99.6% if it excludes the Mentawai Islands, where the majority of the non-Muslim (Protestant) West Sumatrans reside. Denomination among Islam in West Sumatra is predominantly Sunni Islam, and there is a small Shia Islamic pocket within the coastal city of Pariaman. Minangkabau people, indigenous to West Sumatra and comprise 88% of the West Sumatran population today, have historically played an important role within the Muslim community in Indonesia. Up until today the region is considered one of the strongholds of Islam in Indonesia.
Al-Munir was an Islamic magazine, written in Arabic-Malay, published in Padang from 1911 until 1915. Inaugurated by the initiative of Abdullah Ahmad in early April 1911, Al-Munir was listed as the first Islamic mass media in Indonesia. The magazine was often associated with Al-Imam magazine published under the direction of Sheikh Tahir Jalaluddin in Singapore during 1906-1909. In addition to Abdullah Ahmad, several religious figures such as Abdul Karim Amrullah, Muhammad Thaib Umar and Sutan Muhammad Salim were recorded in the ranks of the editorial board.
Minangkabau culture is the culture of the Minangkabau ethnic group in Indonesia, part of the Indonesian culture. This culture is one of the two major cultures in the Indonesian archipelago which is very prominent and influential.
Music of Minang is a traditional and living genre of Indonesian music that grows and develops in the Minangkabau culture area. Music whose origins are related to Malay Music is generally played by musical instruments such as Talempong, Saluang, Minang rebab, Serunai, Tmbourine, Aguang, Gandang, and Violin. Minang music is also played to accompany various dances such as the Pasambahan dance and the Piring dance.
