cultural

The Minangkabau perform a dance illustrating how a beruk monkey climbs a coconut tree and picks choice coconuts for its owner. Another dance is based upon a Hindu ceremony; before Islam came in, Sumatra was influenced by Hindu culture. Whilst in a religious trance, men in the Dabuih ceremony stick steel hooks into their flesh.
In the graceful Taripiring, or "dish dance ", entranced dancers hold plates alight with candles, deftly twisting and turning without extinguishing the flame.
The Tari Payung or "umbrella dance" portrays a young man's loving protection of his girl friend and provides a combination of literature, sport, song and drama.

Randai is one of the traditional Minangkabau arts. Randai is really interesting because in this art there is dancing, singing and traditional music collaborated into one performance. It is most often held outdoors in the evening. Between nine and twenty young men, dancing in a circle, are accompanied by sharp cries from the audience. The dresses are colourful and the exchanges captivating. The dance consists of slow steps followed by rapid ones; it depicts the story of a wicked woman, driven from her village. One way to develop Randai is to hold a festival in Payakumbuh every year. Actually this festival is not only to introduce Randai to foreign people but also for local youth.

The Minang style of gamelan folk orchestra consists of the rebab (stringed instrument made from a calabash with a long stick and four strings), the talempong (xylophone), the puput (straw flute), the gandang (tambourine), drums and many different kinds of salung (bamboo flutes), some of which are said to put love spells on women.

The rich gold and silver brocade of Minangkabau cloth plays an important role in the ceremonies of birth, circumcision, marriage and death. This iridescent and intricately designed textile forms the material expression of the Adat Minang. A traditional saying is "The fabric is the skin of the Adat ". Women weave this expensive cloth on a background of silk or cotton, applying an embossed pattern of silver or gold thread, a technique called Songket. The finest threads are traditionally made from paper with a thin layer of gold or silver. Since 1900 the ceremonial cloths have been woven in only four villages: Kota Badang, Padangpanjang, Payakumbuh and Silungkang and the famous Kain Balapak, the most exclusive ceremonial brocade, only in Pandai Sikek. Pandai Sikek lies12 km. south of Bukittinggi, and is also famous for its wood carving.

Kota Gadang is a picturesque silver work village near Bukittinggi on the other side of the Sianok valley. In the village are a variety of beautiful colonial houses and the place breathes an atmosphere of days gone by. Kota Gadang is well known because of its fine silver work home industries.

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Traditional house of Minangkabau is called 'Rumah Gadang' that means big house or Rumah Adat that means customary house. It is called Rumah Gadang is not because of its big size, but it refers to the big function of the house it self.
Rumah Gadang in Minangkabau belongs to all members of relatives along the mother's line called "kaum". This is the place for all Adat (custom & tradition) ceremonies, like a wedding party or an inauguration of a head of clan.
The original Adat house is made of wood and bamboo for the back wall. The roof is made of palm vibre. The house is about 12 to 20 meters long and 6 to 8 meters wide. The position of the floor is two or two and half meter above the ground.
The location of an Adat house stretch from west to east, while the numbers of the rooms are 3,5,7,9 & even though 17.
The construction is expended up with a horn shape roof. The roof looks like the horn of buffalo with 4 to 6 points stretch along the house and a point in addition forward for the front door and ladder.