History of West Sumatera
West sumatera is a province that has a long history, where each history has its own meaning for the Minangkabau people.
The origins of West sumatera. Who doesn’t know the Minang tribe? This tribe is one of the tribes that is famous for its legendary folklore throughout the country. The Minang tribe is in West sumatera, one of the provinces located along the coast of the island of sumatera. Padang as the capital city of West sumatera is known for its distinctive cuisine and dominant original spices from Indonesian spices.
The province with a population of 4,864,909 people is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Minang people, so it is only natural that West sumatera is known by the Minangkabau tribe. But this beautiful province certainly has its own history. What is the origin of West sumatera? The beginning was Minangkabau.
History begins during the reign of Adityawarman, who was an important Minangkabau figure. A King who did not want to be called a King, once ruled in Pagaruyuang, the central area of the Minangkabau kingdom, besides that he was also the first to introduce the royal system in West sumatera.
Since the reign of King Adityawarman to be exact in the mid-17th century, this province has been more open to the outside world, especially Aceh. Because the relationship with Aceh has intensified through community economic activities, new values have finally begun to develop which have become the socio-cultural foundation of the people of West sumatera.
Islam as a new value is developing among the people and gradually dominates Minangkabau society which was previously dominated by Buddhism. In addition, some areas in West sumatera, namely the coast, were still under the rule of the Pagaruyung kingdom, but were later part of the Aceh sultanate.
Glance at the brief history of Minangkabau, which is one of the villages in the Sungayang District, Tanah Datar, West sumatera. The village was originally a field. However, due to the growing issue that the Pagaruyuang kingdom would be attacked by the Majapahit kingdom from the Java region, a buffalo fight occurred at the suggestion of both parties. The buffalo represents the war between the two kingdoms. Because the Minang buffalo succeeded in winning the fight, the word Manang Kabau emerged, which later became the name of the Nagari or village.
In an effort by local residents to remember this historic event, Pagaruyuang residents built a loteang house (rangkiang) where the roof is in the shape of a buffalo horn. According to history, the house was built on the border where the Majapahit kingdom met and was hosted with respect by the beautiful woman Pagaruyuang. The situation of society at that time generally involved trading, farming, forest products and gold mining began to develop.
Several questions arise that the means of transportation used to explore the Minangkabau highlands is buffalo. The reason for using buffalo was because the religion believed at that time taught to love elephants, buffalo and oxen. Because of this teaching, they use buffalo as a community for buffalo fighting.
Archaeological evidence says that the Minangkabau area, namely Fifty Koto, is an area inhabited for the first time by the ancestors of the sumateran people, who are thought to have sailed via this route and some settled and developed civilization around the Fifty Koto.
The opening of West sumatera Province to the outside world has resulted in a culture that is increasingly developing due to the mixture of immigrants. The number of population growth in various locations in West sumatera. Some spread to the south and some to the west of sumatera.
The fall of the Pagaruyuang kingdom and the involvement of the Dutch state in the Padri War, made the interior of Minangkabau part of the Pax Nerderlandica by the Dutch East Indies government. Then the Miangkabau area was divided into Residentie Padangsche Bovenlanden and Benedenlanden.
During the VOC era, Hoofdcomptoir van sumatera’s westkust was the name for the west coast region of sumatera. Until the 18th century, the Province of West sumatera was increasingly exposed to political and economic influence, finally this area included the west coast of sumatera. Then following the administrative development of the Dutch government, this area was included in the administration of sumatera’s Westkust and was expanded again to combine Singkil and Tapanuli.
Furthermore, during the Japanese occupation of this area, the Resident of sumatera’s Westkust changed its name to Japanese, namely Sumatoro Nishi Kaigan Shu, then merged into the Rhio Shu region. Until the beginning of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia in 1945, the area of West sumatera was combined with the Province of West sumatera which was domiciled in Bukittinggi. In 1949 the Province of sumatera experienced a split into 3 regions, namely the Provinces of North sumatera, South sumatera and Central sumatera which included West sumatera, Jambi and Riau.
Region, Tribe and Language used in West Sumatra
The majority of the population of West Sumatra is the Minangkabau tribe. Apart from the Minang tribe, the Pasan area is inhabited by the Mandailing tribe and the Batak tribe. The tribe’s population first appeared in the 18th century during the Padri War. The areas of Padang Gelugur, Luang Silaut and Sitiung, which are transmigration areas, also contain Javanese tribes. Some of the areas have immigrants of Surinamese descent who chose to return to Indonesia in the late 1950s. The immigrants were placed in the Sitiung area. The majority of the Mentawai tribe also live in the Mentawai Islands and it is very rare to meet Minangkabau people. Several other tribes, such as the Chinese, chose to settle in big cities such as Bukittinggi, Padang and Payakumbuh. The Nias and Tamil tribes themselves are in the Pariaman and Padang areas, although in small numbers.