West Sumatera is the homeland of Minangkabau.
Our Bukittinggi excursion took us to the cradle of Minangkabau, Tanah Datar. In the outskirt, buffalo horns roofs houses protruded the skies; some times they touched one another. Symbolically, the word “Minangkabau” means “Victorious Buffalo”.
The legend of Minangkabau
When the King of Java attempted to conquer West Sumatera, he called for the people of West Sumatera to surrender. However the chiefs of the Javanese and Minang decided to settle the issue by putting two buffalos to a fight. Whichever party that lose would have to surrender. The Javanese put at stake a huge size buffalo. The Minang cunningly starved a calf for 10 days and boud sharp iron spikes to the calf’s head. During the fighting day, the calf run enthusiastically for the belly of the Javanese buffalo, innocently thinking it was its mother. The starving calf tried to suckle the Javanese buffalo for milk, killing its supposed adversary to death. Since then, the roofs and women head gears are made tributes to the victory of the Minangkabau.
After half day tour of Bukittinggi town, we were chaffeured to Batu Sangkar to see the best of Minang architecture that is the Grand Palace of Pagaruyung. Although Batusangkar is only 41km from Bukittinggi, we had no option but to drive through the lush forest into the vast paddy fields.
The common views on the way to Istana Baso Bukittinggi
As we entered Tanah Datar, it became easier to notice the Rumah Gadang. Rumah Gadang is large elegant houses with solid wooden structures, beautifully carved with Minang roofs known as Gonjong.
Rumah Gadang Aminuzal Amin Di Rajo Batuah Gudam Pagaruyung
Istana Silinduang Bulan
One of the buildings that we passed by, one stood out as Istana Silinduang Bulan. It is a palace where the King and Queen used to reside. The uniqueness of the Istana Silinduang Bulan is the style “Alang Babega” which is usually not adopted in other famous Minangkabau palaces. Silinduang Bulan Palace has beautiful carving of Relic Gadang Minang. At the eaves, it has seven gonjong (horned-like curve roof).
In the courtyard stands two rangkiang. Rangkiang is rice storage.
Tips: No entrance fee. You cannot enter the palace. You are only allowed to enjoy the beauty of the architecture from the outside.The Great Palace of Pagaruyung / Istano Baso Pagaruyung
The Great Palace of Pagaruyung has become a landmark to Minangkabau community. A complete visit to Bukittinggi must include a visit to the great palace of Pagaruyung. Istano Baso Pagaruyung is the royal palace of the former Pagaruyung Kingdom. Built in the traditional Minangkabau Rumah Gadang vernacular architectural style, it has a three-storey structures with larger dimension. The Pagaruyung Palace is highly regarded by the Minangkabau people although the Pagaruyung kingdom collapsed during the Padri war.
I didn’t expect to see a majestic palace. The grandiose of the all rumah gadang in West Sumatera was now in revelation in the form of the Great Palace of Pagaruyung. The replica of the Great Palace of Pagaruyung was built after being damaged by fire in 2007. The original royal palace was set on fire by the Dutch.
Apart from admiring the grandiosity of the palace, we entered the palace to be greeted by friendly girl by the name of Wilma. Inside, there were many treasured collections like keris, weaponry, headgears etc. Wilma is a Minang girl who is very enthusiastic about Minangkabau history. We were impressed with her knowledge and good English and Japanese language.