As descendant of the Minangkabau race (well, half of it now anyway), I proudly present you this history which has been passed on from generation to generation...
Once upon a time, the Majapahit empire had conquered all kingdoms in Indonesia except one. This was Sumatera, which was inhabited by a peaceful race known for their craftmanship in weaving beautiful songket and designing prestigious songkok, as well as their excellent skills in wood carving, exploring, goldsmithing, trading and cooking (yes, cooking. The first thing you see in the museum about the Minangkabau people is their huge cooking pot).
This race of people is also unique in their way of life. Way back before the Westerners had their Women's Lib, the Minangkabau people have always acknowledge their women as equally strong and intelligent as their men. A happy Minangkabau man was usually content having a wife who could fetch her own firewood and on the way manage to slap a wolf to death with her apron.
Seeing the Sumatran kingdom available for invasion, the Javanese prince from Majapahit decided to take over the kingdom. But the Minangkabau people didn't like the idea of going to a battle, and so they sent their Lembaga to engage in a diplomatic talk with the Javanese prince:
Minang Lembaga: We hate to wage war against your empire, and we also hate your provocative kemban fashion. So please don't take over our kingdom.
Javanese Prince: How dare you people criticize our fashion! Who do you think you are, the fashion police? For that, we will send our troops to trespass into your kingdom and pillage all your loot and ravish all your women... just like what that Shrub-named guy is gonna do to Iraq in the next 600 years or so.
Minang Lembaga: I'm afraid you have to forget about ravishing our women in that context. Our women are broad-shouldered, square-jawed and nag quite a lot. Their piercing naggings will kill your troops in no time...
Javanese Prince: Ah! Just like my sister Puteri Gunung Ledang. So what do you propose we should do?
Minang Lembaga: Let's see... we take pride in our intelligence because we are extremely intelligent and cunning people. Let's have a buffalo match to settle our dispute. If your buffalo wins, you get to have our kingdom. If our buffalo wins, you scram out of here.
Javanese Prince: A buffalo match? What does that have to do with your intelligence?
Minang Lembaga: You'll see... he,he,he (conspiratorial snigger).
To avoid battle, the Minangkabau people proposed a fight to death between two water buffaloes to settle the dispute. The Javanese agreed and produced the largest, meanest, most aggressive buffalo that could kill a Spanish matador if provoked. The Minangkabau people, being as cruel as cunning, made preparations by locking up a hungry baby buffalo in the stable for weeks. Using their skill in wood carving, they sharpened the baby buffalo's small horns until they were as sharp as knives.
So on the day of the match, seeing the adult buffalo across the field, the famished baby buffalo ran forward, hoping for milk. The big buffalo saw no threat in the baby buffalo and paid no attention to it, looking around for a worthy opponent. But when the baby buffalo thrust his head under the big buffalo's belly, looking for an udder, the sharpened horns punctured and killed the buffalo, and the Minangkabau people won the match. The Javanese prince kept his word and left the kingdom in humiliation, puzzled over the wit of the Minangkabau people which is as sharp as the baby buffalo's horns.
The word "Minangkabau" is derived from the term menang, which means victory and kabau refers to the buffalo, kerbau. That's how the Minangkabau people get their name. And that is why they carve the roofs of their houses in the upward-curving shape of buffalo horns - to imitate the horns of the baby buffalo that they carved.
Once upon a time, the Majapahit empire had conquered all kingdoms in Indonesia except one. This was Sumatera, which was inhabited by a peaceful race known for their craftmanship in weaving beautiful songket and designing prestigious songkok, as well as their excellent skills in wood carving, exploring, goldsmithing, trading and cooking (yes, cooking. The first thing you see in the museum about the Minangkabau people is their huge cooking pot).
This race of people is also unique in their way of life. Way back before the Westerners had their Women's Lib, the Minangkabau people have always acknowledge their women as equally strong and intelligent as their men. A happy Minangkabau man was usually content having a wife who could fetch her own firewood and on the way manage to slap a wolf to death with her apron.
Seeing the Sumatran kingdom available for invasion, the Javanese prince from Majapahit decided to take over the kingdom. But the Minangkabau people didn't like the idea of going to a battle, and so they sent their Lembaga to engage in a diplomatic talk with the Javanese prince:
Minang Lembaga: We hate to wage war against your empire, and we also hate your provocative kemban fashion. So please don't take over our kingdom.
Javanese Prince: How dare you people criticize our fashion! Who do you think you are, the fashion police? For that, we will send our troops to trespass into your kingdom and pillage all your loot and ravish all your women... just like what that Shrub-named guy is gonna do to Iraq in the next 600 years or so.
Minang Lembaga: I'm afraid you have to forget about ravishing our women in that context. Our women are broad-shouldered, square-jawed and nag quite a lot. Their piercing naggings will kill your troops in no time...
Javanese Prince: Ah! Just like my sister Puteri Gunung Ledang. So what do you propose we should do?
Minang Lembaga: Let's see... we take pride in our intelligence because we are extremely intelligent and cunning people. Let's have a buffalo match to settle our dispute. If your buffalo wins, you get to have our kingdom. If our buffalo wins, you scram out of here.
Javanese Prince: A buffalo match? What does that have to do with your intelligence?
Minang Lembaga: You'll see... he,he,he (conspiratorial snigger).
To avoid battle, the Minangkabau people proposed a fight to death between two water buffaloes to settle the dispute. The Javanese agreed and produced the largest, meanest, most aggressive buffalo that could kill a Spanish matador if provoked. The Minangkabau people, being as cruel as cunning, made preparations by locking up a hungry baby buffalo in the stable for weeks. Using their skill in wood carving, they sharpened the baby buffalo's small horns until they were as sharp as knives.
So on the day of the match, seeing the adult buffalo across the field, the famished baby buffalo ran forward, hoping for milk. The big buffalo saw no threat in the baby buffalo and paid no attention to it, looking around for a worthy opponent. But when the baby buffalo thrust his head under the big buffalo's belly, looking for an udder, the sharpened horns punctured and killed the buffalo, and the Minangkabau people won the match. The Javanese prince kept his word and left the kingdom in humiliation, puzzled over the wit of the Minangkabau people which is as sharp as the baby buffalo's horns.
The word "Minangkabau" is derived from the term menang, which means victory and kabau refers to the buffalo, kerbau. That's how the Minangkabau people get their name. And that is why they carve the roofs of their houses in the upward-curving shape of buffalo horns - to imitate the horns of the baby buffalo that they carved.
DJ ON THE MIX'S "KUTANG BARENDO" is playing in my mind today.
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