Minangkabau houses: the Disney and the derelict

The Minang, or Minangkabau, people of West Sumatra are very proud of their traditional architecture. Lots of pointy spires, modelled on buffalo (kerbau) horns. Last time I was there they told me it was all incredibly important to them.

Tour guide Erik took me to the Sultan's royal palace, or rather, the latest rebuild of it - they keep on burning down.

It's open to the public, and it's quite a tourist attraction. Almost like being in Disneyland. There are comic book characters to meet and greet you, and many of the visitors get to play dress-ups, as royal family members or traditional brides and grooms. It's all fabulous fun during the big post-Ramadan holiday period.

Meanwhile, in nearby villages, you come across traditional houses that are in a slightly lesser condition. I was told that the families live in modern houses they've built next door, but they keep the old places for ceremonial purposes. Do they really hold weddings and funerals and things in these crumbling old buildings?  "Yes", said Erik.

Wanna see my slides? - I've been to Java too!

And what a trip it was. I went to Central Java, specifically Solo City, the Dieng Plateau, and Yogyakarta (Jogja), to fill in a missing link in my Indonesia travels.

There were sultans' palaces, bicycle tours of the padi fields, a gamelan foundry, bird markets and countless other market scenes. There were the ancient Hindu temples at Prambanan, volcanic bubbling lakes, brightly painted mosques galore, and joyous festivals, marches, and gatherings of all kinds.

There was a world record giant batik production event. There was my night ascent of the 2911m Mt Merapi volcano. There were happy crowds of weekend domestic tourists on the beach and elsewhere. And there was the 'Idul Adha' Muslim Day of Sacrifice festival, where I was welcomed warmly.

Most of all there were friendly souls everywhere. What a wonderful place. What wonderful people. We probably don't deserve such good neighbours

 

I'll write up a few of my adventures in more detail over the next few posts.