Adat and Syarak

Indonesian culture does not reject its past when something new comes along. Rather, it remembers everything, displaying the new top of the old, as a sort of palimpsest. The dances of the Minangkabau region of West Sumatra reflect this process. While Islam dominates in Minangkabau culture, it is not the only influence. Adat (indigenous tradition) is another strong component. (note 3)

Adat refers to a clearly defined body of local customs–thus adat will vary from region to region. Before the coming of Islam, the Minang based their conduct and interactions on local adat, an important principle of which was that the Minang, both as individuals and as members of a community, should derive their wisdom from natural phenomena. As the famous Minang saying goes, "alam takambang jadi guru" ("nature should be taken as the teacher").

The Minang strongly believe in the continuity of tradition: "Adat neither rots in the rain, nor cracks in the sun." But they also recognize the importance of change: "When a flood comes, the bathing place moves." Thus, it is implicit to adat that it should be constantly renewed and adjusted as times change. These adjustments do not happen in an instant, and not without struggle–as can bee seen in the integration of Islamic law (syarak or syari'at) into adat.

The arrival of Islam in Indonesia in the seventeenth century marked the beginning of a new era in Minang history. Yet at first, Islam did not threaten the basic foundation of Minangkabau society. Instead of diminishing the culture, the new elements enriched it. In the second stage of this cultural alliance, adat and Islam held equal importance. The relationship between the two was formulated in accordance with a Minang aphorism, "Adat is based on Islamic law, Islamic law is based on Adat." Between 1821 and 1837, however, supporters of adat split from followers of Islam. This led to a third cultural stage in which Islam predominated. Since then, the relationship between Islam and adat has been redefined as, "Adat is based on Islamic law, and Islamic law is based on the Koran and Hadith (Islamic tradition)."

The continuous effort by Minangs–especially men–to renew adat is institutionalized through a tradition called merantau, according to which a young man (or, now, a young woman) is morally obliged to spend some time away from his (or her) village to seek material wealth or knowledge. This originally meant going to nearby rantau (acquired lands), but today merantau means leaving West Sumatra for Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, or even countries outside of Indonesia. One returns to one's village full of new cultural experiences and ideas with which to renew adat.

Compared to how they view adat, the Minang have traditionally characterized their dances as pamenan (games) or recreational activities "to pass the time." But in the second half of the twentieth century, the Minang people began to see dance as a serious theatrical art and studied it as a profession in high schools as well as in performing academies such as the Akademi Seni Karawitan Indonesia (ASKI). Traditionally, dance is practiced as a part of the training of young Minang men to become martial artists. Minang martial art comprises two important aspects: pencak and silat. Silat is self-defense proper, in which the rule is "a kick to break, a catch to kill." Pencak, "the flower of silat," is performed as a show or recreation; the rule is "a kick to be parried and a catch to be disentangled" and it is pencak that developed into dance.

In the past, Minang pencak-derived dance was performed mostly by men in outdoor settings, in modes that varied slightly from one nagari (village) to another. Both women dancing and dance as a theatrical art are recent phenomena here. When young girls in West Sumatra began to dance at the beginning of the twentieth century, they did not perform their own martial arts-based village dances. Instead, they imported Melayu dances from the neighboring provinces of Riau and North Sumatra. At first, this Melayu dance was practiced only by students, both male and female, at the newly introduced Western-oriented Dutch schools. In the early 1950s, however, young Minang people began enthusiastically to perform the new dance outside the school compounds as well. Yet Gusmiati Suid was an exception. Despite the fact that she was a girl, she was obliged, as the family's only child, to study silat from her mamak (maternal uncle) in order to preserve the tradition.