Culture
Sumatra is a very primitive place, where nature grows in abandon, and human settlements are few and far between. In fact, the island used to be entirely covered with rainforest. However, today, much of the land is used for agricultural production. Thus, the people of Sumatra are a diverse group of races and cultural groups, most of whom are farmers. For instance there are the Batak, who are high mountain settlers that inhabit the tops of the mountains in Sumatra which are volcanic in origin. These people have their own dress code, religious beliefs, customs and architecture. They believe that Lake Toba is their spiritual center, although it has become a main tourist attraction. The Mingangkabau culture is a muslim culture, centered around the town Bukittinggi. Off the coast of North Sumatra, the island Nias is inhabited by headhunters. While this custom has faded over time, the people still practice some of their traditional customs, such as stone-jumping. In this custom, the young boys of the culture prove their manhood by jumping over a stone monument that is more that 2 meters high.
Every village in Kerinci has a slightly different dialect and each one has slightly different cultural practices. A Kenduri Sko, for example, is an important custom throughout and unique to Kerinci that offers thanks to God for the harvest and is a time to remember ancestors and past traditions. Yet, the way these festivals are celebrated and the specific traditions vary. Some villages hold them yearly, some are held only once a generation. All involve traditional dancing and music, food, pageantry, and displays of the martial art silat. The Kerinci people may have converted to Islam long ago, and are often more conservative and devout than many in larger modern cities, but ancestor worship and animism still play a large role in many of their traditions and forms of art.
One of the popular art skills in Sumatra is making traditional handwoven clothes, called Ulos. These Ulos have different significance. For example, the Ulos Ragi Hotang is a ceremonial sheath that announces the birth of a boy or a wedding, and still made by hand in Kerinci. While many cultures have similar styles of dying cloth with wax-resistant dyes, it is a practice that has been a part of Indonesian identity that predates written history. Batik has traditionally been used in a number of significant rituals, and certain patterns can signify political importance or indicate area of origin. Today, batik is commonly worn as a sarong for men and women, as a dress shirt in formal settings, and even used as a sling for babies. Be sure to stop by the traditional Batik workshop in Kerinci where you can watch it being made (though it can take a week or longer to complete), and even take lessons if you arrange it ahead of time. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the background pattern on our website and in our tiger logo are traditional batik motifs native to the Kerinci area.
Sumatra is a very primitive place, where nature grows in abandon, and human settlements are few and far between. In fact, the island used to be entirely covered with rainforest. However, today, much of the land is used for agricultural production. Thus, the people of Sumatra are a diverse group of races and cultural groups, most of whom are farmers. For instance there are the Batak, who are high mountain settlers that inhabit the tops of the mountains in Sumatra which are volcanic in origin. These people have their own dress code, religious beliefs, customs and architecture. They believe that Lake Toba is their spiritual center, although it has become a main tourist attraction. The Mingangkabau culture is a muslim culture, centered around the town Bukittinggi. Off the coast of North Sumatra, the island Nias is inhabited by headhunters. While this custom has faded over time, the people still practice some of their traditional customs, such as stone-jumping. In this custom, the young boys of the culture prove their manhood by jumping over a stone monument that is more that 2 meters high.
Every village in Kerinci has a slightly different dialect and each one has slightly different cultural practices. A Kenduri Sko, for example, is an important custom throughout and unique to Kerinci that offers thanks to God for the harvest and is a time to remember ancestors and past traditions. Yet, the way these festivals are celebrated and the specific traditions vary. Some villages hold them yearly, some are held only once a generation. All involve traditional dancing and music, food, pageantry, and displays of the martial art silat. The Kerinci people may have converted to Islam long ago, and are often more conservative and devout than many in larger modern cities, but ancestor worship and animism still play a large role in many of their traditions and forms of art.
One of the popular art skills in Sumatra is making traditional handwoven clothes, called Ulos. These Ulos have different significance. For example, the Ulos Ragi Hotang is a ceremonial sheath that announces the birth of a boy or a wedding, and still made by hand in Kerinci. While many cultures have similar styles of dying cloth with wax-resistant dyes, it is a practice that has been a part of Indonesian identity that predates written history. Batik has traditionally been used in a number of significant rituals, and certain patterns can signify political importance or indicate area of origin. Today, batik is commonly worn as a sarong for men and women, as a dress shirt in formal settings, and even used as a sling for babies. Be sure to stop by the traditional Batik workshop in Kerinci where you can watch it being made (though it can take a week or longer to complete), and even take lessons if you arrange it ahead of time. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the background pattern on our website and in our tiger logo are traditional batik motifs native to the Kerinci area.
