Merantau

Practice Sumatera Barat PRC-0001

Vigorous

The institution of temporary departure from the home village to seek livelihood and standing, in which return is part of the purpose of leaving.

Forms

Merantau is undertaken in degrees: marantau cino, departure far and long, is distinguished from nearer departure permitting return each harvest. Those who leave remain bound by obligation to the rumah gadang, and remittances and returns at festivals are the form that obligation takes.

Sources 1

Relation to matriliny

Because ancestral property cannot be divided and is not inherited by men, men's standing is built outside the village. Merantau is not a rejection of the matrilineal order but part of how it works.

Sources 2 1

Keep reading

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