Minangkabau

Minangkabau

Any member of the largest ethnic group on the island of Sumatra, Indon. Though Muslim, the Minangkabau are matrilineal. Traditionally, the wife remained with her maternal relatives after marriage; her husband continued to live with his mother but visited his wife. The domestic unit, a community house, held a head woman, her sisters, their daughters, and their children and visiting husbands. Today that kinship structure has declined, and more men have left their villages to establish their own households with wives and children. Traditional Minangkabau are farmers, and their crafts include wood carving, metalwork, and weaving. Some migrated to Malaya (Peninsular Malaysia) in the 1850s to participate in the rapid expansion of Malayan tin mining; over time immigrants switched to farming, and in the 20th century they came to control most of Malaya's retail trade. The Minangkabau number two to five million.