Buffaloes: Central figures in W. Sumatra culture

Buffaloes: Central figures in W. Sumatra culture

By Izabel Deuff

KOTA BARU, West Sumatra (JP): Buffaloes can do more than just
pull a plow. Apart from this agrarian duty, they also play a role
for entertainment freaks. They are the leading stars of the
buffalo fight, locally called adu kerbau, which is a deep-rooted
custom in this area.

In one of the shows attended by The Jakarta Post recently, the
bloody game took place on a soccer field, surrounded by a few
warung (food stalls) and rough-and-ready bamboo stands.

Four animals were presented on the field before two of them
were led away to wait their turn.

The others looked at each other, ready for a show. Egged on by
the crowd pressing them into an ever-smaller circle, they slowly
got closer. Once the horns entangled, they began pushing each
other slowly and powerfully by using their napes. Still having
their horns crossed, they danced a few steps, moving around the
whole field. They fought until one of them, exhausted or
threatened, flew away, chased by the winner.

At that moment, you had better clear the way for the loser,
otherwise you could be trampled, as happens sometimes. Also, make
sure that you don't park the car behind the field's fence as the
buffalo might jump over.

After the first fight, which lasted only a few minutes, the
other two buffaloes were brought in and fought for about 10
minutes. Fights usually last from a few seconds to 20 minutes.

In Kota Baru, about 5 kilometers from Bukittinggi, the people
might organize buffalo fighting up to four times a week.

In Bukittinggi, they take place every Saturday and Tuesday,
except on special days such as Christmas Day, Independence Day
and Islamic holidays, one local said.

It costs just Rp 1,000 to see the fight.

"Each fight usually attracts between 200 and 500 visitors," he
said.

The sight would draw ire from animal lovers. Legend relates
the buffalo-fighting tradition to the Javanese army, which came
to invade Sumatra centuries ago. The Sumatrans proposed a buffalo
fight to settle the issue. If they lost, they would surrender to
Java. To represent them, they picked a calf and let it starve for
10 days. When the animal met the stronger Javanese buffalo, it
swooped on it in attempts to obtain some milk. In doing so, the
calf gored its enemy because its horns were covered with iron
caps.

In commemoration of this day, the people named their land
Minang Kabau (winner buffalo). Even if the name is more likely
to come from pinang kabhu, which means original home, referring
to the cradle land of the Malays, the story is still deeply
rooted in the people's mind and the buffalo has become the symbol
of the unity of the province.

This story of facing the enemy with the buffalo trick is known
to be a manifestation of a sharp mind. Indeed, Minangkabau is
home to a number of famous writers and intellectuals and is known
for its high level of education, especially for girls because of
the matriarchal system in families.

According to Yanti Amran, director of Yayasan Rusli Amran, a
foundation for the preservation of West Sumatran historical
values, "Minangkabau people were very well known for two things:
buffalo fighting and education,"

Apart from celebrating Minangkabau legend, buffaloes are also
considered as the symbol of bravery, which is often depicted as a
pair of horns in Minangkabau illustrations and on Minangkabau
traditional houses.

Whatever materials the houses are made of (wood or iron
sheeting), they always have curved ridges crowned with buffalo-
horn shaped finials. Externally, the houses are carved with
mainly red and white floral motives, but buffaloes and ducks
appear also on the panels.

Being a central figure of Minangkabau culture, buffaloes are
everywhere in Western Sumatra and are part of the people's daily
life.

Dances

But buffaloes are not the only things to see in West Sumatra.
This area is famous for its various dances, performed not only at
special family events like weddings, but in hotels, which hire
dancers to entertain the guests.

For the past few years, women have also been involved in
dances, which were originally performed exclusively by men, and
which can still could be viewed in the highlands, like at
Maninjau.

For Rp 10,000, visitors can enjoy a series of dances from
different districts.

At one performance, a few members of the Alan Manja Group,
dressed in plain dark and broad suits, began playing traditional
instruments: three tubular double-headed goat-skinned drums known
as gendang; tambourines and gongs provided the rhythm and a flute
added melody to the charming and bewitching music. Three kinds of
flutes, including one made of coconut leaves and one made of a
buffalo's horn, were also used during the evening.

Two dancers, both wearing taluak, a batik kerchief shaped in a
buffalo horn, sat at opposite corners of the dancing area. They
slowly moved closer to each other but without noticing each
other. At close intervals, to accompany their piercing cries,
their hands clapped on their large pants called galembong.

With their movements appearing nervous-like and as close to
the ground as their center of gravity would let them, their
entire bodies seemed to be as light as air, reminding the
audience of martial arts' movements, especially those of pencak
silat.

They looked as if they were vying with each other in striking
a pose before going into holds and seemingly fighting.

When music became faster and the dance was nothing but a
clinch, it ended with a taji (knife), appearing from nowhere,
falling to the ground; they drew apart in a sudden movement, with
the loser leaving the stage, followed by the winner -- the scene
which reminded one of the buffalo fighting.

A dance-opera called randai was also performed that night but
it was not as amazing as the tari piring, where the artists
danced with plates balanced on the palms of their hands, or the
spectacular last dance which featured barefoot dancers in a
trance jumping on broken glass or even rolling in it.

To enjoy such rich culture, you should be ready to spend Rp
1.2 million for a plane ticket for Jakarta-Padang-Jakarta. Or for
those with less money but more time, you can take a 24-hour bus
trip. And it all comes with lake-and-volcano landscapes of West
Sumatra.