The Minangkabau clans Minangkabau tribes ( min, Suku-suku, ) are traditional kinship groups sharing a common

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

and heritage and existing in a lineage based society prior to the fifth century. These clans are descended

matrilineal Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which each person is identified with their matriline – their mother's Lineage (anthropology), lineage – and which can in ...

ly which means clans are descended based on the female line.

History

According to the ''Tambo'' of the Minangkabau, the clans are grouped into several big groups or known as ''kalarehan''. These main clan groups are divided into either Ketemanggungan group or Perpatih group. In the beginning, there were only two clans in each system. So, there were four main clans.Suku dalam Etnis Minangkabau
/ref> These clans are Koto and Piliang from the Ketemanggungan, and also Bodi and Caniago from Perpatih Nan Sabatang. Later, the system of Ketemanggungan are called Koto-Piliang system and Perpatih system are called Bodi-Caniago system. The Koto-Piliang System and the Bodi-Caniago System developed differently. These systems formed their own governing system based on their ideologies. The Koto-Piliang are based on

aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At t ...

while Bodi-Caniago are based on

confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. These clans' name are believed to have originated from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

. As well as, ''Koto'' originated from the word ''kotta'' which means 'citadel', ''Piliang'' originated from the agglutination of the word ''phili'' which means 'to be chosen' and ''hyang'' which means 'god', which means 'the God's choice', ''Bodi'' originated from the word ''bodhi'' which means 'civilized' and Caniago originated from the agglutination of the word ''chana'' which means 'someone' and 'aga' which means 'valuable'. This is same for the other clans in Minangkabau that developed in the

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

era of Pagaruyung which

was used widely as a liturgical language and cultural title along with

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

. Some clans' name were changed to adapt with the

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

after its arrival. Some of the new clans developed from the main clans due to differences in understanding and outlook in terms of customs. The new matrilineal clans also developed in

Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan (, Negeri Sembilan Malay: ''Nogoghi Sombilan'', ''Nismilan'') is a state in Malaysia which lies on the western coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It borders Selangor on the north, Pahang in the east, and Malacca and Johor to the s ...

along with the Minangkabau migrant waves from Pagaruyung to Negeri Sembilan circa 17th-18th century. Some of them were named by the place of origin of the migrant groups from Pagaruyung and other were named after the Minangkabau groups that intermarried with the

Orang Asli Orang Asli (''lit''. "first people", "native people", "original people", "aborigines people" or "aboriginal people" in Malay) are a heterogeneous indigenous population forming a national minority in Malaysia. They are the oldest inhabitants of ...

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

, Javanese and Acehnese. Some clans may be determined by the Kings of the Pagaruyung.Batuah, A. Dt. & Madjoindo, A. Dt., (1959), ''Tambo Minangkabau dan Adatnya'', Jakarta: Balai Pustaka. Now, no new clans are created.

References

{{Asia-ethno-group-stub Minangkabau

History

See also

References