West Sumatra

West Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatra Barat) is a province located on the west coast of Sumatra Island and spans the total area of 42,297.30 km². The total population of this area is 5.3 million people based on the 2017 survey. The history of Tanah Minang began with the establishment of the Malay kingdom called the Pagaruyung Kingdom. This kingdom was founded by King Adityawarman in 1347 AD who named after the area with Nagari Minangkabau or Tanah Minang. The majority of West Sumatra residents are the Minangkabau. Other tribes are Batak, Mandailing, Mentawai, Chinese, Tamil, Nias, and Javanese. The major population of West Sumatra is Muslim, and the rests are Christians, Buddhists, and Hindus. There are two national parks in the province, namely: Siberut National Park and Kerinci Seblat National Park, which stretch to the provinces of Jambi, Bengkulu and South Sumatra. The traditional house of the Minangkabau tribe is Gadang House, which is a wooden stilt house with a curved roof like a buffalo horn. The shape of the house was allegedly imitating the shape of the ship of their ancestors. West Sumatra is known for its natural tourism, however, it also possesses rich traditions and intangible cultural heritage in the form of traditional dance, architecture, local gastronomy, and of course the traditional textiles.

West Sumatra

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Images of batik motif region:

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Cities of the region