Valley of Tanah Datar

Valley of Tanah Datar

At the southeast side of Mount Marapi is the valley known as Tanah Datar. Mines in the region already exported gold in very early times. The Indian Ramayana epic (3rd century BC) mentions a Svarnadvipa or "Gold Island", which probably refers to the island of Sumatra. Because of the treacherous reefs on the west side of Sumatra, the gold was carried down by the Indragiri river to ports on the east coast of the island.

According to local legends, the first ancestors have descended from Mount Marapi and settled in the village of Pariangan, off the road between Padangpanjang and Batusangkar. The village is set in a small valley on the slope of the volcano, built around a hot spring which is still in use by the local community for bathing. Near Pariangan is the rice field called sawah gadang setamping baniah ("great rice field of the single seed"), which is according to traditions the first cultivated field in West Sumatra. It is said that all rice is the region originates from a single seed grown in this field.

The village of Pariangan, with in the front the old surau which is still in use

In the 14th century, a half-Sumatran, half-Javanese prince named Adityavarman settled in Tanah Datar. His mother was a Sumatran princess, taken to Java after the East-Javanese kingdom of Singhasari launched an expedition against the Malayu kingdom which ruled on the east coast of Sumatra at that time. Adityavarman probably moved to the highlands to defy the Javanese attempts to punish him for setting himself up as an independent sovereign, rather than a vassal ruler of the Javanese kingdom he probably ought to be. Beside this, the site of his capital is in the centre of the gold mining, which gave him control over his wealth.

Adityavarman left numerous of inscriptions, which where the first historical records of West Sumatra. Most of these stones have been found in the Batusangkar region. Few of these inscriptions have been transcribed. The translations of the eight stones found in Pagaryung are on display at the site, however, unfortunately only in Indonesian. The last inscriptions date from 1374, where a crown prince, Ananggavarman, is mentioned. What happened hereafter with the royal family is unknown. No historical records have been found of the period up to the 17th century when Europeans entered the region. The political system at this time was different from the court systems of kingdoms as Srivijaya, Malayu of Java, so the aristocratic Adityavarman kingdom probably had no chance to put down its roots in the Minangkabau society.

Stone with 14th century inscription near Batusangkar

The early history of the Minangkabau has to be derived from local legends, like the story of the conflict between two of the leaders of the Limo Kaum ("Five Clans") which ruled in the Tanah Datar valley. According to this story, one of the rulers, named Datuk Parpatih Nan Sebatang, pierced a stone as sign of his pledge to follow the adat (customs) according to the Bodi Caniago. This ended a conflict between his uncle and his older brother, Datuk Katumanggungan, who consequently settled elsewhere and followed the adat of Koto Piliang. Since this event, all clans were given the freedom to choose themselves which system they wanted to follow. The difference between Bodi Caniago and Koto Piliang styles is still visible in the Minangkabau Rumah Gadang. The Koto Piliang system is an aristocratic system, which is reflected in the houses which have a raised floor at the ends. The floors of the egalitarian Bodi Caniago are flat. The origin of the legend has yet to be discovered. Some people say that the separation of Koto Piliang may relate to influences of the Adityavarman kingdom, but the story might as well be from earlier times.

The pierced stone Batu Batikam at Dusun Tuo, near the village of Limo Kaum

In the 16th century, the gold mined in the region was traded via Pariaman at the west coast rather than via the great rivers of Riau. By that time, a triumvate of rulers controlled the Minang valleys. The court centre was in Pagaruyung. Several palaces have been built in this region, however non of them remained. The last palace has been burnt down by the Dutch in 1804. In the village of Balai Janggo, 4 km from Batusangkar, a reconstruction can be found of the Istana Basa ("Grand Palace") of the last Raja Alam of the Minangkabau, Sultan Arifin Muning Alam who ruled in the beginning of the 19th century. The palace has been constructed in 1976 by the Indonesian Government in order to continue the tradition and culture of the Minangkabau.

Istana Basa palace in Pagaruyung

The power of the Minangkabau rulers rested on the control of the gold mines. By the 1780s, the gold was depleted and new sources of income developed, like coffee, salt, gambir and textiles, however under control of Muslim traders. An Islamic reform movement emerged under control of the Paderis, who challenged the Minang court in Tanah Datar and in 1815 eventually stormed the royal family and massacred all but the Sultan and one of its grand children. In 1821, the nephew of the last Raja Alam granted the Tanah Datar valley to the Dutch. They built Fort van de Capellen in Batusangkar, and Fort de Kock in what now is called Bukittinggi. From which they established controlled over the Tanah Datar valley and south of Agam.