by Elle Morena

Created on: July 19, 2011

Massive land - that was how Padang got its name. Padang is located in central West Sumatra, Indonesia. It’s one of the major coastal port cities of West Sumatra facing the Indian Ocean. As Indonesia is located along the high seismic activity Pacific Ring of Fire it was not surprising that in 2009, Padang was devastated by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale. The earthquake brought down many high rise buildings and massive cracks could be visually seen on concrete structures and roads throughout the city. 2010 was a year of reconstruction and redevelopment and despite the destruction; Pandang still has a lot to offer the visitors who goes there for a variety of reasons.

Historically, Padang was under the rule of the Aceh Kingdom, with Dutch colonization in the 17th century as a trade and administrative city. The people of Padang belong to the Minangkabau ethnic group, a Deutro Malay ethic group that originated from South East Asia. Minangkabau kinship is based on the matrilineal system, where everyone belongs to his or her mother’s clan. The father is regarded as an outsider by his children and wife. Women play an important role in the clan, where the wealth are held by them and are noble in their customs. Minangkabau means “Triumphant Buffalo”. Legend has it that there was a bullfight by an invading Javanese King against the Minangkerbau people. A starving baby buffalo with sharp horns tied to its head is pitted against the strong bull brought in by the Javanese King. The baby buffalo, mistaking the bull for its mother, ran up and wanted to suck milk, gored the bull under its belly and killed the bull. That was how the Minangkerbau people triumph against the Javanese King.  Even the design and architecture of the Minangkerbau buildings and dwellings resemble a buffalo head, where both ends of the roof are sharp and pointed resembling the two buffalo horns.

Padang City Beach

As Padang city is located next to the Indian Ocean, the beach area is the place where the locals congregate. Youths on their motorcycles could be seen coasting along the beach area. Local food stalls, barbeque sweet corn, drinks and barbeque seafood are readily available for anyone. The beach itself is nothing special, except if one wants to enjoy the breeze, the sunset, and observe the locals in their favorite past times, socializing in groups. Fresh fish, shell fish, squid etc. are available for sale in the evenings when the fisherman comes ashore

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