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Puan visits W. Sumatra, calls on people to maintain solidarity
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he Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani visited Padang, West Sumatra, recently, where she told residents to preserve their tradition of social solidarity.
During her trip on Sept. 27, the minister carried out a local tradition called manjalang induak bako, where a child paid a visit to the house where their father’s extended family lived.
The minister has Minangkabau blood. Her father was the late politician Taufiq Kiemas, whose mother came from the Tanah Datar regency in West Sumatra. Puan’s clan name was Sikumbang. Taufiq was awarded the title datuk basa batuah to honor him as a clan leader. His wife, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was also awarded an honorary title from the Minangkabau people in 2003.
“Coming to Minangkabau land was like coming home for me,” Puan said. She visited the traditional Minangkabau house rumah gadang in Batipuh to join the Datuak Kayo family for a communal lunch called bajamba, according to local tradition.
Upon her arrival, the minister was given a local woven fabric before being taken to the dining room. Bajamba is a local Minangkabau tradition embodying communal solidarity and the strength of social ties, where family and community members sit down together at a large table to eat lunch or dinner.
The communal dining tradition also emphasizes that all human beings are equal regardless of social status, by inviting people from all walks of life to join the feast.
After the lunch, Puan handed out Rp 10 million (UD$15 2543) in financial aid to help the Rumah Gadang Datuk Basabatuah communal house, as well as Rp 25 million to the Al Azhar mosque located near the Datuak Kayo family’s house.
West Sumatra deputy governor Nasrul Abit, Tanah Datar regent Irdinansyah Tarmizi and members of the House of Representatives also joined the communal lunch.
