W

est Sumatra would host the Matrilineal Festival from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1, inviting different ethnic groups from across the country and the world that follow matrilineal descent systems, an official said on Tuesday.

Padang Cultural Preservation Office head Nurmatias said his office would invite representatives from ethnic groups, such as the Semende from Muara Enim, South Sumatra; the Enggano and Muko-Muko from Bengkulu, Kuantan, Kampar; the Rokan from Riau; the Kerinci from Jambi; the Ank Jamek, of Minangkabau, West Sumatra, and South Aceh; and the Sibolga from Central Tapanuli, North Sumatra, to attend the festival.

Nurmatias said representatives from ethnic groups and other nations, such as the Kerala from India, the Mosuo from Lugu Lake in China, the Patani from Thailand and the Negeri Sembilan of Malaysia, would be invited to attend the event.

'€œIt will become a matrilineal festival in Indonesia, or even the world. Representatives of ethnic groups will exhibit the uniqueness of their cultures and share the problems of the matrilineal system amid the dominance of the patrilineal system,'€ he told The Jakarta Post.