Southeast Asia: A Multidisciplinary Journal, Vol 13, 2013, pp 1–13 © FASS, UBD The Matrilineal System of the Minangkabau and its Persistence Throughout History: A Structural Perspective Alexander Stark Universiti Malaysia Kelantan Abstract The matrilineal society of the Minangkabau has fascinated numerous researchers from around the world. The co-existence of a matrilineal family structure and system of inheritance on one side and an Islamic way of life on the other side has intrigued these researchers. However most of the research has been descriptive or focused on a special element of the Minangkabau way of life. Two outstanding researchers namely Taufik Abdullah and Frederick Errington tried to offer theoretical approaches, and this paper will examine these approaches. Moreover it will also attempt to look at the historical developments from a structural point of view. It will be argued that the historical development and its structural analysis will help to understand the society in West Sumatra. Such a structural perspective could also be useful for the research of other societies in order to understand the inherent elements of a specific culture. Introduction In this paper I want to look at one society, namely the Minangkabau in West Sumatra. This culture has fascinated many researchers due to the co-existence of contradictory elements. There is a matrilineal family structure and inheritance regulations on one side and an Islamic way of life which stresses the father as provider of the family on the other side. For the anthropologist this is exciting, as in a matrilineal society the brother of the mother is the most important person for the upbringing of the children of his sister. How can such a way of life persist through history? This question is important in this time of globalization where changes and modern developments enter the village community at an incredible speed. A look at the historical developments will be given in order to analyze certain structures. Even though there are theoretical approaches which deal with the topic of change and continuity and which will be described briefly, this paper will offer a new perspective. Hopefully such a perspective can be used in the context of other societies. The Minangkabau society West Sumatra is the homeland of the Minangkabau. They form the largest matrilineal society in the world (Metje, 1995, p. 23). According to recent statistics (2010) there are more than four million Minangkabau who reside in West Sumatra (Badan Pusat Statistik, n.d.). But millions also live in other areas, particularly Jakarta and Negeri Sembilan. The center of the Minangkabau culture is the highland of West Sumatra. This highland is ‘traditionally’ divided into three regions: Limapuluh Koto, Tanah Datar and Agam (Kato, 1982, p.36). All the areas outside (even the coastal areas of West Sumatra) are called rantau. The term ‘traditional’ is used in this article but it is a quite problematic term (Kahn, 1993). Therefore it is written in quotation marks. Whenever I write about the ‘traditional’ way of life of the Minangkabau, I mean the matrilineal way of life which was introduced by the legendary ancestors Datuak Katumanggungan and Datuak Perpatih nan Sabatang.