The Minangkabau Highlands ( id, Dataran Tinggi Minangkabau, Minang: ''Minang Darek'') is a mountainous area in the province of

West Sumatra West Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the west coast of the island of Sumatra and includes the Mentawai Islands off that coast. The province has an area of , with a population of 5,534,472 at the 2020 cen ...

, located around three mountains— Mount Marapi, Mount Singgalang, and

Mount Sago Sago (also known as Malintang) is a mountain in West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is near to the city of Payakumbuh and the town of Batusangkar. Sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm s ...

—in west-central

Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...

, Indonesia. The highlands are part of the Barisan Mountains, the largest mountain range in Sumatra. They are home to the

Minangkabau people Minangkabau people ( min, Urang Minang; Indonesian language, Indonesian or Malay language, Malay: ''Orang Minangkabau'' or ''Minangkabo''; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: منڠكبو), also known as Minang, are an Austronesian people, Austronesian eth ...

who refer them as ''Alam Minangkabau'', or "the world of Minangkabau". This area formed a kingdom known from at least the 7th century as Malayu. It is probable that wet rice cultivation evolved in the highlands long before it appeared in other parts of

, and predates significant foreign contact. Inscriptions in the area have been found from the rule of Adityavarman (1347–1375). The Dutch began exploiting the gold reserves in the highlands in the 1680s. They dominated the trade in the area, severely restricting the trade outlets between the highlands and the ports on the coast between 1820 and 1899, bringing about a marked decrease in rice production. The highlands consist of three major valleys: Tanah Datar Valley, Agam Valley, and Limapuluh Valley. The village of Belimbing in the highlands is well known for its examples of surviving Minangkabu architecture.

References

Geography of Sumatra Geography of West Sumatra Minangkabau Highlands {{WSumatra-geo-stub

See also

References