Pariaman ( Jawi: ), is a coastal city in

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 ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

. Pariaman covers an area of , with a coastline. It had a population of 79,043 at the 2010 Census and 94,224 at the 2020 census. "Pariaman" means "safe area".

History

According to the limited early sources available, by the sixteenth century Pariaman was an important port city serving the Minangkabau settlements in the interior highlands of central west Sumatra. Traders from western

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

and later from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

visited the port, trading in pepper, gold, and other products of the interior. In the early seventeenth century the port came under control of the Sultanate of

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

, to the north; an Acehnese governor was stationed in the town. The port formally came under Dutch control in 1663 by treaty with Aceh. In 1671 the Dutch built a lodge here and later, around 1684, a fort. Continuing clashes with local rulers and competition with other European trading companies resulted in the port being abandoned by the Dutch in 1770. By the early twentieth century the port was less prominent on the coast, as Padang, just to the south, was the focus of Dutch activities in western Sumatra and had a railroad link to the interior. After Indonesian independence, Pariaman was a naval headquarters for a province called ''Central Sumatra''. It became an autonomous city on 11 April 2002.

Administrative districts

The city is administratively divided into four

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(''kecamatan''), listed below with their areas and their populations at the 2010 Census and 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. The city is surrounded by the rural

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

(''kabupaten'') of Padang Pariaman in the north, east, and south, while it borders with Mentawai Strait in the west, making Pariaman a semi-enclave within Padang Pariaman Regency.

Economy

The contemporary economy is primarily agricultural with 79% of land in farming.

Minangkabau International Airport Minangkabau International Airport ( id, Bandar Udara Internasional Minangkabau), is the principal airport serving the province of West Sumatra on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia. It is located at Ketaping, Padang Pariaman Regency which is ...

, West Sumatra's major airport, is located near the city.

Culture

Although the population of Pariaman is predominantly

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

, a famous and popular festival of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

origin named '' Tabuik'' (from

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

"tabut" meaning coffin), is held annually in the city every 10

Muharram Muḥarram ( ar, ٱلْمُحَرَّم) (fully known as Muharram ul Haram) is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year when warfare is forbidden. It is held to be the second holiest month after ...

, the

Day of Ashura A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two s ...

. This practice was brought to the city in 1818, when ex-British soldiers from

settled in Pariaman. They had been disbanded when the British handed the area back to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as part of the

Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 (also known as the Convention of London; nl, Verdrag van Londen) was signed by the United Kingdom and the Netherlands in London on 13 August 1814. The treaty restored most of the territories in Java that ...

. The Tabuik festival commemorates the martyrdom of the grandsons of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mon ...

Hasan ibn Ali Hasan ibn Ali ( ar, الحسن بن علي, translit=Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī; ) was a prominent early Islamic figure. He was the eldest son of Ali and Fatima and a grandson of the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ...

and Hussein ibn Ali. The

Buraq The Buraq ( ar, الْبُرَاق "the lightning") is a heavenly equine or chimeral beast in Islamic tradition that notably served as the mount of the Islamic prophet Muhammad during his Isra and Mi'raj journey from Mecca to Jerusalem and up ...

, a purported winged horse that took Muhammad on his night-long journey to heavens, i.e., the Mi'raj, plays a role in the Tabuik. It presumably represents the white horse of the Imam Hussein at the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...

, but is portrayed with a woman's head, wings, a broad tail and carrying a coffin. In the festival, two such effigies or "Tabuik", one for Hasan and one for Hussein, are carried through the city. Named ''Tabuik Pasa'' and ''Tabuik Subarang'', they are swayed accompanied by '' tambur'' music and '' tasa'' drums. In the afternoon, both Tabuik are moved to the coast and before sunset they are immersed into the sea.

References

External links

Government of Pariaman
{{Authority control