The Society of Minangkabau in Tulis St. Sati's Sengsara Membawa Nikmat: Between Local Traditions and Islamic Teachings

The culture of Minangkabau is different from the ones generally existing in Indonesia, particularly compared to the Javanese culture. Therefore, the culture of Minangkabau is often considered as a contradictory or antithesis of the Javanese culture, frequently represented as the overall culture of Indonesia. The peculiarity of Minangkabau culture lays in its matrilineality which influences lineage and inheritance. The contradictory matter refers to the society of Minangkabau that is the largest Islamic followers in Indonesia, yet their ancestral traditions are not completely in line with the Islamic teachings, some even are contradictory. It is a common knowledge that a literary work is not born from an ‘empty culture' meaning that a literary work must be influenced by its author. Even some of literary experts believe that a society described in a novel is the real society where the author lives. It is similar to the novel of Sengsara Membawa Nikmat of Sutan Sati, which is the object of this paper. The novel describes the society of Minangkabau in the early 20th century, at the end of 1920s to be exact.This research shows how the efforts of Minangkabau people in adopting the Islamic teachings completely and how Islam adapts to the Minangkabau hereditary traditions. Some of the traditions may exist in accordance with the Islamic teachings, but some do not. Even there is a need to gather all headman of the ethnic group to decide a case which is not in line with Islam, whether following pure traditions or Islam as it should be.

Introduction from the Editorial Boards :: i Acknowledgments :: iii Table of

INTRODUCTION
The Minangkabau society has a peculiar and different culture from other societies' cultures in Indonesia. The Minangkabau culture is one of the two big prominent and influential cultures, not only in Indonesia but also in the whole archipelago. This big culture is equal, democratic and synthetic which becomes the antithesis of another big culture namely the Javanese culture that is feudal and syncretic. The Minangkabau culture is different from most cultures existing in the world. It embraces matrilineal system which is clearly visible in the matters of marriage, lineage and inheritance.
In the beginning, the culture of Minangkabau was influenced by animism and the cultures of Hinduism and Buddhism. Since the arrival of Islamic the reformists at the end of the 18 th century from Middle East, the customs and cultures of Minangkabau which were contradictory with Islamic Laws had begun to be removed. These reformists pioneered by Haji Piobang, Haji Miskin, dan Haji Sumanik, urged 'Kaum Adat' (Indigenous Society) to change the view of ancient Minang culture. Eventually, the cultures of cock fighting, buffalo fighting, gambling, drinking tuak (palm wine) were forbidden in cultural ceremonies of Minang people. The kaum is a social unit of individuals descended from a common ancestor, and possesses a communal social responsibility for the actions of its members (Golden, 2012: 156). Abdullah (1972) added, kaum members live together in a neighborhood (it is called kampuang), which share rights to the land, and they bear social pages [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74] obligations to one another, both ceremonial and mundane. Individuals have rights and obligations at each level of social organisation.
Minangkabau as a region with strong local traditions, must be considered in the matter of its people's acceptance to Islamic teachings, because as it is stated previously that since the first time of Islam's arrival in Minang region it has brought significant changes. In its development, Minangkabau has Islamic traditions reflecting its local culture as part of the archipelago. Islam arrives in Minangkabau and is accepted with open arms without setting apart the local traditions existing since ancient time and without changing the dalil qath'i of two Islamic sources (the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah). Therefore, Islam in Minangkabau is practiced side by side with the local traditions. It is observable not only in the daily life of its people but also in the Indonesian literary works written by Indonesian authors, in particular the Minangkabau authors who surpass other regional authors in the quantity of works in colonial era ( the era of Balai Pustaka and Pujangga Baru).
One of the Minangkabau authors who writes a novel about the Minangkabau Islamic society is Tulis Sutan Sati. His novel entitled 'Sengsara Membawa Nikmat' was written in 1929, and has become one of the renowned novels in Indonesian literature from Balai Pustaka generation. This novel tells about the life of a young man named Midun born in one of the villages in Minangkabau and then he ventures to Java Island as a tramp. He is a polite, good, religious, martial arts expert, and humble person. Because of his good characteristics, Midun is loved by the villagers. However, these good characteristics of Midun make another young man named Kacak envious and spiteful. Kacak is the nephew of the Head of the Village respected by all villagers. His envy comes from the thought that a son of a poor farmer like Midun is not worthy of being loved by many people. The dispute between these two young men becomes the turning point of all incidents experienced by Midun and the story of this novel.
The novel of Sengsara Membawa Nikmat shows the description of Minangkabau society in the late of 1920s. In the novel it is described clearly the unity of people's local traditions, Islamic teachings practice, and the in between discrepancy, for example how come the relationship between a nephew and his uncle who is a head of village affects his position in society. It is quite possible because in Minangkabau custom, the uncle from the mother's side must be responsible for all his nephews surpassing his responsibility to his own children. This is due to the fact that his own children become the responsibility of their mamak (uncle) from his wife's side. This kinship pattern comes from the matrilineal lineage, exceeding the kinship of sibling relationship between a father and his children. Basically, this pattern is not in line with the Islamic teachings that only recognize kinship pattern based on the lineage of the father (patrilineal). However, the Minangkabau society does not feel burdened in practicing Islamic shari'a although they still practice the tradition which is contradictory to the Islamic teachings. The tradition of this kinship is discussed further in the next part of this paper.
This article discusses the problem about how the image of Minangkabau society, as one of the largest Muslim communities in Indonesia, in the practices of ancient traditions of which are inconsistent with the Islamic teachings, illustrated in a classic literary work written by Minangkabau's author. To response that problem, this article uses the research's theory of Sociology of Literature. Basic assumption about this theory is that the literary work is a miniature of the author's social community. Therefore, by looking at the relationship between literature and writer's society, could be known the real picture of Minangkabau's society in terms of traditions and implementing Islamic teachings.
This article is a library research including a variety of written texts related to the theme as an object and data of research. Many texts used in this study are classic texts because the object of research is a classic literary work. Another reason is the lack of recent posts available on this research

THE RISE OF ISLAM IN MINANGKABAU
Islam is a universal religion known for its unity between the constant and elastic characteristics. The constant characteristic of Islam relates to basic transcendent matters such as in acknowledging the Oneness of God and the forms of worship rituals. Meanwhile, the elastic characteristic of Islam refers to the acceptable condition of various changes as long as without disturbing the fundamental values. Both of these characteristics certainly have something in common with social phenomena in society. In revealed texts, the Holy Qur'an and Hadiths, there are only ten percent of constant and unchangeable (dalil qath'i), the other ninety percent are universal (dalil juz'i). Therefore, this second characteristic contacts directly with the social phenomena in society. The overlapping between the constant characteristic of Islam and societal traditions of a region brings out adaptive Islam which possibly accepts the existence of various changes in the operational scope as long as they stick to qath'i revelation texts. This adaptive characteristic makes Islam suitable for dynamic social conditions in society. As the reflection of dynamic social phenomena, Islam faces social problems bringing out new rules now and then. This contradictory condition may be anticipated with its understandable teachings in multidimensional scope and be accordingly implemented. Thus ratio is an important part of Islam to realize great Islamic values in social life of a society (Yasid, 2014 : 2-5).
The same condition happens to Islam in Southeast Asia, in Indonesia in particular. Islam coming to Indonesia experiences localization process caused by the strong influences of local culture and tradition. Consequently, it can be stated that it is Islam adapting to the existing culture results to the existence of Islam with the pattern of local culture of Indonesia. Indonesia consists of spacious regions and has many ethnic groups, languages, traditions and cultures which are different from one to another. This makes the local-patterned Islam absorbs the traditions and cultures from each of Indonesian regions where it comes to. Having said that, it implies the Islamic tradition of a certain region may differ from the one of another region in Indonesia, for instance the Javanese-pattern Islam in Java Island and Minangkabau-pattern Islam in West Sumatera. The Javanese-pattern Islam holds the traditions of syncretic society 1 . Meanwhile, the Minangkabau-pattern Islam follows the traditions of Minangkabau ethnic group known for having strict and different culture custom from Islamic teachings, e.g. Law of lineage and inheritance allocation.
Islam arrived in the Archipelago through various channels and one of them was trade network. Islam arrived in West Sumatera for the first time in 1400s. At that time, the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism developed tremendously, while Islam came quietly and gradually. The first Islamic kingdom in the Archipelago was Peurelak kingdom located in Aceh. In the 16 th century, one of the Portuguese noblemen saw many mosques in Sumatera. According to Abu Bakar Atjeh (1977: 35-37), Islam developed not only in Sumatera but also in Java, based on many ancient inscriptions and artifacts discovered in these regions.
Islam started to develop significantly in West Sumatera, in Minangkabau region to be exact, when the ulama who learned Islam intensively in Mecca returned. These ulama named themselves as reformists or revivalists. In the 18 th century, the unexpected competition between the traditionalist and reformists turned into a civil war. The traditionalists were usually called as Red Society and the reformists, pioneered by three Hajj as stated previously, were called as White Society. The traditionalists often called 'Indigenous/ Custom Society' concerned with matrilineality lineage. This lineage was contradictory to the reformists. The reformists destroyed many idols and killed traditionalists people whom they considered misguided from the teachings brought from Mecca.
The overwhelmed traditionalists received helps from the Dutch Colonialists who aimed to pages 59-74 destroy the order in Minangkabau, both custom and Islam. The war was occurred from the 18 th century to 19 th centuries known as Padri War. This Padri war involved three parties, namely the Indigenous/custom party, the reformists' party and the Dutch Colonialists party. The colonialists tried to put their ideology, resulting to the war between the custom society and reformists. At the end, both the custom society and reformists tried to find uniformity in difference. The reformists tried to equalize their ways of thingking in understanding Islam with the matrilineal custom system existing in Minangkabau. The one who was meritorious enough in mediating dialogue between the reformists and custom society was Tuanku Imam Bonjol (Hadler, 2010: 42-45).
The social dynamics in Minangkabau region in the 19 th century was a process of finding the meeting point between the reformists brought by the three Hajj following neo-wahhabism and the custom society with their local culture of matrilineality. Matrilineality was a must in Minangkabau custom. Even though it tried to blend with Islamic conception, yet this dispute ended with existence of Tuanku Imam Bonjol. He was the one who compromised the dependency between the reformists and Minangkabau custom, i.e., matrilineality.
The local traditions of Minangkabau remains well-preserved up to this day, even though Islam comes with new cultures which some of them are contradictory to those local traditions. The Minangkabau society wants to keep holding on the local traditions along with practicing the Islamic teachings. This explains that the Minangkabau society can accept the Islamic teachings without removing their ancestral traditions.

NOVEL'S SOCIETY IN THE LITERARY SOCIOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT
The form and content of the novel derive more closely from social phenomena. Novels often seem bound up with particular moments in the history of society. The novelist analyses the 'data' of social life, interprets them, and tries to determine their essential features in order to transmit them in writing. The novelist must be absolutely considered as being an artist: his work is the expression of a reality which already has in his mind a form and a meaning, and he expresses it by means of techniques, some of which he has inherited from his predecessors and some of which he has worked out himself from phenomena he has actually observed. It is through its formal character, and through the techniques used to create that formal character, that a work of art exposes reality (Zeraffa, 1973 : 35-38).
On this view, novel is a direct reflection of various facets of social structure, family relationships, class conflict, etc. Novel finds itself in conflict with the conventional, with the accepted norms and values of its socio-economicpolitical environment and actively struggles with them. The result is literature which is significant beyond its own time, and helps man towards a greater understanding of his social world. As such, this literature can be seen as a structural unity (Laurenson and Swingewood, 1972 : 170).
Novel as a literary work should at one and the same time describe what is happening to us, extract its meaning, and signpost the direction to which we are going. The novel has ceased to exist when the writer does not place his characters in a specific milieu, explain them 'in social terms' or provide them with a clearly defined future. The proper way to treat a character in a novel is for him first to be conditioned by society.
Implicit in the text of the novel are the propositions that man never lives by himself, and, above all, that he has a past, a present, and a future. The novel is the first art to represent man explicitly as defined historically and socially. In myth, man is a social being but his story is only developed by obscure means, by the intervention of gods, heroes or magical events. With the novel, society enters history and history enters into society (Zeraffa : 39)

ADAT BASANDI SYARA'
The present relationship between Islam and adat (Minangkabau traditions) is described in the saying "tradition founded upon Islamic law, Islamic He also wrote, it includes 'the reciprocally based relationships between humans and the natural and supernatural realms'. The pervasive and solid reality of the power of adat is captured in the wellknown saying which claims that the livings are anchored and guided in their lives by adat. In the same way, the deads are surrounded and held firm by the packed earth of their graves.
The concept of adat is of crucial importance in Minangkabau life, past and present. It is a term mostly translated as 'customary law', the traditional rules of conduct, belief, and social organization. It is what is right and proper; it is what is essentially Minangkabau (Golden, 2012: 157). The Minangkabau world, with Islam and traditional adat side by side, was a harmonious one. Traditional Minangkabau society embraces two traditions, the one a masculine adat which recognizes the power of Muslim law and the jurisdiction of the patrilineal royal family over the entire society; the other a feminine adat which identifies only matrilineal custom and local communities (Golden, 2012 : 159). Kahn (1980: 9,153) asserts that in fact the Minangkabau practiced something of a dual descent system during the centuries of royal rule. It is that royal power was patrilineal, while the rules for inheriting both land and other forms of wealth followed the matrilineal adat. He points out that rules in a place for choosing between instances where each tradition is to be applied. Inheritance of property, for example, sometimes follows Muslim law, and other times (most notably when ancestral land is at issue) is inherited through the matriline.
The novel Sengsara Membawa Nikmat describes several traditions of Minangkabau society which have been practiced since ancient time, and have developed with the existence of Islam in this region. One of them is kenduri, which in the Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language (p.734) means a feast to celebrate an event, ask blessing and so on. At least there are two types of kenduri known by the Minangkabau society, as mentioned in the novel, namely kenduri dua belas and kenduri besar for three and seven days of the death of family members.
"So Maun! When we had (Kenduri) dua belas at the mosque the other day, were not you sitting next to me?" "Then, did you see how Kacak looked at me?" "No." "During the Kenduri we were sitting in the middle row. Kacak was in the second…"(Sati, 1991 : 10) 2 Kenduri dua belas mentioned here is a feast held on the 12 th of Rabi' I (Rabi' Al-Awwal), this date is the birthdate of Prophet Muhammad SAW. This feast is meant to celebrate this birthdate. A feast as such is also known as Kenduri Maulud. seventh day, the Kenduri besar was held to pray for the spirit of Midun's father to be forgiven by Allah in the afterlife. Much money was spent for celebrating the deceased. By the Midun's father's family, everything was prepared without exception. Two rice fields were mortagaged for the celebration. For seven days Juriah's mother worked very hard at her in-laws' house. She barely rested to serve and prepare for the feast. After the seventh day, she and her daughter went home. (p. 162) The kenduri besar is almost similar to the tradition of selamatan tiga, tujuh, and empatpuluh harian in the Javanese tradition. However, there is an important difference in the kenduri besar of Minangkabau tradition. In the case of a death of a father, it is the family of his ethnic group that holds the kenduri to celebrate his death not his wife and children, that is (mamak) uncle and his nephews and nieces. The wife and children do not have the right to decide anything in relation to the kenduri since their present is simply to help. As described in the quote above, during the kenduri celebration, the wife of the deceased will stay in her in-laws' house and help her in-laws preparing anything needed. At least she must stay for seven days before going back to her own house. Because this kenduri is held by the ethnic group (clan), the ethnic group will try to celebrate it as good and glorious as they can to keep their dignity in front of the other ethnic groups. By this, they will not be thought lightly.
The Minangkabau society has a tradition of helping each others especially in heavy works such as harvesting rice field, building a house, building a mosque and other activities involving many people. This novel tells a situation when a family wants to harvest their field. This harvesting activity eventually ends up as a kenduri, working together, having fun, and celebrating a feast.
"Pada suatu malam Pak Midun berkata kepada anaknya, "Midun! beritahukanlah kepada kawan-kawanmu, bahwa hari Ahad yang akan datang ini kita akan mengirik padi di sawah. Begitu pula kepada Pendekar Sutan dengan murid-muridnya. Orang lain yang engkau rasa patut dipanggil, panggillah! Sekali ini biarlah kita memotong kambing untuk penjamu orang yang datang mengirik ke sawah kita. Saya rasa takkan berapa bedanya menyembelih kambing dengan membeli daging di pasar." "One night, Midun's father talked to his son, "Midun! Tell your friends that on the next Sunday we will thresh rice in the field. As well to Pendekar Sutan and his pupils. Other people you think worthy, call them! For this one time, let's have lamb to serve those who come for threshing to our field. I feel no difference whether to butcher a lamb or buy meat at the market." (p. 33) The Minangkabau people are famous for their dedication to education, as well the widespread diaspora of their men outside their hometown for a living (merantau). Minangkabau people are quite prominent in the field of trading, as professional and as an intellectual person. They are the respected heirs of ancient traditions of Malay and Srivijaya Empires who are fond of trading and living dynamically. The Minangkabau tramp is a term for Minang people living outside the Province of West Sumatera, Indonesia. Tramping (or some people called 'out migration') is an interaction process of Minangkabau people with the outside world, and also an experience and adventure. The tramp tradition usually comes from the families of traders, crafters and religious learners. According to Golden (2012, p. 162), the Minangkabau system of matrilineality was instrumental in facilitating the changes in migration. Men were not tied to the village in the same way women were. The position of men in a matrilineal system are more free, but less secure. They make tramping (often translated merantau) an appealing option, both for economic and personal reasons.
In the novel, it is also told that how Midun wants to work outside his village. Yet, unlike the major reason for tramping, Midun's leaving is to avoid spiteful attitude of Kacak (the head of village's nephew) which makes him jailed. The Midun's family is not a trader, crafter or religious leaner, but a farmer family whose job is to work on land or farm. He was the one who sentenced me. Therefore, I wish to stay in Padang, looking for a job." Since Midun asked earnestly and with gentle voice, the warden felt sorry for him. He then said "Actually, it is not allowed. But since you asked tenaciously, I then grant it…" (p. 115-116).
As a Minang who is used to tramping tradition, the character of Midun is also described as a nomadic living from one town to another. The majority of Minangkabau tramps choose Java Island as their destination, because Java Island has a Betawi City which is the administrative capital as well as trading center at that time.
The tramping tradition to look for experiences and fulfill basic needs of life is reflected as well in this novel. The characteristics of Minangkabau people who are dynamic and adaptable to new environments along with having strong will to learn something new are also intensively reflected. The followings are the quotations described in the novel regarding the made-up mind of a Minang tramp doing various professions to look for a better life. "During Midun was jailed, there was an inmate, an educated one, who taught writing and reading and told him knowledge, so that Midun learned many things when he was jailed. That person was Mas Sumarto. When he got out, he met him. After saying his gratitude for the advices and Mas Sumarto's willingness to teach him how to write and read in the jail, Midun said his good bye to his teacher." (p. 171). "Greetings Midun, how are you?" said Hoofdcommissaris "Yes, Sir!" told Midun "Yesterday you said you had no job. Do you want to work here?" "If you are willing to accept me, I will gladly accept it." "Fine. You may work here." After Hoofdcommissaris talked for quite sometimes on the phone, Midun was taken to a spacious room. There, he saw many people working. Then Midun started to work as a clerk at the Hoofdcommissaris's office." Midun worked diligently and earnestly at that office. In two months, he already seemed competent. In no time, Midun was asked to be a spy, because at that time many people smuggled opium.
Midun was very competent with that job. He captured many opium smugglers. He was quite clever disguising himself to identify the opium smugglers." (p. 175).
Besides, the Minangkabau society has different traditions from other ethnic groups' traditions in Indonesia, i.e. Tambo. The Tambo recounts the beginnings of Minangkabau history, the time before memory, in which the rules of adat were given and the royal family was established (Golden, 2012: 157). Taufik Abdullah (1972: 184) explained that Tambo provides both 'mystical sanction to the existing order' and 'categories for the perception of reality'. It is not only a recounting of the history of the Minangkabau world, but also a template with which events in modern times may be interpreted.
Tambo is one of the important Minangkabau cultural inheritances. It is a story delivered orally by a kaba (like a tourbadour in Europe travelling to show his expertise in storytelling across the country) told by an announcer in a local customary ceremony. At least there are two types of Tambo, namely Tambo Alam telling about the history of ancestors and Mingkabau kingdom buildings, and Tambo Adat telling about custom or system and the rules of Minangkabau government in the past (Navis, 1985: 45). This tradition strongly practiced in the Mingkabau society is also reflected in the novel. The Tambo described in the novel is Tambo Alam, the following is the quotation: "Reputedly, a long time ago the Javanese people came to Minangkabau to attack this land. Seeing so many Javanese people came, the Minangkabau people were worried, afraid of losing the war. Therefore, many means were sought to avoid that danger. Thus, a messenger was sent by the King of Minangkabau to the War Commander of the Javanese people to bring news, stating that war only brought death. Therefore, he was asked to end the war with buffalo fighting. Should the the buffalo of the Minangkabau people lost, the Kingdom would be surrendered to the the Javanese people. However, should they won, all ships along with their loads should be handed down to Minangkabau people. That request was granted by the Javenese people gladly. Then a very big buffalo was sought. Yet the Minangkabau people sought a calf that was not breastfed for three days. On the snout of the calf, they put a very sharp minang (a small pointed object like horn). On the appointed day, the people of both kingdoms came. When the Javanese people saw the calf of the Minangkabau people, they laughed loudly. They confidently thought of winning. But after the two buffaloes were released to the arena, the calf ran towards the big buffalo of the Javanese people for breastfeeding,…in which the buffallo's stomach got stabbed by the Minang on the calf's snout. The buffalo of the Javanese people died, thus the calf of the Minangkabau people won. That was the story. Whether the story was true or not, wallahu alam (only God knows). (p. 69).
Tambo Alam told in the novel was also described by Koentjaraningrat (1975), Vreeland et.al (1977, and Golden (2012). But, Golden added, this story is told more for its charm than out of a sure sense of truth, the buffalo's horns can be seen in the unique sweeping roof points of traditional architecture and the hornlike projections of women's ceremonial headdress. A more prosaic explanation is that Minangkabau is derived from pinang kabu which means 'an original home'. (Golden, 2012: 154) According to Esten (1993: 32), Tambo is one of the traditional Minangkabau literatures (kaba) delivered by singing. This storytelling by singing (also called bakaba) was accompanied by special music.
In addition to Tambo, this novel describes as well the construction of classical traditional Minangkabau house barely existed at the time. This house construction is called balairung sari.
"Midun dan Maun sampai di pintu gerbang itu. Dengan heran mereka melihat keindahannya. Agak ke sebelah dalam sedikit ada sebuah rumah yang amat kukuh, bangun rumah itu tak ubah dengan balairung sari buatan orang Minangkabau zaman dahulu. Sungguh tertarik hati melihat bangun rumah itu. Atapnya dari ijuk, berdinding papan berukir. Di tengah-tengah balai itu ada sebuah pintu masuk yang amat besar. Jika orang hendak melihat pasar malam, harus melalui pintu balai itu. Di atas pintu agak sebelah atas, ada kepala kerbau yang bertanduk. Kepala kerbau itu ialah menjadi suatu tanda kebesaran orang Minangkabau." "Midun and Maun arrived at the gate. Curiously they saw its beauty. Not far inside, there was a sturdy house, the house construction was similar to the balairung sari of Minangkabau people in old times. It amazed many those who saw it, the roof was made from ijuk (natural fibre of palm tree), and the wall was made from carved wooden board. In the middle of balai (hall) there was a giant entrance. Should people wanted to see the night market, they must go through this entrance. On the right side of the entrance, there was a horned buffalo head. This buffalo head was the insignia of Minangkabau people. (p. 69).
Although there are many traditions of Minangkabau society which are not contradictory to Islamic teachings, yet there are some traditions that are strongly contradictory. However, there are some people who support the traditions and some support the Islamic teachings leading to horrible dispute. The description of the dispute in applying the traditions in society is also shown in the novel. This novel is not only documenting but also criticizing people's faith in those traditions. One of them is the sacred stone tradition of Pagaruyung kingdom which today is known as batu angkekangkek.
""Batu apa ini, Mamak? Bagaimanakah, maka kita dapat menentukan nasib kelak dengan batu ini?" "Batu ini ialah batu keramat, pusaka dari Raja Pagaruyung yang telah berabad-abad lamanya," jawab orang itu. "Jika orang muda dapat "What kind of stone is this Mamak (uncle)? How come this stone decide our destinies?" "This stone is a sacred stone, an heirloom of the King of Pagaruyung from centuries ago," answered that man. "If you, young man, can lift this stone over the head, it means that you will have a happy life. But if you cannot, I guarantee that your destiny will be miserable. And whoever has no faith in my words, certainly he will be cursed by this sacred stone." Midun and Maun were very amazed listening to what the man said. Since he was a religious person, he had sinned for abusing his knowledge. He thought, "This was certainly a fraud for his money. Why was this kind of thing allowed by the government? was this not abuse of knowledge and religion? This person was probably irreligious because he thought a stone may decide one's destiny whether it was good or bad luck." (p. 72).
The most prominent tradition of Minangkabau society is its kinship pattern. In the novel, the main story is the relationship between an uncle and his nephew and family clan that is Tanjung clan. This novel describes the practice of this kinship in society.
"…Juriah said to her mamak (uncle), she said, 'Mamak! Why did Sutan Manindih say, it was such a shame father was sick here?" "Apparently you do not understand yet, said Datuk Paduka Raja (His majesty the King-clan customary title), listen to what I say! Your father, according to the custom, was "abu di atas tunggul" (ash on a stump) at our house. It means that it would fly, should it blown away by the wind. Your father was part of the kinship of our clan. Thus he was a family because of the marriage of your mother and father. Should we dislike him or otherwise he might leave anytime. Therefore your father stayed temporarily at this house. We could make him go or he might leave if he wanted to. Thus, Sutan Manindih said it was such a shame that his mamak was sick at this temporarily house." "But was it not my father sick at his own children's house? It was we who treated him when he was sick. It was another matter should we were strangers, therefore it was common of what he said." "In this matter, you, Juriah, was not mentioned," said Datuk Paduka Raja who was shocked by his niece's question."Your question was quite difficult. According to the custom "adat bersendi syara', syara' bersendi adat" (custom founded on syara', syara' founded on custom), this meant that our syara' and custom relied to each other or in line. Should based on syara' it was the children that must be prioritized but based on custom it was the nephews and nieces. Thus, this was quite contradictory." (p. 161).
The biggest impact of this kinship pattern is inheritance matter. The dispute as described above is getting worse regarding the inheritance allocation between clan relationship and sibling relationship. After having drinks and food and after talking for quite long, Sutan Manindih said, "Ma'am, I hope you will not be worried and hopeless. Our coming here is according to the custom that was to take our mamak's (uncle) inheritance." "You were right Sutan," said Juriah's mother, "but what Mamak Sutan (Sutan's uncle) left, there was no money, only clothes." "Ah, apparently you were not very thoughtful. What become our rights were the rice field and huma (private-owned lands). Were they not bought by and the inheritances of our Mamak?" "Hearing this conversation, Juriah's mother was quite shocked,…Then Juriah's mother also said, she said, "dit not you mention them, because they were belong to both of us. We saved money for quite some times, after it was enough, we bought lands to be worked on. Shortly, what Sutan said, was both of our work, which we decided to be left for our children. Midun's father himself already told it when he was alive, that all of his inheritances were for his children. (p. 163).
Minangkabau social structure, as written in the novel, is guided by adat law, which sets forth the rules of matriliny regarding village organization, group membership, residence, and inheritance of property. In the case of most matrilineal systems, a man is differently responsible for his children, who are not a part of mamak-kemenakan (uncleniece/nephew) network. The mamak, generally the oldest male member of the suku, is the head of the family and is responsible for the welfare of his sisters' children. He represents the family in suku affairs (Abdullah, 1972, p. 196). Mamak has to be consulted in all kinds of actions; before a house is built or a wedding is arranged; before any important financial transaction, etcetera. As the saying, 'pai tampek batanyo, pulang tampek babarito' (on going he must be asked, on returning he must be informed) (De Jong, 1980: 118).
Despite the fact that they are not members of the same clan, fathers have a close and important relationship with their children. Abdullah (1972, p. 196) writes that although mamak is responsible for the material welfare of his niece/nephew, it is the father who is expected to see to the spiritual growth of his children and mamak to his sisters' children, is expected to fulfill both sets of responsibilities.
Frey (1986, p. 84) suggests that the distinction between a man's roles as father versus as mamak is perhaps best expressed by the adage that he 'holds his children in his lap, but guides his nieces and nephews with his right hand.' The ownership and inheritance of Minangkabau property is governed by adat. There are two types of property governed by different rules. Harto Pencarian (also called Tanah Pusako Rendah, Taruko), acquired goods, are inherited by either sons or daughters, and the mandate are more flexible. Harto Pusako (also called Tanah Pusako Tinggi), ancestral property, however has much more stringent rules, it is always the possession of women, passed from mother to daughter and never sold. Such ownership contributes to women's socio-economic autonomy. It is through their wives that most men have access to land, by farming it and eating what they have grown. Still, some men will receive gifts of some proportion of the land's yields from their sisters or nieces, in recognition of their special bound (Golden, 2012: 166;Thalib, 1985: 5;De Jong, 1980: 87-88).
While sometimes prescribing conflictual actions, there are many fundamental ways in which adat and Islam resemble and reinforce one another. Both traditions place great stock in the ideal of mufakat, consensual agreement. Both possess value reciprocity and social obligations, and stress compassion and loyalty (Golden, 2012, p.160). In the novel, it is described how to find a solution of the dispute through deliberation among the penghulu suku. The deliberation among the penghulu suku is commonly conducted when a penghulu suku finds a certain problem among his clan relating to other clans. It is as proposed by Dobbin (1974: 322), 'It was the penghulu suku who had the most authority and influence in a nagari and it was this penghulu who settled disputes arising in the nagari, either by himself within his own suku or within the rapat penghulu (council) if his decision was disputed or more than one suku involved.' How the life of a man and woman since they married was told for quite long. Then it was also explained the intention of Tanjung people who wanted to take the inheritances.
"After saying such thing, one said, "Penghulu seadat, Tuanku ('alim) sekitab (Leader of the clan, the wise one) Datuk yourself already understoodthat in this Minangkabau land, the inheritances were inherited to the nephews and nieces. It was neither him or Datuk yourself determine, and Datuk knows it. Curiously, I did not quite understand of this matter. The Tanjung people did not forcefully take but they took for what to be their rights of their deceased family." "It was true of what this Datuk said," said Datuk Paduka Raja. "But do you forget of what custom says: Harta pembawaan pulang, harta tepatan tinggal, harta suarang (pencaharian) (inheritances of the deceased, house, and inheritances resulted from work during the deceased was alive) must be divided? And there is another thing according to the custom: adat bersendi syara' dan syara' bersendi adat? " (custom founded on syara', syara' founded on custom) (p. 168).
The colonial government systematized nagari administration by creating three new 'native' administrators: the Laras, the Nagarihoofd or Panghulu Kapalo and the Panghulu Suku Rodi. The first two heads of specific territorial units, the first of the district and the second of the village. Their main tasks are to conduct all government directives which affect their territories, to police their districts, to ensure law enforcement and order, and to oversee both coffee and rice cultivation (Kahn, 1980: 167).
The village unit is inhabited by a number of clans (suku) and administered by the clan heads (penghulu). To be regarded as a true negeri, a village must possess a balai or council-hall for the assembly of the penghulus, and also a mosque, pathways, a cock-pit and a bathing-place. Each nagari was inhabited by six or more suku, made up of a number of sebuah perut (a womb) or extended families. At the end of each family branch within a suku stood a penghulu kecil, and at the head of each suku a penghulu suku, thus giving the average nagari about sixty penghulus (Dobbin,1974: 322).
The novel tells that although a certain problem in a clan relating to other clans is decided through the deliberation among the penghulu suku. Yet, the result of this deliberation may not reflect justice, particularly relating to supporting the Islamic teachings and overcoming the custom.