Disaster mitigation local wisdom in the tradition of the minangkabau community

Literature of Minangkabau Department, Andalas University, Indonesia

^* Corresponding Author: khairilanwar@hum.gmail.ac.id

Abstract

This study is about Minangkabau’s local wisdom in disaster mitigation. Minangkabau is an ethnic and cultural group that is still alive and developing today. This ethnic group is centered in West Sumatra in the highlands of the Bukit Barisan which stretches along the island of Sumatra and develops through migrating to various regions in the world. This ethnicity is the oldest tribe on earth which is characterized by the use of the hereditary system according to the maternal or matrilineal line. His leadership made the Minangkabau ethnic have various kinds of local wisdom, especially those directly related to disaster mitigation. The Minangkabau cultural center is located in an area that has a high intensity of natural disasters by its natural topography. In responding to their natural environment, the Minangkabau community has local wisdom in the form of a superstructure that regulates infrastructure and social structure in disaster mitigation. This local wisdom is found in various literacy and traditions of the Minangkabau community. This qualitative discussion uses the perspective of cultural materialism theory. It was found that the local wisdom of disaster mitigation includes human norms and attitudes towards nature; norms before a disaster occurs; and post-disaster policies. To anticipate disasters, there are rules regarding the processing and utilization of nature, such as the use of land, hills, deserts, and swamps. In the event of a disaster, there are rules such as building rangkiang and filling it with food reserves, doing the ijok tradition, and batangeh.