Name
: Alix Provansal
Country
: French
Place of Study : Andalas University
HARMONY AMONG CIVILIZATION
I first in Indonesia in September 2012, in West Sumatra, to study one year as a Darmasiswa student in UniversitasAndalas, Padang City. This city is located in the heart of the Minangkabau area. There, everything was new to me: new culture, new habits, new religion, new language, new way of living. Discovering all this new “world� throught the year has been a real delight, even if sometimes it was not easy to adapt my European state of mind to some of the local rules and traditions. Minangkabau culture is very different from other Indonesia local cultures. The biggest difference comes from the fact Minangkabau society is ruled by matrilineal traditions principles. It is the largest matrilineal society in the world. In few words, it means that women own everything, land, immovable, and movable property, passing them down from mother to daughter, which at first sight can appear to be in contradiction with Islamic religion, but Minang people perfectly know how to reconcile both traditions and religion. Religion in Padang is very present and important for the population, and punctuates the daily life, starting early in the morning with the voice of every
DARMASISWA SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Academic Year of 2012/2013
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