Pagaruyung Palace
Take off your shoes before mounting the last set of steps into the palace. Leave them with the young man who'll expect a tip for guarding them.
The palace is truly impressive and bears testimony to the glory of a kingdom pre-dating Islam in this area. The present building is a reconstruction of the original palace that was destroyed, along with most of the royal family, at the beginning of the nineteenth century during the Padri wars between the traditional establishment and a modernist group who followed a purer version of Islam.
The site was first used by the Buddhist king Adityawarman, who established his power over West Sumatra and beyond during the second half of the fourteenth century, long before Europeans discovered the Americas, when Edward III was on the throne in England and Chaucer was still a young man.
- Artefacts from Adityawarman's kingdom and the replica palace are a reminder that Minangkabau culture and roots predate Islam. Pray that Minangkabau people may come to realise that their culture and Islam are not inseparable and that communities will choose to follow Jesus while retaining what is good from their rich and ancient culture.
- Tension between the modernists and the traditionalists continues below the surface of Minangkabau society today. Pray that somehow in this rift God might be at work making a space for people to join His Kingdom.
Visit Pariangan [and explore a very old Minangkabau settlement]
Accept your new Indonesian friends' offer to show you the third rock