Editing Minangkabau people (section)

=== Oral traditions and literature ===
Minangkabau culture has a long history of oral traditions. One is the {{Transliteration|min|pidato adat}} (ceremonial orations) which are performed by clan chiefs ({{Transliteration|min|panghulu}}) at formal occasions such as weddings, funerals, adoption ceremonies, and {{Transliteration|min|panghulu}} inaugurations. These ceremonial orations consist of many forms including {{Transliteration|min|[[pantun]]}}, aphorisms ({{Transliteration|min|papatah-patitih}}), proverbs ({{Transliteration|min|pameo}}), religious advice ({{Transliteration|min|petuah}}, parables ({{Transliteration|min|tamsia}}), two-line aphorisms ({{Transliteration|min|gurindam}}), and similes ({{Transliteration|min|ibarat}}).

Minangkabau traditional folktales (''kaba'') consist of narratives that present the social and personal consequences of either ignoring or observing the ethical teachings and the norms embedded in the ''adat''. The storyteller ({{Transliteration|min|tukang kaba}}) recites the story in poetic or lyrical prose while accompanying himself on a {{Transliteration|min|[[rebab]]}}.

A theme in Minangkabau folktales is the central role mothers and motherhood has in Minangkabau society, with the folktales ''Rancak di Labuah'' and ''[[Malin Kundang]]'' being two examples. ''Rancak di Labuah'' is about a mother who acts as teacher and adviser to her two growing children. Initially her son is vain and headstrong and only after her perseverance does he become a good son who listens to his mother.<ref name="Dahsinar1971">{{cite book |title=Si Malin Kundang |author=Dahsinar |publisher=Balai Pustaka |year=1971}}</ref> ''Malin Kundang'' is about the dangers of treating your mother badly. A sailor from a poor family voyages to seek his fortune, becoming rich and marrying. After refusing to recognise his elderly mother on his return home, being ashamed of his humble origins, he is cursed and dies when a storm ensues and turn him along with his ship to stone. The said stone is in Air Manis beach and is known by locals as ''batu Malin Kundang''.<ref name="Dahsinar1971"/>

Other popular folktales also relate to the important role of the woman in Minangkabau society. In the ''Cindua Mato'' epic the woman is the source of wisdom, while in the ''Sabai nan Aluih'' she is a gentle girl who takes action. ''Cindua Mato'' (Staring Eye) is about the traditions of Minangkabau royalty. The story involves a mythical Minangkabau queen, Bundo Kanduang, who embodies the behaviours prescribed by ''adat''. Cindua Mato, a servant of the queen, uses magic to defeat hostile outside forces and save the kingdom.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Some Notes on the Kaba Tjindua Mato: An Example of Minangkabau Traditional Literature |last=Abdullah |first=Taufik |journal=Indonesia |volume=9 |issue=Apr |year=1970 |pages=1–22 |doi=10.2307/3350620 |jstor=3350620 |publisher=Indonesia, Vol. 9|hdl=1813/53478 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> ''Sabai nan Aluih'' (The genteel Sabai) is about a girl named Sabai who despite being famous for being a gentle girl with perfect wife skills, avenged the murder of her father by a powerful and evil ruler from a neighbouring village. After her father's death, her cowardly elder brother refuses to confront the murderer and so Sabai decided to take matters into her own hands. She seeks out the murderer and shoots him in revenge.<ref name="Pauka1998">{{cite journal |title=The Daughters Take Over? Female Performers in Randai Theatre |last=Pauka |first=Kirstin |journal=The Drama Review |volume=42 |issue=1 |pages=113–121 |year=1998 |doi=10.1162/105420498760308706|s2cid=57565023 }}</ref>