Melayu Arts and Performance Journal
Vol 9, No 1 (2026): Melayu Arts and Performance Journal

Representation of Gender Roles in the Choreography of Rantak Nagari Parampuan within Minangkabau Matrilineal Society

Emri Emri (Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang)
Susas Rita Loravianti (Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang)
M Halim (Institut Seni Indonesia Padangpanjang)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

This practice-led study examines the choreography Rantak Nagari Parampuan, presented at the 2024 Alek Mandeh Festival in the Sijunjung Traditional Village, as an artistic articulation of changing gender roles within Minangkabau matrilineal society. Previous discussions of Minangkabau women frequently emphasize normative status, customary authority, and the ideal figure of Bundo Kanduang, while fewer studies explain how contemporary choreography transforms tensions between domestic, cultural, professional, and public responsibilities into embodied performance. The study aims to identify the creative process, performance structure, and cultural meanings through which the work negotiates those multiple roles. Data were derived from field observation, discussions with local community members, rehearsal documentation, choreographic notes, and reflective evaluation of the performance process. The creation process followed the stages of exploration, improvisation, formation, and evaluation adapted from Alma M. Hawkins. The findings show that the work is organized into six dramaturgical sections: religious and moral education, domestic labor, social interaction, participation in communal activities, contemporary female identity, and the adaptive position of men in a matrilineal kinship system. Movement, vocal sound, musical accompaniment, and ensemble composition construct the idea of rantak as grounding, awareness, balance, and resilience. The work does not merely celebrate women’s customary position; it stages negotiation between inherited cultural obligations and contemporary social mobility. This study contributes to dance creation research by demonstrating how matrilineal values can function as both thematic material and a dramaturgical framework. Its novelty lies in reading the choreography as a relational representation of women and men rather than as a singular glorification of the Bundo Kanduang figure.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

MAPJ

Publisher

Subject

Arts Humanities Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Melayu Arts and Performance Journal (MAPJ) is the Scientific Journal focusing on the study of performing arts and visual arts, as well as the development of methods for the creation of performing arts and visual ...