Cultural Significance
Rendang is revered in Minangkabau culture, as it contains their philosophy, musyawarah; traditional discussion and consultation to the elders. The four main ingredients symbolize the wholeness of Minangkabau society:
- Dagiang (meat), symbolize "Niniak Mamak": traditional clan leaders; such as datuk, nobles, royalties or revered elders.
- Karambia (coconut), symbolize "Cadiak Pandai": intellectuals such as teachers, poets and writers
- Lado (chilli), symbolize "Alim Ulama": clerics, ulama and religious leader. The hotness of chilli symbolize the strict sharia
- Pemasak (spices), symbolize the rest of Minangkabau society.
In Minangkabau tradition, rendang is pre-requisite dish during special occasions in traditional Minang ceremonies and served to honor a special guest. From birth ceremony to circumcision, marriage, and Al Quran recital.
In Malay tradition such as those in west coast of Sumatra or in Malay Peninsula, rendang is a special dish served in various traditional ceremonies; circumcision, marriage, and religious festival such as Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha.
In Malay classical literature, rendang is mentioned in Hikayat Amir Hamzah, as early as the 1550s.
Read more about this topic: Rendang
Famous quotes containing the words cultural and/or significance:
“All cultural change reduces itself to a difference of categories. All revolutions, whether in the sciences or world history, occur merely because spirit has changed its categories in order to understand and examine what belongs to it, in order to possess and grasp itself in a truer, deeper, more intimate and unified manner.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“History is the interpretation of the significance that the past has for us.”
—Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)