Taluk Kuantan, the seat of Regency Kuantan Singigi, West - Sumatra

Welcome Statue

 Kuansing Regency also called shoreline Kuantan or  dispersed Minangkabau (Rantau nan Tigo Jurai). In daily life, the Kuansing inhabitants make use of the Minangkabau customs- and language .

There are two major rivers that traverse the district of Kuantan Singingi, namely the Kuantan River and Singingi River. 

Regent office

Based on the 2010 Population Census, the amount of Kuansing population is 291 044 people. The majority of them are Minangkabau etnic group followed by Malays who generally live around the eastern part of the region. There are also a lot of the transmigrants from Java widely spread in the transmigration- and plantation areas. In addition, other tribes who entered later on and generally work as agricultural labourers . The main livelihood of the population in this area is mostly farming , while others work in services, commerce, and public servants.

Nature Attractions

The district has several nature attractions among others the Batang Koban Fall in Lubuk Ambacang, District Hulu Kuantan about 37 km from Taluk Kuantan, is a seven levels waterfall, the streams flow into the Batang Kuantan river. Between Padang Island and Pangkalan Indarung there is an eight levels Waterfalls area, located approximately 5 km from Padang Island. 

About 4 km from Taluk Kuantan in the village named Koto Sentajo, which is defined as the Tourism Village, historical relics can still be seen or indigenous ancestors in the form of custom homes with original buildings with a special motif. People in the village are still steeped with the customs of their ancestors. Although people have been much left the old habits, but there are certain things that did not left behind in everyday life. At the rear of this Tourism Village there is a protected forest area of ​​5,000 ha . Furthermore, from Taluk Kuantan to Kiliran Jao there is Danau Mesjid  located 3 km from Taluk Kuantan.

park in the city

Pacu Jalur is the biggest annual festival for the people of Kuantan Singingi districts especially for the people who lives in Taluk Kuantan along the Kuantan river.

Entry of Pacu Jalur Arena

Pacu Jalur is a race of long boat rowing, a sort of Dragon Boat race in neighboring Malaysia and Singapore. It is a boat or a canoe made ​​of tree wood with a length of 25 to 40 meters. In Taluk Kuantan area designation for the long boat is Jalur. The paddler team of this boat (Jalur)  range  between 50-60 people. The tradition to hold Pacu Jalur once a year on the celebrations of the anniversary of Indonesian Independence Day makes Taluk Kuantan town as a national tourist destination. This long boat race which contains approximately 60 people in the Kuantan river is usually participated by the local community, neighbouring regions, even neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Before the main event ‘Pacu Jalur' starts, the event usually opened with entertainment such as folk dances- and songs to entertain all participants and the local community of Taluk Kuantan.

The Jalur

The Jalur

The Baganduang boat

Arts and Culture

There are some traditional ceremonies, such as: wedding ceremony, Belian or Bulian ceremony.

Baganduang boat is a cultural attraction and celebration of Kuantan community marked by traditional boat parade which are decorated with various ornaments in attractive colours. Randai is a typical Minangkabau art, which is a blend of martial arts with dance accompanied by traditional music . Usually this show lasts whole night and tells the story of the legend in the area. Beside in Kuansing, Randai is also found in other parts of the Minangkabau. (source: wikipedia, pictures: own collection)

Ikat or Ikkat

Ikat, or Ikkat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye on either the warp or weft fibres prior to weaving. The word ikat derives from the Indonesian word mengikat 'to tie'.

Bindings, which resist dye penetration, are applied to the threads in the desired patterns and the threads are dyed. Alteration of the bindings and the dyeing of more than one color produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When all of the dyeing is finished the bindings are removed and the threads are ready to be woven into cloth.

The defining characteristic of ikat is the dyeing of patterns, by means of bindings, into the threads before cloth construction, the weaving of the fabric, takes place. Herein lies the difference between ikat and tie-dye. In tie-dye the fabric is woven first and the resist bindings are then applied to the fabric which is dyed.

In warp ikat the patterns are clearly visible in the warp threads on the loom even before the plain colored weft is introduced to produce the fabric. In weft ikat it is the weaving or weft thread that carries the dyed patterns which only appear as the weaving proceeds. In weft ikat the weaving proceeds much slower than in warp ikat as the passes of the weft must be carefully adjusted to maintain the clarity of the patterns.

Double Ikat is a technique in which both warp and the weft are resist-dyed prior to stringing on the loom. Double ikat is only produced in three countries: India, Japan and Indonesia. The double ikat of Japan is a type of kasuri. It is woven in the Okinawa islands where it is called tate-yoko gasuri. In Indonesia it is only made in one small Bali Aga village, Tenganan in east Bali. The double ikat of India is predominantly woven in Gujarat and is called patola. (source: wikipedia)

(foto: Inge Savenije)