Page 7 - BAB I-V ADATMINANG

accommodating of people's opinions, similar to the government of

a federal state in Europe or a city-state in Greece. This democratic
government system has built the thinking and the basis of

education in Minangkabau, namely "democracy in education".

Democracy in education has given a role to religious social
institutions in Minangkabau to turn ideas into reality. One of these

social institutions is the surau, which plays a very important role
in developing the intellectual and creativity of the community.

Besides being a place of worship, a surau functions as a multi-
purpose institution, such as a place for gatherings and community

gatherings, even a bed for teenagers and widowers, the latter is a

consequence of adat that adheres to a matrilineal system.
In the matrilineal family system, boys are not allocated a

room in their own house (rumah gadang) because the rooms are
reserved for girls. The existence of a teenager in a surau is a place

of transit because after achieving independence in life, he is
motivated by custom to migrate or leave his hometown with the

aim of seeking new experiences in another country, and reviving

his family and building his hometown.
In the early 1900s, the liberals won the Dutch parliament,

so that the colonials had to carry out "etische politiek" which is a

policy of giving back to the Indonesian people after colonizing the
archipelago for 3 centuries. The Dutch government began to