Introduction to the Minangkabau World
Historically, the Minangkabau World was split into two parts: the darek (cultural heartland) and the rantau (the areas of migration outside the darek). Those distinctions, along with a sense of the spillage beyond the provincial boundaries--more conceptual than accurate--can be seen on the following map.
The Bukit Barisan, which literally means a line of mountains, runs the length of Sumatra from its northern tip to its south. With its towering volcanoes--including Mount Marapi and Mount Singgalang--and jagged mountain ridges, the Bukit Barisan splits the Alam Minangkabau into a narrow coastal plain and a highland region with a series of fertile valleys and crater lakes. These map loosely onto the rantau and darek respectively.