Pic: Lim's Clan AssociationRoaming around Padang, which is the provincial capital of West Sumatra, one hot afternoon I was surprised to hear people singing very enthusiastically. On closer observation I realised the singing came from a huge building with the words "Lim's Association".
Lim is a common Chinese surname so I thought How nice to come across Chinese people in Padang. I saw a large hall which can easily accommodate at least 100 people. But the people inside were not Chinese.
On making enquiries I discovered that these people were Batak from northern Sumatra (from Lake Toba, Batak Highlands) who rented the hall for their communal gathering.
"Why are the Batak here?" I asked a young girl sitting on a motor-bike.
"Merantau," she replied. (merantau = travelling because of job demands)
As i was to discover later, there were other clan associations in Padang.
My family coming from Bengkulu and relative from Padang. This LIM family maybe lead me to my roots.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the informasi as I am thinking to travel to Sumatra soon.
Hartono Lumayan (Lim).
Djakarta Kota,
Indonesia.
Mungkin keluarga Lim di Padang ada kaitan dengan keluarga Pak Lim.Nama Indonesia saya ia-lah Bambang.
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