- Turun mandi - baby blessing ceremony
- Sunat rasul - circumcision ceremony
- Baralek - wedding ceremony
- Batagak pangulu - clan leader inauguration ceremony. Other clan leaders, all relatives in the same clan and all
villagers in the region are invited. The ceremony will last for 7 days or more.
- Turun ka sawah - community work ceremony
- Manyabik - harvesting ceremony
- Hari Rayo - Islamic festivals
- Adoption ceremony
- Adat ceremony
- Funeral ceremony
- Wild boar hunt ceremony
- Maanta pabukoan - sending food to mother-in-law for Ramadhan
- Tabuik - Muslim celebration in the coastal village of Pariaman
- Tanah Ta Sirah, inaugurate a new clan leader (Datuk) when the old one died in the few hours (no need to proceed
batagak pangulu, but the clan must invite all clan leader in the region).
- Mambangkik Batang Tarandam, inaugurate a new leader (Datuk) when the old one died in the pass 10 or 50 years
and even more, must do the Batagak Pangulu.
Religion
Most people who learn that the Minangkabau is a matriarchal culture, usually get confused when they learn that the Minangkabau people are among the stronger upholders of Islam, a religion that to most people seems to marginalize women. But the truth is, as there are so many similarities between Islamic Law and Minangkabau Law (at least today), the Minangkabau people find it impossible to distinguish the two. To illustrate, below are a few examples:
Islamic Law: Learning is a must.
Minangkabau Law: Boys must leave house to stay as an apprentice with his teacher.
Islamic Law: Travelling is a Qur'anic obligation to learn from the ruins of the previous civilizations and to increase faith in God.
Minangkabau Law: Teenagers must leave the country to learn from the life outside and meet people from different places to gain wisdom.
Islamic Law: No woman can be forced to marry a man she doesn't want to marry.
Minangkabau Law: Women decide whom they want to marry.
Islamic Law: Upon divorce, children go with their mother.
Minangkabau Law: Children belong to their mother.
Islamic Law: Mother deserves respect 3 times more than father does.
Minangkabau Law: Mother is the most important human being to a person.
Minangkabau people find Islam as the most supportive and appreciative toward women that they become so attached to it. Islam now is so deeply rooted in their culture that being un-Islamic is equal to being un-Minang to them.