Tabuik

What it is

Tabuik is part of the Muharram mourning kept by Shia Muslims, and above all of Ashura, the tenth day of that month. Those days remember Husayn. On the West Sumatran coast the observance took a local form among the Minangkabau people. The word tabuik names both the whole ceremony and the tall structure at its heart. Pariaman, a town on that coast, is where it is held. Bengkulu Malays further south keep their own version, which they call Tabot.

Origins and history

The sea ritual at Pariaman is old by local reckoning, but the sources date the throwing of a tabuik to 1831 and say it has happened every year since. It arrived with soldiers. Twelver Shia sepoy troops from India were posted to the region under the British Raj, and a number of them remained and made their homes there. From their mourning for Husayn the local ceremony grew. Over time the observance spread beyond the community that began it. It was once a Twelver Shia festival alone.

The bier and drums

The centre of the ceremony is the tabuik itself, a towering bier built for the procession. Each one is put together from bamboo, rattan and paper, and a town may prepare more than one. In Indonesian the structure is called tabut, or tabot in Bengkulu. That word is also the Quranic name of the Ark of the Covenant. Writers have noted how close it stands in form to the totem poles of the Northwest Coast peoples of North America. Its procession moves to the sound of tassa and dhol drums.

A week of events

The days around the bier are full. There are kite races, traditional plays and dance shows, among them the Tari Piring, a plate dance. Performers act out scenes from what happened at Karbala. The whole town turns out, and officials such as the provincial governor attend. On the last morning people can look at the tabuik before it is carried slowly down to the beach. At midday it goes into the water. Many then swim, hoping to bring back something of the day to keep.

Today and change

What began as a Twelver Shia observance is now kept far more widely. Most people in Pariaman take part, whatever their background, and similar festivals are held by other communities in Southeast Asia. Non-Muslims join in as well. In Bengkulu the Bengkulu Malays keep the custom as Tabot, and there it counts among the region's important cultural traditions. The bier is not a private rite. Crowds line the route to the sea, and the day ends with families and neighbours in the water together.

How Tabuik is kept

Preparations run through the week of Muharram. Builders make one or more biers from bamboo, rattan and paper. Kite races, plays and dance displays are held in the days before. On the morning of Ashura, visitors look at the tabuik where it stands. Then it is lifted and carried slowly through Pariaman towards the shore, with drums playing and scenes from Karbala acted out along the way. At noon it is thrown into the sea. Afterwards many people swim in the water. Dignitaries, including the provincial governor, join the crowds.

When and where

The rite belongs to the month of Muharram and reaches its height on Ashura, the tenth day of that month. It is kept once a year. Since 1831 the tabuik has been carried to the sea at Pariaman on Ashura. The bier is thrown in at noon, after a morning procession.

Tabuik is kept on the coast of West Sumatra, Indonesia, and its main home is the city of Pariaman, where the biers are built and taken to the beach. Bengkulu Malays in the province of Bengkulu keep a version they call Tabot. The observance has also spread to other communities in Southeast Asia, and people of different faiths take part in Pariaman.

What Tabuik means

Tabuik is a mourning, and the bier itself is a funeral object, so the procession carries grief for Husayn. The slow walk to the shore and the throwing of the bier into the water mark the close of that mourning for the year. The memorial is public, drawing large crowds, and the drums give it a shared rhythm. After the bier goes in, people swim to gather what they call memories of the tabuik, small keepsakes of a day the town spends together.

Days Tabuik is marked

Questions people ask about Tabuik

See also

KenduriA communal prayer meal and gathering shared across Indonesia, Malaysia and BruneiSlametanA short communal meal on Java where neighbours share food, prayer and a wish for peaceIkatA resist-dyeing craft from Southeast Asia, where yarns are tied and dyed before weavingBarkclothCloth beaten from tree bark across Africa, Asia and the Pacific

Good reading and sources

• Tabuik on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.