A Closer look at UPBM Universitas Padjadjaran
Previously published as “UPBM x International Students” on Instagram.com/internationalofficeunpad (11/2019)
Unit Pecinta Budaya Minangkabau (UPBM) is Universitas Padjadjaran’s Minang Cultural Unit. From Tari Piring to Tari Galombang Pasambahan, also holding and sharing various studies about the Minang culture, UPBM is a melting pot for those who’d like to practice, study, or simply enjoy the culture of Minang.
Located on the West Wing of Universitas Padjadjaran (UKM Barat), UPBM is open to all of Universitas Padjadjaran’s students whether you’re Minang by blood or purely intrigued with the culture of Minang. For this edition of intermezzo, we got the chance to do a coverage on UPBM and a special interview with some of their international members from Japan.
A Brief History of UPBM
The people and culture of Minangkabau originally came from the island of Sumatra. UPBM itself have been a vessel of Minang culture in Unpad for around 33 years, or to be exact since the year 1986. Besides practicing dance and music, UPBM encourages its members to deepen their understanding and widen their definition of the Minang culture.
The Scope of UPBM
There are two kinds of membership in UPBM. Besides Unpad students — who are referred as regular members (anggota biasa) — UPBM recruits students from outside of Unpad, for example those from other campuses in Jatinangor as a special member (anggota luar biasa) of the unit. UPBM now has around 300+ active members ranged from the class of 2015 to 2019 students.
UPBM are also open to students from international exchanges. Currently, UPBM has 2 members from Japan, 1 from Laos, 1 from Vietnam, and 1 from Thailand. Despite of the language barriers, UPBM are happy to be able to share their knowledge and expertise on the culture of Minang.
UPBM Through the Eyes of International Students
Maria is an exchange student from Japan. She and some of her friends, who are also exchange students, have become a member of UPBM for around one month. The reason why she chose to join this unit is because she would like to learn about the culture of Minangkabau.
Maria also enjoys sports or physical activities and believes practicing dancing here is similar to that. Although it was difficult at first, she also said that the dances aren’t not so hard to master if you continue to practice on your own.
Maria is happy to be spending her time here at UPBM because she gets to practice her Bahasa Indonesia, make new friends, and mostly looking forward to share what she learned here at UPBM to her friends back in Japan.
Uncover more about UPBM by visiting Instagram.com/@upbmunpad and their website upbmunpad.ac.id
