51�Թ�

Minangkabau airport was closed Friday afternoon after ash, which can pose a deadly threat to aircraft, reached its airspace.

Indeed, there are several societies where matriarchy is the norm – I’ve visited some of them, including the cocoa farming Bribri people of Costa Rica, and the rice farming Minangkabau of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Padang is home to the Minangkabau people, whose food makes up much of what the world knows as Indonesian cuisine.

That a woman was presiding over a male crew should not have surprised me: the Minangkabau, the majority ethnic group in the region, are a famously matrilineal society.

This image was taken at Pacu Jawi Festival - a traditional bull race that is usually held after harvesting period, by the Minangkabau people in villages just west of Sumatra in Indonesia.