The story
Tabuik Festival Pariaman in Pariaman
Tabuik commemorates Imam Husayn's martyrdom at Karbala, introduced to Pariaman around 1826 to 1828 by Shia Muslim soldiers during Dutch colonial rule. Two rival community groups build towering, decorated structures up to fifteen meters tall across the first ten days of Muharram, paraded and then cast into the sea on Ashura, despite today's practitioners being predominantly Sunni rather than Shia.
Shia Muslim soldiers of likely Indian descent, present in Pariaman during the early nineteenth century under Dutch colonial rule, are credited with introducing Tabuik around 1826 to 1828 as a commemoration of Imam Husayn's martyrdom at Karbala during the Islamic month of Muharram.