 A photograph of a girl dressed with Mandailing traditional dress duringMangulosi ceremony on her wedding day, known asHorja Godang, pic taken: 2020 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 1,034,690[1] (2000) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia:[1]North Sumatra 906,939 (2000) West Sumatra 127,751 (2000) Riau 77,611 (2000)[Note 1] Jakarta 41,393 (2000)[Note 2]  Malaysia: 30,000 (2001)[2] | |
| Languages | |
| Mandailing,Indonesian,Minang | |
| Religion | |
Predominantly Sunni Islam (99%)Minority  Christianity (1%) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Minangkabau people,Angkola people,Toba people |
TheMandailing (also known asMandailing Batak) people are an ethnic group inSumatra,Indonesia that is commonly associated with theBatak people. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island ofSumatra inIndonesia. They came under the influence of theKaum Padri who ruled theMinangkabau ofTanah Datar. As a result, the Mandailing were influenced byMuslim culture and converted to Islam. There are also a group of Mandailing inMalaysia, especially in the states ofSelangor andPerak. They are closely related to theAngkola andToba.
Theetymology of 'Mandailing' is said to be a compounding of the wordsmande, meaning 'mother', andhilang, meaning 'lost'. Thus, the name is said to mean "lost mother".[3] Mandailing society is patriarchal, employing family names, ormarga. Well-known Mandailingmargas include: Lubis, Nasution, Siregar, Ritonga, Hasibuan, Harahap, Dalimunthe (originally from Munthe), Matondang, Rangkuti, Parinduri, Puasa, Pulungan, Rambe, Daulae(y), Pohan, Batubara (not to be confused with the Batu Bara people from the east coast of Sumatra), Barus and Hutajulu.
According to Tamboen's account (1952) the Mandailing, along with other sub-ethnicBatak groups are the descendants of one man by the name ofBatak;[4] who migrated to the south before the coming of thePortuguese andDutch colonisation of Sumatra. Moreover, many Mandailing people areof Minangkabau descent fromPagaruyung inthe Minangkabau highlands, such as the Nasution clan.[5] Dutch colonization in Sumatra caused the Mandailing to be included as a sub-category of the Batak, as part of a 'wedge policy' to create a non-Muslim buffer state calledBatakland between the powerful MuslimAchehnese and Minangkabau nations.[6] The Mandailing was associated with theToba Batak people instead of being recognized as a distinct ethnic minority. Consequently, the Mandailing people have been torn between two cultural and ethnic identities, namely Batak-Mandailing inIndonesia and Malay-Mandailing inMalaysia.[6]
ThePadri War, which took place inWest Sumatra and spread to the inland parts ofEast Sumatra between 1803 and 1845, caused an exodus of large groups of Mandailing from their homeland topeninsular Malaya. Among them were groups led byRaja Asal, the overlord of the Mandailings, and his nephewRaja Bilah. Together withSutan Puasa, they were embroiled in theKlang War from 1866 to 1873, also known as the Selangor War.[7]
Raja Asal and Raja Bilah fled toPerak, where their followers settled in Lower Perk and the Kinta Valley. The British appointed Raja BilahPenghulu of Blanja while his son Raja Yacob becamePenghulu ofTronoh, which generated large revenues after the opening of the Tronoh Mines, the largest tin producer in the world in the 1920s.[7]
Mandailing is the name of the region Luat Mandailing, which is now almost inMandailing Natal Regency inNorth Sumatra. The first groups who came to this region were the Lubis and Nasution, later followed by the Siregar, Harahap, and so forth. Nasution and Lubis are the biggest groups in the Mandailing clan.[8] Other groups, such as Pulungan, Harahap, Matondang, Rangkuti, and others are the smaller groups of Luat Mandailing. Harahap and Siregar dwell almost in Luat Angkola, which now belongs toSouth Tapanuli Regency, situated between Regency and North Tapanuli Regency.
The Mandailing people are almost entirely Muslims. Opinion varies on when Islam first arrived in the region, where the 19th century, 18th century, or even earlier have been suggested.[9] In the 19th century, a portion of the Mandailing were converted to Islam during thePadri War when Muslim clerics from west Sumatra pressured them to adopt the religion.[10]: 55 After conversion, Islam took firm roots in the Mandailing people through integration with the larger Muslim Malay world. The Mandailing people were able to retain many of their native religious practices and adopted an indigenized form of Islam until the modern era, especially in Malaysia where they were forced to conform to state-sponsored Islam.[10]: 83 A small portion of the Mandailing community also embracesChristianity. The first Christian teachings in the Mandailing region were in the Pakantan area brought by evangelists fromSwitzerland andRussia in 1821. Therefore, the oldest church in Tapanuli is located in Huta Bargot. The Mandailing Christian community is currently only around ± 1%, and almost all Mandailing Christians synod at theAngkola Protestant Christian Church, which is the same as theBatak Angkola community who are Christian. This is because there are several cultural similarities between Angkola and Mandailing that allow Angkola and Mandailing Christians to be under the same Church synod.
The Mandailing people are also known as the great travellers as more and more of the Mandailings are migrating to the various regions in the country as well as around the world. Many of the Mandailings are playing the important roles of the nation. The Indonesian government considered the Mandailings as one of the main tribes in the country. Many Mandailings keep detailed family tree records as it has become the family tradition. It is reported that 98% of the Mandailing ethnic group are Muslim.[11] There are approximately more than one hundred thousand Mandailings In Malaysia nowadays. Many of the Mandailings in Malaysia are visiting their ancestors in Mandailing Regency in Indonesia as it has been a tradition to keep the brotherhood and strong bond of unity among the Mandailings.
TheMandailing language is still used by the descendants of Mandailing immigrants in Malaysia, although language shift toMalay is observed among the younger generation.[12]
The Mandailing classic ofdaun ubi tumbuk or mashed tapioca leaves, lush withbunga kantan, lemongrass and coconut milk flavor is a famous food among the Mandailing people.[13]
They have a traditional ensemble of drums calledGordang Sambilan.[14][15]
The majority of the population considers themselves not part ofBatak asEthnolinguistic group[16] The Mandailing people has blood ties, kinship, language, writing script, social systems, arts, customs and norms that are similar to the Toba Batak and Angkola Batak.[6]