.jpg) Toba Batak male and female wearing traditional clothes | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8,466,969 (2010 census)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Indonesia | 8,466,969[2] |
 North Sumatra | 5,785,716 |
 Riau | 691,399 |
 West Java | 467,438 |
 Jakarta | 326,645 |
 West Sumatra | 222,549 |
 Riau Islands | 208,678 |
 Aceh | 147,295 |
 Banten | 139,259 |
 Jambi | 106,249 |
 Malaysia | 30,000 |
 Singapore | unknown |
 United States | unknown |
| Languages | |
| |
| Religion | |
• Christianity (Protestantism andCatholicism) 55.62%•  Sunni Islam 44.17%•  Buddhism 0.11%•  Hinduism 0.017%• Traditional religions (Parmalim,Pemena, etc.) 0.08%[3][4] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely relatedAustronesianethnic groups predominantly found inNorth Sumatra,Indonesia, who speakBatak languages. The term is used to include theKaro,Pakpak,Simalungun,Toba,Angkola,Mandailing[5] and related ethnic groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).
While the archaeology of southern Sumatra testifies to the existence ofNeolithic settlers, it seems that the northern part of Sumatra was settled by agriculturalists at a considerably later stage.
Although the Batak are often considered to be isolated peoples due to their location inland, away from the influence of seafaring European colonials, there is evidence that they have been involved in trade with neighbouring kingdoms for a millennium or more.
The Bataks practiced a syncretic religion ofShaivism,Buddhism and local culture for thousands of years. The last Batak king who fought against the Dutch until 1905 was an Indonesian Shaivite king. The Batak may be mentioned inZhao Rugua's 13th-centuryDescription of the Barbarous Peoples, which refers to a 'Ba-ta' dependency ofSrivijaya. TheSuma Oriental, of the 15th century, also refers to the kingdom of Bata, bounded byPasai and theAru kingdom.
Based on this evidence, the Batak may have been involved in procuring important commodities for trade withChina, perhaps from the 8th or 9th centuries and continuing for the next thousand years. Batak men carried the products on their backs for sale at ports.
It has been suggested that the important port ofBarus inTapanuli was populated by Batak people.[6] ATamil inscription has been found in Barus which is dated to 1088. Contact with Chinese and Tamil traders took place atKota Cina, a trading town located in what is now northernMedan that was established in the 11th century. It comprised 10,000 people by the 12th century. Tamil remains have been found on key trade routes to the Batak lands.
These trading opportunities may have caused migration of Batak from Pakpak and Toba to the present-day Karo and Simalungun 'frontier' lands, where they were exposed to greater influence from visiting Tamil traders. The migration of Batak to the Angkola-Mandailing lands may have been prompted by 8th-century Srivijayan demand forcamphor.
TheKaromarga or tribeSembiring ("black one") is believed to have originated from their ties with Tamil traders. Specific Sembiring sub-marga, namely Brahmana, Colia, Pandia, Depari, Meliala, Muham, Pelawi, and Tekan, are all of Indian origin. Tamil influence on Karo religious practices are also noted, with the pekualuh secondary cremation ritual being specific to the Karo and Dairi people. Moreover, the Pustaka Kembaren, an origin story of the Sembiring Kembaren, suggests linkages withPagarruyung in theMinangkabau Highlands.[7]
From the 16th century onward,Aceh increased the production ofpepper, an important export commodity, in exchange for rice, which grew well in the Batak wetlands. Batak people in different areas cultivated eithersawah (wet rice fields) orladang (dry rice). The Toba Batak, most expert in agriculture, must have migrated to meet demand in new areas. The increasing importance of rice had religious significance, which increased the power of the Batak high priests, who had responsibility for ensuring agricultural success.
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The Batak speak a variety of closely related languages, all members of theAustronesian language family. There are two major branches, a northern branch comprising thePakpak-Dairi,Alas-Kluet andKaro languages, which are similar to each other, and a distinct southern branch, comprising three mutually intelligible dialects:Toba,Angkola andMandailing.Simalungun is an early offspring of the southern branch. Some Simalungun dialects can be understood by speakers of Batak Karo, whereas other dialects of Simalungun can be understood by speakers of Toba. This is due to the existence of a linguistic continuum that often blurs the lines between the Batak dialects. Batak dialect still influences the dialects inMedan city today.
The Batak possess their own script known as theSurat Batak.[8] The writing has chiefly ceremonial importance within traditional religious ceremonies, and was subject to little change for this reason. It is likely that the Batak people originally received their writing system from southern Sumatra.
In the broader context of national language, the modern Batak authors are well-known as the outstanding Malay-speaking writers that shape modern Malay into the national concept ofBahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) and its literary canon. These include novelistMerari Siregar (Azab dan Sengsara),[9]Muhammad Kasim Dalimunte (Teman Doedoek),[10]Soeman Hasiboean (Kawan Bergeloet andMentjahari Pentjoeri Anak Perawan),[11]Mochtar Lubis (Senja di Jakarta) andIwan Simatupang (Ziarah); poetsSitor Situmorang; as well as literary criticBakri Siregar.[12]
The traditional occupation of the Batak wasagriculture, hunting and farming. The great lake ofToba provided vast opportunity for freshwater aquaculture since ancient times. Interior rural Batak communities relied heavily on rice farming, horticulture and other plant and commercial crops, and to some extent, acquiring forest products, such as hard wood, plant resin, and wild animals.
The port ofBarus on the western coast of Batak lands has become famous as the source ofkapur barus (camphor). In ancient times, Batak warriors were often recruited by neighboring Malay courts as mercenaries. In the colonial era, the Dutch introduced commercial cash crops, such as coffee,sawitpalm oil, andrubber, converting some parts of the Batak land into plantations.
Throughout the history of modern Indonesia, the Batak community has been a significant contributor. Batak people have filled a wide range of occupations, from running modest tire service workshops to serving as state ministers. The modern Batak have gravitated towards professions such as bus and taxi drivers, mechanics, engineers, singers and musicians, writers and journalists, teachers, economists, scientists, military officers, and attorneys. Although the Batak are a minority among the Indonesian population (3.58%; only 8–9 million Batak people out of 236 million according 2010's census), a large number of notable Batak have achieved prominent places and well-represented especially in the field of law,[13] such asAdnan Buyung Nasution who founded the Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Jakarta (LBH Jakarta),[14]Todung Mulya Lubis,Ruhut Sitompul andHotman Paris Hutapea.[15]
Batak societies arepatriarchally organized along clans known asMarga. A traditional belief among the Toba Batak is that they originate from one ancestor "Si Raja Batak", with allMargas descended from him. A family tree that defines the father-son relationship among Batak people is calledtarombo. In contemporary Indonesia, the Batak people have a strong focus on education and a prominent position in the professions, particularly as teachers, engineers, doctors and lawyers.[16] Toba Batak are known traditionally for theirweaving,wood carving and especially ornate stone tombs.
Before they became subjects of the colonialDutch East Indies government, the Batak had a reputation for being fierce warriors. Today the Batak are mostly Christian with a Muslim minority. Currently the largest Christian congregation in Indonesia is theHKBP (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan) Christian church. The dominant Christiantheology was brought byLutheranGerman missionaries in the 19th century, including the well-known missionaryLudwig Ingwer Nommensen. Christianity was introduced to the Karo byDutchCalvinist missionaries, and their largest church is the GBKP (Gereja Batak Karo Protestan). TheMandailing and Angkola Batak were converted to Islam in the early 19th century during the reign of MinangkabausPadri.[17][publisher missing] A significant minority of Batak people do not adhere to either Christianity or Islam, however, and follow traditional practices known as theagama si dekah, the old religion, which is also calledperbegu orpemena.[18]
Dalihan Na Tolu (three-legged furnace) is the philosophy of life of the Batak people. It consisted of three general rules in Batak society.[19] Those are:
The essence of this teachings is the moral code contains the teachings of mutual respect (masipasangapon) with the support of the moral rule: mutual respect and helpfulness.[19]
Ritualcannibalism was well documented among pre-colonial Batak people, being performed in order to strengthen the eater'stendi.[21] In particular, the blood, heart, palms and soles of the feet were seen as rich intendi.
InMarco Polo’s memoirs of his stay on the east coast of Sumatra (then called Java Minor) from April to September 1292, he mentions an encounter with hill folk whom he refers to as "man-eaters".[22] From secondary sources, Marco Polo recorded stories of ritual cannibalism among the "Battas". Marco Polo's stay was restricted to the coastal areas, and he never ventured inland to directly verify such claims. Despite never personally witnessing these events, he was nonetheless willing to pass on descriptions which were provided to him, in which a condemned man was eaten: "They suffocate him. And when he is dead they have him cooked, and gather together all the dead man's kin, and eat him. And I assure you they do suck the very bones till not a particle of marrow remains in them...And so they eat him up stump and rump. And when they have thus eaten him they collect his bones and put them in fine chests, and carry them away, and place them in caverns among the mountains where no beast nor other creature can get at them. And you must know also that if they take prisoner a man of another country, and he cannot pay a ransom in coin, they kill him and eat him straightway.[23]
The VenetianNiccolò de' Conti (1395–1469) spent most of 1421 in Sumatra in the course of a long trading journey toSoutheast Asia (1414–1439), and wrote a brief description of the inhabitants: "In a part of the island called Batech live cannibals who wage continual war on their neighbors."[24][25]
Sir ThomasStamford Raffles in the 1820s studied the Batak and their rituals and laws regarding the consumption of human flesh, writing in detail about the transgressions that warranted such an act as well as their methods.[26] Raffles stated that "It is usual for the people to eat their parents when too old to work," and that for certain crimes a criminal would be eaten alive: "The flesh is eaten raw or grilled, with lime, salt and a little rice."[27]
The German physician and geographerFranz Wilhelm Junghuhn visited the Batak lands between 1840 and 1841. Junghuhn says about cannibalism among the Batak (whom he called "Battaer"): "People do the honest Battaer an injustice when it is said that they sell human flesh in the markets, and that they slaughter their old people as soon as they are unfit for work...They eat human flesh only in wartime, when they are enraged, and in a few legal instances."Junghuhn tells how after a perilous and hungry flight he arrived in a friendly village, and the food that was offered by his hosts was the flesh of two prisoners who had been slaughtered the day before,[28] however he maintains that the Batak exaggerated their love of human flesh in order to frighten off would-be invaders and to gain occasional employment asmercenaries for the coastal tribes who were plagued bypirates.[29]
Oscar von Kessel visited Silindung in the 1840s and in 1844 was probably the first European to observe a Batak cannibalistic ritual in which a convicted adulterer was eaten alive. His description parallels that of Marsden in some important respects, however von Kessel states that cannibalism was regarded by the Batak as a judicial act and its application was restricted to very narrowly defined infringements of the law including theft,adultery, spying or treason. Salt, red pepper and lemons had to be provided by the relatives of the victim as a sign that they accepted theverdict of the community and were not thinking ofrevenge.[30]
Ida Laura Pfeiffer visited the Batak in August 1852 and although she did not observe any cannibalism, she was told that:
Samuel Munson and Henry Lyman, American Baptist missionaries to the Batak, were cannibalized in 1834. Dutch and Germanmissionaries to the Batak in the late 19th century observed a few instances of cannibalism and wrote lurid descriptions to their homeparishes in order to raise donations for further missions.[32] The growing Dutch influence in northern Sumatra led to increasedMalay influence in coastal trade and plantations, pushing the Karo farther inland. Growing ethnic tensions culminated in the 1872 Karo Rebellion where the Karo were suppressed by Dutch and Malay forces. Despite this, Karo resistance to Dutch imperialism lingered into the early 20th century.[33] In 1890 the Dutch colonial government banned cannibalism in the regions under their control.[34] Rumors of Batak cannibalism survived into the early 20th century but it seems probable that the custom was rare after 1816, due partially to the influence ofIslam.[35]
Family tree or lineage is a very important thing for the Batak, as those who do not know the lineage will be considered as a strayed (nalilu) Batak. Batak people are required to know their lineage or at least the ancestors of which the family name (Marga (Batak)) and the related clans (dongan tubu) came from. This is necessary in order to determine the relation of a kinship (partuturanna) within a clan or simply the surname (Marga (Batak)) itself.
The Batak lands consist ofNorth Sumatra province, excludingNias island, the historically Malay kingdoms of the east coast and the western coast ofMinangkabau people.[36] In addition, part of the Karo lands extend into modern-dayEast Aceh Regency inAceh province, while parts of the Mandailing lands lie inRokan Hulu Regency inRiau. Significant numbers of Batak have migrated in recent years to prosperous neighbouring Riau province.
To the south of North Sumatra are the Muslim Minangkabau ofWest Sumatra, while to the north there are various Muslim Acehnese peoples.
The various Batak cultures differ in their pre-colonial religious ideas as they do in many other aspects of culture. Information about the old religious ideas of theMandailing and Angkola in southern Batakland is incomplete, and very little is known about the religion of thePakpak andSimalungun Batak. For theToba andKaro on the other hand the evidence in the writings of missionaries and colonial administrators is relatively abundant. Information on the traditional forms of Batak religion is derived mainly from the writings ofGerman and Dutch missionaries who became increasingly concerned with Batak beliefs towards the end of the 19th century.[37]
Various influences affected the Batak through their contact with Tamil andJavanese traders and settlers in southern Batakland, and the east and west coast near Barus andTapanuli, in particular the largePadang Lawas temple complex in Tapanuli. These contacts took place many centuries ago and it is impossible to reconstruct just how far the religious ideas of these foreigners were adopted and reworked by the Batak. It is suggested that the Batak adopted aspects of these religions, specificallyMahayana Buddhist,Shaivist, andTantrist practices[21] within their own customs.[38]
The modern Indonesian state is founded on the principles ofpancasila, which requires the belief in 'one and only God', the practice of either Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, one of which must be entered on an individual'sKTP. Traditional religions are not officially recognised, and accordingly traditional religions are increasingly marginalised, although aspects of the traditional Batak religion are still practised alongside Christianity.
There are many different versions in circulation. These were formerly passed down through oral tradition but have now been written down in the local languages. There are also large collections of Batak tales collected by European scholars since the mid-19th century and recorded in European languages, mostly Dutch.[39]
At the beginning of time there was only the sky with a great sea beneath it. In the sky lived the gods and the sea was the home of a mighty underworlddragonNaga Padoha. The earth did not yet exist and human beings, too, were as yet unknown. All the survivingmyths record that at the beginning of creation stands the godMula Jadi Na Bolon. His origin remains uncertain. A rough translation of the name is the "beginning of becoming". The creation of everything that exists can be traced back to him.Mula Jadi lives in the upper world which is usually thought of as divided into seven levels. His three sons,Batara Guru,Mangalabulan andSoripada were born from eggs laid by a hen fertilized byMula Jadi. Two swallows act as messengers and helpers toMula Jadi in his act of creation. Their functions vary in the different versions.Mula Jadi begets three daughters whom he gives as wives for his three sons. Mankind is the result of the union of the three couples. Besides the three sons ofMula Jadi there is another god,Asiasi, whose place and function in the world of the gods remains largely unclear. There is some evidence thatAsiasi can be seen as the balance and unity of the trinity of gods.
The ruler of the underworld, i. e. the primeval sea, is the serpent-dragonNaga Padoha. He too existed before the beginning and seems to be the opponent ofMula Jadi. As ruler of the underworldNaga Padoha also has an important function in the creation of the earth.
What all the six gods so far mentioned have in common is that they play a minor role in ritual. They do not receive any sacrificial offerings from the faithful and no places ofsacrifice are built for them. They are merely called on in prayers for help and assistance.[40]
The origin of the earth and of mankind is connected mainly with the daughter ofBatara Guru,Sideak Parujar, who is the actual creator of the earth. She flees from her intended husband,the lizard-shaped son ofMangalabulan, and lets herself down on a spun thread from the sky to the middle world which at that time was still just a watery waste. She refuses to go back but feels very unhappy. Out of compassionMula Jadi sends his granddaughter a handful of earth so that she can find somewhere to live.Sideak Parudjar was ordered to spread out this earth and thus the earth became broad and long. But the goddess was not able to enjoy her rest for long. The earth had been spread out on the head ofNaga Padoha, the dragon of the underworld who lived in the water. He groaned under the weight and attempted to get rid of it by rolling around. The earth was softened by water and threatened to be utterly destroyed. With the help ofMula Jadi and by her own cunningSideak Parudjar was able to overcome the dragon. She thrust a sword into the body ofNaga Padoha up to the hilt and laid him in an iron block. WheneverNaga Padoha twists in the fetters an earthquake occurs.
After the lizard-shaped son ofMangalabulan, the husband the gods intended for her, had taken another name and another form,Sideak Parujar marries him.Sideak Parujar becomes the mother of twins of different sexes. When the two have grown up their divine parents return to the upper world leaving the couple behind on the earth. Mankind is the result of theirincestuous union.The couple settle on Pusuk Buhit, a volcano on the western shore ofLake Toba, and found the village of Si Anjur Mulamula. The mythological ancestor of the Batak,Si Raja Batak is one of their grandchildren.[41]
In the religious world of the Toba and Karo Batak the gods and the creation of mankind are far less significant than the complex concepts connected with thetendi (Karo) ortondi (Toba) and thebegu. Probably the most useful translations of these terms are "life-soul" and "death-soul". A person receives his "life-soul" (tendi) fromMula Jadi Na Bolon before he is born. Thedestiny of the individualtendi is decided by thetendi itself before birth. Various myths are woven around manner in which thetendi choose their destiny fromMula Jadi. Warneck, a missionary and for a long time superintendent (ephorus) of the Batak Church, recorded two particularly expressive myths in his major work on Batak religion.[42] What is significant is that thetendi themselves are responsible for their destiny:
Among the Karo and the Toba there are sometimes widely diverging versions of where thetendi dwells and how manytendi there are. According to the Toba a person has seventendi. The secondtendi is found in theplacenta andamniotic fluid of the new-born baby, and accordingly the afterbirth is given special attention after the birth of a child. It is usually buried under the house, is calledsaudara (brother) and is regarded as the person's guardian spirit. Similar ideas about the afterbirth are also found among the Karo, who also bury the placenta and amniotic fluid under the house and regard them as two guardian spirits (kaka andagi) who always remain close to the person.[43]
All Batak regard the loss oftendi as signifying a great danger for "body and soul".Tendi can be separated from their owners through inattentiveness, or as a result of black magic by adatu with evil intentions. In other words, thetendi is not tied to the body; it can also live for a time outside the body. The final loss of thetendi inevitably results in death. There are a variety of ideas about where exactly in the body thetendi dwells. It is present to a particularly high degree in certain parts of the body, especially the blood, the liver, the head and the heart. Sweat too is described as rich intendi. It is believed that illnesses are connected with the absence oftendi, and the bringing back of thetendi is a main method of healing. The Karo, for instance, have gifts, calledupah tendi (upah = wage, payment, gift), which they give to theirtendi so that theirtendi stay with them. These gifts may consist of a knife, a gong, a particular piece of clothing, a water buffalo or a small holy place. The gifts are carefully cared for in order to keep thetendi satisfied.[44]
Tendi love the sound of thesurdam (a bamboo flute). If atendi has abandoned the body of a patient, the playing of thesurdam in theraleng tendi ritual can contribute to thetendi returning to the body of the sick person. It must be emphasized that only thedatuk are in a position to interpret and influence people'stendi correctly. If their endeavors are unsuccessful, then clearly thetendi has chosen another destiny for itself.[45]
At death thetendi leaves the human body through thefontanelle and the "death-soul" (begu) is set free. It is thought that thetendi vanishes and after the death of any human being only thebegu continues to exist. The Batak believe that thebegu continue to live near their previous dwelling (in a village of the dead which is thought to be situated not far from thecemetery) and that they may contact their descendants. Bad dreams, particular misfortune and such like may be signs that thebegu of an ancestor is not satisfied with the behavior of its descendants. Any individual can attempt to pacify an enragedbegu by means of food and drink offerings and prayers. If this does not work, adatu or aguru must be called in.[46] Thebegu are not immortal, since death also rules in the land of the dead: abegu dies seven times before it is changed into a straw and finally becomes earth.[47]
The Batak believe that three categories ofbegu exist.[48] Thebicara guru are thebegu of stillborn babies or of babies who have died before teething. It is possible to turnbicara guru into guardian spirits if misfortune has befallen the family of the child shortly after its death. With the help of aguru sibaso, thebicara guru can be made the family's guardian spirit for which a shrine is provided and to which sacrifices are regularly made. Once a year thebicara guru is accorded a special feast, preceded by ritual hair washing.
Thebegu of members of the family who have had a sudden death (mate sada-uari) can also act as guardian spirits for the family. They include the victims of accidents, suicides, murder victims, or people struck by lightning. A shrine is built where they are venerated and where sacrifices are made. A third category consists of thebegu of dead virgins (tungkup). Their graves, calledbata-bata oringan tungkup, are maintained for a long time by their relatives.
Batakburial traditions are very rich and complex. Immediately after death various ritual actions are performed to make thebegu understand that from now on its world is separate from that of its kin. Symbolically this is done by reversing the mat on which the corpse is laid out so that the body lies with its head at the foot of the mat. Thumbs and toes respectively are tied together and the body is rubbed all over withcamphor and its orifices stopped withcamphor, then it is wrapped in a white cotton cloth. During thisperumah begu ceremony aguru sibaso declares to thebegu of the deceased that it is definitely dead and must take leave of its relatives.
Wealthier families have their coffins (Karo:pelangkah) made of the wood of thekemiri tree (Aleurites moluccanus), carved in the shape of a boat, its bow decorated with the carved head of ahornbill, or a horse, or amythical beast known as asinga. The lid is then sealed withresin and the coffin may be placed in a special location near the family's house until a reburial ceremony can take place. Families that are not wealthy use simple wooden coffins or wrap the body in a straw mat.
The corpse is carried a few times round the house, usually by women, and then to thecemetery with musical accompaniment from thegondang orchestra and the continual firing of guns. At any crossroads the corpse is put down and eleven people go around it four times to confuse thebegu. It is hoped that thebegu will then be unable to find its way back to the village. When the funeral procession arrives at the cemetery the grave is dug and the corpse laid in it, flat on its back. Care is taken that the head lies towards the village so that, in the unexpected event that the body should get up, he or she will not be looking in the direction of the village. The bodies ofdatuk and those who have died from lightning are buried sitting up with their hands tied together. The palms of the hand are tied together andbetel placed between them.[49]
The burial tradition includes a reburial ceremony in which the bones of one's ancestors are reinterred several years after death. This secondary burial is known among the Toba Batak asmangongkal holi, among the Karo asnurun-nurun. In a ceremony lasting several days the bones of a particularly honored ancestor and those of his descendants are exhumed, cleaned, mourned and finally laid to rest again in a bone house known as atugu ortambak:
In ancient times thesesarcophagi were carved from stone or constructed from wood and later brick. Nowadays they are made of cement or concrete. Large and very ornatetugu can be seen around Lake Toba and on the island ofSamosir.
One motive for the reburial ceremony appears to be to raise the status of thebegu of the deceased. Traditional Batak beliefs hold that the dead occupy a hierarchical status similar to the social position they held in life. This means that a rich and powerful individual remains influential after death, and this status can be elevated if the family holds a reburial ceremony. A rich descendant can advance abegu to the status of asumangot by means of a great ceremony and ahorja feast which can last up to seven days. In antiquity a vast number of pigs, cattle or even buffalo were slaughtered at such festivals, and thegondang orchestra provided an accompaniment.
The next level up from thesumangot is thesombaon, who are the spirits of important ancestors who lived ten to twelve generations ago. To raise asumangot to asombaon requires another great festival, asanti rea, often lasting several months, during which the inhabitants of the whole district come together. These powerful ancestor spirits offer protection and good fortune to their descendants, but the ceremony also serves to establish newkinship groups descended from the ancestor thus honored.[51]
In traditional Batak societydatuk (animist priests) as well asgurus practicedtraditional medicine, although the former were exclusively male. Both professions were attributed with supernatural powers and the ability to predict the future. Treatments and healing rituals bear some resemblance to those practiced bydukuns in other parts of Indonesia. Following the Christianization of the Toba and Karo Batak in the late 19th century, missionaries discouraged traditional healing and divination and they became largelyclandestine activities.[52]
Bothdatu andguru healers also practiceddivination by consulting apustaha, a handwritten book made of wood and bark in which were inscribed recipes for healing remedies, incantations and songs, predictive calendars, and other notes on magic, healing and divination written inpoda, an archaicBatak shorthand. According to Winkler,[53] there were three categories ofPustaha based on the purpose of their usage:
Thedatu orguru consulted thepustaha when presented with a difficult problem, and in time this became in itself a ritual. When missionaries began to discourage traditional healing andaugury theBible may have been adopted by somegurus in place of thepustaha.[54]
Among the most important healing ceremonies performed in Toba and Karo communities is that of recalling thejinujung, or personal guardian spirit. According to Toba and Karocosmology, each person receives ajinujung in childhood or atpuberty and they keep it for life unless they are unfortunate enough to lose it, in which case they will fall ill. In order to call thejinujung back, a femaleguru (guru sibaso in Karo) goes into atrance and thejinujung will enter into her and speak through her mouth. At this time the sick person or the family can negotiate ritual payment to entice it to return.[55]
Traditional healers are not powerful enough to cure illness due to the loss of a person'stendi (this falls under the jurisdiction of thedatuk); however, they do play a role in communicating withbegu and influencing their behavior.[56]
| Religions | Total |
|---|---|
| Christianity (Protestantism &Catholicism) | 4,707,658 |
| Sunni Islam | 3,738,660 |
| Buddhism | 9,190 |
| Hinduism | 1,476 |
| Others | 6,620 |
| Overall | 8,463,604 |
At the time of Marco Polo's visit in 1292 the people were described as "wildidolaters" who had not been influenced by outside religions, however byIbn Battuta's visit in1345Arab traders had established river-ports along the northern coasts of Sumatra and Sultan Al-Malik Al-Dhahir had recently converted toIslam.
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Sir Stamford Raffles perceived the Batak lands as a buffer between the Islamic Aceh and Minang kingdoms, and encouraged Christian missionary work to preserve this.[59] This policy was continued by the Dutch, who deemed the non-Muslim lands the 'Bataklanden'.
In 1824 twoBritishBaptist missionaries, Richard Burton and Nathaniel Ward, set off on foot fromSibolga and traveled through the Batak lands.[60] After three days' journey they reached the high valley of Silindung and spent about two weeks in the Batak region. Considering the shortness of their stay their account reveals very intensive first-hand observation. This was followed in 1834 byHenry Lyman andSamuel Munson from theAmerican Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions who met with a more hostile reception.[61] According toIda Pfeiffer:
Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk was employed by the Nederlands Bijbel Genootschap (Netherlands Bible Society) in the 1850s to produce a Batak–Dutch grammar-book and a dictionary, which enabled future Dutch and German missionaries to undertake the conversion of the Toba and Simalungan Batak.[63]
The first German missionaries to the Lake Toba region arrived in 1861, and a mission was established in 1881 by Dr.Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen of the GermanRhenish Missionary Society. TheNew Testament was first translated into Toba Batak by Dr. Nommensen in 1869 and a translation of theOld Testament was completed by P. H. Johannsen in 1891. The complete text was printed inLatin script inMedan in 1893, although a paper describes the translation as "not easy to read, it is rigid and not fluent, and sounds strange to the Batak…[with] a number of errors in the translation."[64]
The Toba and Karo Batak acceptedChristianity rapidly and by the early 20th century it had become part of their cultural identity.[65]
This period was characterized by the arrival of Dutch colonists and while most Batak did not oppose the Dutch, the Toba Batak fought aguerrilla war that lasted into the early 20th century and ended only with the death in 1907 of their charismatic priest-warrior-king SiSisingamangaraja XII, who had battled the Dutch during the First Toba War with both magic and weaponry.[66]
The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Church was established inBalige in September, 1917. By the late 1920s a nursing school was trainingnursemidwives there. In 1941, the Gereja Batak Karo Protestan (GBKP) was established.[67] Although missionaries ceded much power to Batak converts in the first decades of the 20th century, Bataks never pressured the missionaries to leave and only took control of church activities as a result of thousands of foreign missionaries being interned or forced to leave[68] after the 1942 invasion of Sumatra by theJapanese.[69]
TheGereja Kristen Protestan Simalungun, originally part of the HKBP and preaching in Batak Toba language, eventually became a distinctively Simalungun church, adopting Simalungun customs and language, before finally incorporating as GKPS in 1963.
TheMandailing andAngkola people, occupying the southern Batak lands, came under the influence of the neighbouring IslamicMinangkabau people as a result of thePadri War (1821–1837).[59] SomeMandailing had previously converted toIslam, but the Padri war was a watershed event, with the Padris suppressing traditional customs (adat) and promoting 'pure' Islamic faith. Over time Mandailing Islam, has been brought closer to the predominant SoutheasternShafi`i school of Islam as a result of Mandailing discourse with other Islamic practitioners and the practice ofhajj, although traditional elements remain, such as dividing inheritance among all children, a Mandailing rather than Islamic practice. Islam caused the decline in importance of marga, with many Mandailing abandoning their marga in favour of Muslim names, much less so among the Angkola to their North.
The advent ofIslam also caused the relegation of the datuk to a medicine man, with traditional rice-planting ceremonies and other such remnants of traditional culture deemed incompatible with Islam. The 'pasusur begu', a ceremony invoking ancestors to aid the community, was also suppressed. Other aspects of adat were however tolerated, with the Mandailing Islamic ideology placing adat on the same level as Islamic law, as in contrast with the Minang practice of placing Islamic law above adat. In more recent times, learned Islamic scholars (ulama) studying abroad, have suggested that many traditional Mandailing practices, such as the 'Raja' hereditary leaders, were in conflict with Islam, being indicative of 'pele begu'. The Islamist ulama were in conflict for authority with the Namora-Natora, the traditional village legal practitioners, who were influenced by adat as much as Islam.
Christian missionaries had been active among the northern Mandailing from 1834 onwards, but their progress was restricted by theDutch government, who feared conflict between newly converted Christians and Muslims. In addition, thelingua franca of the government wasMalay, associated with Muslims, as were government civil servants, creating the perception that Islam was the religion of modernity and progress. Missionaries determined that resistance among theMuslimMandailing toChristianity was strong, and themissionaries abandoned them as 'unreachable people', moving north toconvert the Toba.
At the turn of the 20th century, nearly allMandailing andAngkola wereMuslims. Despite this, the Dutch administration marked them as part of the Bataklanden, and therefore heathen or Christian. This perception was an inaccurate one, and manyMandailing strongly rejected the 'Batak' label.[70] Abdullah Lubis, writing in the 1920s, claimed that while the Mandailing followed Batak marga practice, they had never followed the Batak religion, and that the Mandailing people pre-dated the Toba, having acquired marga directly from 'Hindu' visitors. In the Dutch census, the Mandailing objected strongly to being listed in the census as 'Batak Mandailing'. Mandailing in Malaysia (who migrated in the years following the Padri war), had no such objection to their being deemed 'Malays', and indeed Malaysian Mandailing retain little of their distinct identity, partly due to a British colonial policy of rice-land ownership restrictions for all but Malay-speaking Muslims, and the disapproval of 'Batak' Muslim practices by the existing Malay Muslim population.[citation needed]
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Ugamo Malim or Malim is the modern form of the Batak Toba religion. Practitioners of Malim are called Parmalim.[71]
At the end of the 19th and in the beginning of the 20th century the Parmalim movement, which originated inToba lands spread to other areas of the Batak lands. Especially in the lowerKaro lands, the 'dusun' the Malim religion, became very influential as an expression of anti-colonial sentiments at the turn of the 20th century. Today the majority of Parmalim areToba Batak. The largest of the several existing Parmalim groups has its centre inHuta Tinggi in the vicinity ofLaguboti on the south shore ofLake Toba.[72][73]
Non-Malim Batak peoples (those following Christian or Muslim faith) often continue to believe certain aspects of traditional Batak spiritual belief.
Another traditional religion of Batak isPemena, is atribal religion ofKaro people of Indonesia.[74] Pemena means the first or the beginning.[74] Pemena is regarded as the first religion ofKaro people.[74] One of the doctrines of Pemena is the concept ofDibata.[74]
The 'Perodak-odak' movement among the Karo people in the 1960s was a reassertion of the traditional Karo religion, but has largely faded; a subsequent Karo movement to identify asHindu was noted starting from the late 1970s in order to adopt, if only in name, one of therecognised religions of Indonesia, while in practice still following traditional beliefs.[75][full citation needed]
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