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Batak (Indonesia)

 
Batak (Indonesia)

 
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Batak (Indonesia)
 
 
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Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups found in the highlands of North Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. Their heartland lies to the west of Medan
Medan

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia....
 centred on Lake Toba
Lake Toba

Lake Toba is a lake and supervolcano, 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 m , the lake stretches from to ....
. In fact the "Batak" include several groups with distinct, albeit related, languages and customs (adat
ADAT

Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT, first introduced in 1991, was used for Simultaneityly recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a tape format similar to that used by consumer VCRs....
). While the term is used to include the Toba, Karo, Dairi, Simalungun, Angkola, Alas-Kluet and Mandailing
Mandailing

The Mandailing or often called as "The Mandailing Batak" is a traditional cultural group in Southeast Asia. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, the Mandailings are considered as a part of the Batak people....
.

k societies are patriarchal
Patriarchy

Patriarchy can be defined as the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary Social responsibility for the welfare of, and authority over, their families....
 organized along clans known as Marga
Marga (Batak)

Batak societies are patriarchal with family names or Marga in Batak languages from the male line. They believe they originate from one ancestor "Si Raja Batak", with all Margas descended from him....
.






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Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups found in the highlands of North Sumatra, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. Their heartland lies to the west of Medan
Medan

Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia....
 centred on Lake Toba
Lake Toba

Lake Toba is a lake and supervolcano, 100 kilometres long and 30 kilometres wide, and 505 metres at its deepest point. Located in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra with a surface elevation of about 900 m , the lake stretches from to ....
. In fact the "Batak" include several groups with distinct, albeit related, languages and customs (adat
ADAT

Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT, first introduced in 1991, was used for Simultaneityly recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a tape format similar to that used by consumer VCRs....
). While the term is used to include the Toba, Karo, Dairi, Simalungun, Angkola, Alas-Kluet and Mandailing
Mandailing

The Mandailing or often called as "The Mandailing Batak" is a traditional cultural group in Southeast Asia. They are found mainly in the northern section of the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, the Mandailings are considered as a part of the Batak people....
.

Society

Batak societies are patriarchal
Patriarchy

Patriarchy can be defined as the structuring of society on the basis of family units, where fathers have primary Social responsibility for the welfare of, and authority over, their families....
 organized along clans known as Marga
Marga (Batak)

Batak societies are patriarchal with family names or Marga in Batak languages from the male line. They believe they originate from one ancestor "Si Raja Batak", with all Margas descended from him....
. The Toba Batak believe that they originate from one ancestor "Si Raja Batak", with all Margas, descended from him. A family tree that defines the father-son relationship among Batak people is called tarombo. Toba Batak are known traditionally for their weaving
Weaving

Weaving is the textile arts in which two distinct sets of yarn, called the Warp and the filling or weft , are interlaced with each other to form a textile....
, wood carving
Wood carving

Wood carving is a form of Woodworking by means of a cutting tool held in the hand , resulting in a wooden figure or figurine or in the sculpture ornamentation of a wooden object....
 and especially ornate stone tombs. Their burial
Burial

Burial, also called interment and inhumation, is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over....
 and marriage traditions are very rich and complex. The burial tradition includes a ceremony in which the bones of one's ancestors are reinterred several years after death. This secondary burial is known among the Toba Batak as (mangongkal holi).

Before they became subjects of the colonial Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies, or Netherlands East Indies, was the Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II.It was formed from the nationalised colony of the former Dutch East India Company that came under the administration of the Netherlands in 1800....
 government, the Batak had a reputation for being fierce warriors. Today the Batak are mostly Christian with a Muslim minority. Presently the largest Christian congregation in Indonesia is the HKBP (Huria Kristen Batak Protestan) Christian church. The dominant Christian theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
 was brought by Lutheran German missionaries in the 19th century, including the well-known missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen
Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen

Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen was a Germany Lutheranism missionary to Sumatra who also translated the New Testament into the native Batak languages. Stephen Neill, a historian of missions, considered Nommensen one of the greatest missionaries of all time....
. Christianity was introduced to the Karo by Dutch Calvinist missionaries and their largest church is the GBKP (Gereja Batak Karo Protestan). But, the Mandailing Batak were converted to Islam in the early 19th century.

Language

Batak speak a variety of closely related languages, all members of the Austronesian
Austronesian languages

The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Maritime Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia....
 language family. There are two major branches, a northern branch comprising the Dairi, Alas-Kluet and Karo
Batak Karo language

Batak Karo is an Austronesian language that is spoken in Indonesia. It is used by around 600,000 people in the central and northern part of Sumatra....
 languages that are similar to each other but distinctly different from the languages of the southern branch comprising three mutually intelligible dialects: Toba
Batak Toba language

The Batak Toba language is an Austronesian language that originates from Northern Sumatra, in Indonesia, mostly west of Lake Toba. There are approximately 2,000,000 speakers worldwide....
, Angkola and Mandailing. 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.

See also

  • Batak script
  • Marga (Batak)
    Marga (Batak)

    Batak societies are patriarchal with family names or Marga in Batak languages from the male line. They believe they originate from one ancestor "Si Raja Batak", with all Margas descended from him....
  • List of Batak people
  • Batak in Singapore
    Malays in Singapore

    Malays in Singapore make up about 14 % of the country's population, as based on the broader definition of a "Malay race" rather than the more specific "Malay "....


External links