Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of ethnic groups found in the highlands of North Sumatra Indonesia. Their heartland lies to the west of Medan centred on Lake Toba. In fact the "Batak" include several groups with distinct, albeit related, languages and customs (adat). While the term is used to include the Toba, Karo, Pak Pak, Simalungun, Angkola and Mandailing groups, some of these peoples prefer not to be known as Batak. Map of North Sumatra province within Indonesia North Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera Utara) is one of the provinces of Indonesia. ... This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ... The Batak Toba language is an Austronesian / Malayo-Polynesian language that originates from Northern Sumatra, in Indonesia, mostly west of Lake Toba. ... The Malay language (; Jawi script: ‎), is an Austronesian language spoken by the Malay people who reside in the Malay Peninsula, southern Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, central eastern Sumatra, the Riau islands, parts of the coast of Borneo, Cocos and Christmas Islands in Australia, and even in the Netherlands[1]. It... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... Parmalim was the name of a belief or might be possibly considered to be the religion that especially was followed in the North Sumatran province. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Medan is the capital city of North Sumatra province, Indonesia. ... View of Lake Toba Lake Toba is a large lake, 100km long and 30km wide, in the middle of the northern part of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... This is an article about the digital recording format. ... The Karo people, or Karonese, are the indigenous people of the Karo plateau in North Sumatra. ... Kappa 09:19, 20 September 2005 (UTC) External links Horas Mandailing Categories: Possible copyright violations | Indonesia ...

Society

Batak societies are patriarchal organized along clans known as Marga. 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, wood carving and especially ornate stone tombs. Their burial 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). Look up patriarchy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Batak societies are patriarchal with family names or Marga in Bataknese from the male line. ... Tweed loom, Harris, 2004 Woven sheet Weaving is an ancient textile art and craft that involves placing two sets of threads or yarn called the warp and weft of the loom and turning them into cloth. ... Carved wooden cranes Wood carving is a form of working wood by means of a cutting tool held in the hand (this may be a power tool), resulting in a wooden figure or figurine (this may be abstract in nature) or in the ornamentation of a wooden object. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

A traditional Batak house

Before they became subjects of the colonial Dutch East Indies 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 was brought by Lutheran German missionaries in the 19th century, including the well-known missionary Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen. Christianity was introduced to the Karo by Dutch Calvinist missionaries and their largest church is the GBKP (Gereja Batak Karo Protestan). Mandailing Batak were converted to Islam in the early 19th century. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... HKBP,or Huria Kristen Batak Protestant, is a largest protestant church in Indonesia with approximately 3 million members. ... Theology finds its scholars pursuing the understanding of and providing reasoned discourse of religion, spirituality and God or the gods. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Ludwig Ingwer Nommensen was born in 1834 in Schleswig-Holstein (a district long disputed between Denmark and Germany, and at that time Danish). ...

Language

Batak speak a variety of closely related languages, all members of the Austronesian language family. There are two major branches, a northern branch comprising the Pakpak and Karo languages that are similar to each other but distinctly different from the languages of the southern branch comprising three mutually intelligible dialects: Toba, Angkola and Mandailing. Simalungun Batak is an early offspring of the southern branch. Some Simalungun dialects can be understood by speakers of Karo Batak whereas other dialects of Simalungun can be understood by speakers of Toba. This is due to the existence of a linguistic continuum that often blurres the lines between the six Batak dialects. The Austronesian languages are a language family widely dispersed throughout the islands of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, with a few members spoken on continental Asia. ...

See also

Indonesia Portal

• Batak alphabet
• Marga (Batak)

Image File history File links Portal. ... The Batak alphabet is a type of alphabet called an abugida that is used to write the Batak languages of northern Sumatra, an Austronesian language spoken by about three million people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... Batak societies are patriarchal with family names or Marga in Bataknese from the male line. ...

External links

• The family tree of the Batak languages, from Ethnologue.com
• Tarombo Keluarga Batak Online
• Many article about Batak in Indonesian language, from Silaban Brotherhood