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Lamentations of the Karo‐Batak, North Sumatra

a
Uli Kozok
a
Heinrich‐Heine‐Str. 31, Norden, D‐2980, Germany
Published online: 03 Aug 2007.

To cite this article: Uli Kozok (1992) Lamentations of the Karo‐Batak, North Sumatra, Indonesia Circle. School of
Oriental & African Studies. Newsletter, 21:59-60, 57-61, DOI: 10.1080/03062849208729792

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03062849208729792

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 57
IC, Nos. 59&60, Nov 92/Mar 93

LAMENTATIONS OF THE KARO-BATAK,

NORTH SUMATRA

ULI KOZOK

Philologists have been attracted by Batak manuscripts since these first appeared
in Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century. But only after the pioneering
work of the Dutch linguist Hermann Neubronner van der Tuuk, some hundred years
later, could we gain a deeper insight into the Batak script, language, and literature. The
famous bark books - estimated to be more than a thousand in numerous collections —
were especially the object of philological studies. These elaborate and richly illustrated
books were the work of the Batak magician and healer, the datu, who used them as a
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hand- and memo-book.

But not only the datus were literates. The German Biologist Franz Junghuhn
wrote as early as 1847: "The art of writing is the only science they [the Bataks] have,
but it is widespread, especially in Tobah, where young men as soon as they reach the
age of fourteen start their literary career in writing love letters to young girls"
(1847:130). Of the Karo-Batak, Joachim Freiherr von Brenner, one of the earliest
researchers, says: "The knowledge of reading and writing is not very widespread, but
about half of the male population have command of this knowledge" (1894:299). From
this we can conclude that throughout precolonial Batakland literacy was not the
privilege of a small group but a widespread phenomenon at least among the male part of
the population. But in contrast to the "professional literates" - i.e. the datu - the
laymen did not make use of the bark of the a//m-tree, which, after having undergone a
laborious process of polishing, starching, and finally binding to an accordion-wise
shape, was the main writing material for the datu. Also, the laymen did not use ink,
instead they carved the script into the epidermis of a bamboo segment using the top of a
sharp knife. These bamboo manuscripts were not as attractive to European souvenir-
hunters as the skilfully made and often elaborately decorated bark books. This might be
one reason that relatively few bamboo manuscripts are to be found in European
museum collections. Another reason is certainly that for a Batak a bark-book was a
highly valued item and kept for generations, at least before the Batak were christianized
and, encouraged by the missionaries, started to bum their literary heritage. The bamboo
manuscripts, however, which were written by laymen, never received such attention
and were often neglected after they had served their purpose.

Two Mandailing-Batak lamentations (andung), which were written on long

bamboo tubes, were published - in Batak script and without translation - by van der
Tuuk in his Bataksch leesboek, II (1861:105-10 and 216-24). The first lamentation is
of a young man bewailing the death of his parents, the second a lamentation of a young
girl accusing her parents that they - greedy for money - married her to a stranger:
"Why do you hate me so, Father, that you send me to this rich man (....) gold is more
important for you than your own daughter".

The tradition of lamentations was widespread among the Batak. But it seems to
be the case that only the southern Mandailing- and Angkola-Batak and the northern
Karo-Batak and - to a much lesser extent - the Simalungun-Batak have ever written
down their lamentations. From the Toba- and Dairi-Batak there is no literary tradition of
lamentations known, but until today andung are performed for deceased people. Very
few Mandailing- and Angkola-lamentations are to be found in European collections.
 58
IC, Nos. 59&60, Nov 92/Mar 93

The bamboo tubes on which these lamentations were written are in general longer than
one metre and mostly poorly decorated, making them much less attractive to collectors.

In many European collections numerous lamentations, bilang-bilang, of the

Karo-Batak, written on bamboo tubes, can be found. I have transliterated nearly a
hundred of these manuscripts during the last few years. My MA thesis (University of
Hamburg, 1989) presents an overview of this literary tradition which has been extinct
for the last few decades. This paper gives a short summary of my research on Karo-
Batak lamentations, with special emphasis given to those manuscripts which I refer to
as the "historical lamentations". The results of my recent field-work in North Sumatra
are not included in this paper and will be published on another occasion.

Apart from a few short articles on Karonese lamentations which were written by
the Dutch missionaries, Joustra (1902) and Neumann (1929; 1933), and two
lamentations which were published by Bams in 1960 and Purba in 1978, very little has
been written about these literary forms. Today, there are only a few old Karonese
people who still remember the tradition of lamentation-writing.

The term "lover's lamentation" traces back to Joustra and Neumann (Dutch:
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klaagzang, minneklacht). According to these authors, lamentations always represent the

appeals of lovers, even if the text shows no evidence of it. The lamentations are said to
have been performed by men in front of their girl-friends to awaken feelings of
sympathy, compassion, and love.

The great majority of Karonese lamentations are carved on bamboo tubes which
served as containers for betel-lime or tobacco. Nevertheless, lamentations are also
found on bamboo rods measuring more than one metre in length, bamboo flutes,
weavers' shuttle-cases, and bamboo tubes which were used to contain opium. A few
bilang-bilang also appear on bones and other materials. Some of these objects are
covered with geometric designs; others display a complete absence of any kind of
ornamentation.

If, as Neumann and Joustra suggested, the lamentations represent the appeals of
lovers, it is possible that the bilang-bilang once played a role in Karonese courting
protocols (adat naki-naki) as objects to be given as a sign of intention to marry (tanda).
However, other manuscripts raise doubts about the interpretation postulated by Joustra
and Neumann.

The style of language used in bilang-bilang is characterized by complex

idiomatic expressions which are repeated in almost every lamentation. The themes
which occur throughout the body of lamentations so far studied also demonstrate a
remarkable uniformity. The most commonly encountered theme concerns a wanderer
who had to leave his home village. Being rejected by one's relatives (terbuang
anakberu-senina) is a frequently given reason for wandering. Further reasons may be
given; for example, the wanderer may have been rejected for having incurred gambling
debts (utang judi) or because he did not behave correctly (la beluh ngataken kata).
According to the rules of Karonese adat (traditional law), a person's bride-taking party
(anakberu) and his clan-mates (senina) are obliged to pay any outstanding debts, with
the exception of gambling debts. The theme of the gambler in the lamentations probably
first emerged during early colonial times when gambling was widespread among the
European-owned plantations on the east coast of North Sumatra.

The outcast in the lamentations was forced to leave his home village and to
move to the downstream country (jahe-jahi) which covered the present-day districts of
Langkat and Deli-Serdang. The coastal area was inhabited by Islamic Malays while the
Karo people lived in the hilly hinterland. In the lamentations it is not always obvious
whether the outcast wandered to the foothills to settle among his fellow-countrymen, or
whether he turned towards the coastal area and accepted Malay adat which included
 59
IC, Nos. 59&60, Nov 92/Mar 93

conversion to Islam. However some lamentations explicitly mention that the wanderer
ended up living among Malays. Even today the Karo people still report such individual
migrations.

Another theme of the lamentations is misfortune and destiny (pengindo la

mehuli, lit. "the not good request"; orpudun la sikap, lit. "the unfinished promise").
The Karo people believe that the soul (tendi) of the unborn must choose its destiny, and
that this choice then becomes a promise (pudun) between dibata (God) and the soul.

One more important theme which often appears in the lamentations is the death
of relatives, of being an orphan (anak melumang), and of being an only child (tonggal
senina).

A single lamentation usually includes several of the above themes, comparisons

(perwnpaman), complex rhetorical expressions, and, to a lesser extent, conventional
pantun verses (ndung-ndungen), all of which are applied in a formulaic fashion.
According to Joustra and Neumann, it was common to commission a third party to
write a lamentation. Through the formulaic nature of their construction, and from the
fact that a third party appears to have been involved in the creation of the lamentations,
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it is possible to conclude that much of the content of the lamentations is probably

fictitious.

Apart from lamentations which demonstrate formulaic construction, there are

some lamentations which appear to be more individualistic in structure, content, and
style. There are also several types of bilang-bilang for which the term "lamentation" is
clearly inappropriate. For example some bilang-bilang appear to have served merely as
writing exercises; others exhibit a preponderance of decoration and brevity of text, thus
giving the impression that the calligraphy served mainly to decorate the object. The
manuscripts which appear on bones normally only cover one side, while the opposite
side is engraved with magically powerful patterns which ward off evil. Such patterns
also appear on bamboo manuscripts, and one of the examples studied even has a charm
written upon it to avert misfortune. Thus it seems to be the case that some, or even all,
bilang-bilang also served as amulets to protect their authors or owners from further
evil.

As demonstrated in my MA thesis, nineteen out of the ninety-three manuscripts

transliterated and analysed were obviously written by the same person, of which
sixteen are to be found on beautifully decorated betel-lime-boxes. The nineteen
manuscripts are scattered across eight different collections in five European museums
and libraries, and were acquired between 1916 and 1947. These manuscripts show a
close resemblance to each other, both in form and content. Fifteen of the nineteen
manuscripts are concerned with historical events; in particular they refer to the
annexation of the Karo highlands by the Dutch colonial army in 1904, the conscripting
of Karo people into forced labour, and the colonial taxation policy following the
annexation.

The foothills inhabited by the Karo people came to be controlled by the Dutch
during the 1860s through an alliance with the Sultan of Deli. In 1904, during the Aceh
war, the Dutch succeeded in occupying the neighbouring countries of Alas and Gayo.
During their return journey from Aceh, Dutch troops became involved in battle near
Seberaya and Sukajulu, whereupon they occupied the village of Sukajulu. Due to these
events, numerous village federations (urung) formed an alliance to oppose the village
heads (sibayak) in Kabanjahe, who had accompanied the Dutch at the time of their
occupation of Sukajulu. Under the leadership of the head (pengulu) of Batukarang,
they attacked Kabanjahe, whereupon the leaders of Kabanjahe asked the Dutch for
military support, resulting in the defeat of Batukarang and its allies by 200 soldiers on 7
September 1904. The complete subjugation of the Karo highlands was completed
within a few days. The Dutch established a system of indirect rule and installed five
 60
IC. Nos. 59&60, Nov 92/Mar 93

traditional leaders who ruled under the new power structure. These sibayak maintained
control with the assistance of a few native officers (upas) who acted as police. The
author of the nineteen manuscripts was an upas under the sibayak of Barusjahe.

Three of the nineteen manuscripts refer to the occurrences in July 1904 near
Seberaya/Sukajulu,-and five manuscripts mention the resistance of the penguiu of
Batukarang against the annexation. The author of the manuscripts comments critically
on the attitude of most of the Karo rulers at the time of these events:

"Well treated they were then, the Rajas of the highland folk
so well that they were united no longer, the Rajas of the highland folk
receiving without having claim, so they thought
now they pay although they are not in debt".

The author also disapproves of the behaviour of most of the Rajas in allowing
themselves to be betrayed by the Dutch:
"They [the Rajas] were questioned by the Company about our custom
asked about one thing, they told everything
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so that they knew all about the customs in the land of the highland folk".

The author regrets that "all people are dependent on the office in Seribu Dolok [the
administrative centre of the 'Afdeeling Simaloengen en Karo-landen']". He also clearly
expresses his sympathy for the penguiu of Batukarang and his rejection of the colonial
government which the author refers to as a "parasite". Finally, he regrets the fact that
"one cannot oppose the orders any more". Under the "new order", which the author
also ironically calls the "good order", Karo people were forced to work as navvies on
the road, and in doing so, to neglect their rice fields, gardens, and livestock. As the
author states, "rice and salt were not in sufficient supply".

Despite the tone employed by the author, the "historical lamentations" should
not be interpreted as calls for resistance to Dutch rule. Indeed, the author advises his
fellow countrymen to weigh the advantages with the disadvantages in order to regain
inner peace. As he points out, there was also forced labour in precolonial times under
the Rajas, and, as a result of the "new order", many old enemies had vanished. He
advises his fellow-countrymen not to respond aggressively to the new rulers' attempts
to collect taxes, but rather to remember former times under traditional rule during which
their horses were frequently stolen. He also exhorts his fellow-countrymen to follow
the example set by the Toba-Batak missionary teachers from Silindung. Above all, he
advises that Karo people should seek to avoid increasing their suffering, because
opposition to the new rulers would merely bring more hardship.

The historical manuscripts represent an important record of how Karo-Batak

people reacted to the advent of foreign rule, under which they experienced the
breakdown of their traditional social and religious systems and the collapse of the
Karonese cosmological order. Although the author of the manuscripts admits that the
"new order" disturbs the harmony between the macrocosm and the microcosm, he also
believes that this harmony depended not so much upon the order itself, but rather upon
the attitude of the Karo people towards the order. He then exhorts his fellow-
countrymen to improve their economic productivity in order to offset the losses
incurred through increasing tax burdens under colonial rule. By the beginning of the
1920s the Karo people were already famous for being among the most productive cash-
crop agriculturalists in the Dutch East Indies.

The historical manuscripts differ from other bilang-bilang not only in content
but also in the style of language used. Bilang-bilang usually begin with the appeal "Oh,
my mothers and aunts". However, the historical lamentations address the "friends and
clanmates". Historical lamentations make use of the first person plural pronoun, thus
 61
IC, Nos. 59&60, Nov 92/Mar 93

emphasising the collective rather than the individual experience. The author of the
historical lamentations usually begins by apologizing in advance for any shortcomings
in his presentation. These rhetorical devices, which are called persentabin, are
encountered today in public addresses and in ballad-like songs such as katoneng-
katoneng which are performed at the inauguration of a new house, marriage
ceremonies, ceremonies for the reburial of the ancestors' bones, and other important
social gatherings. The function of these songs appears to be the strengthening of social
ties between members of the community.
I suggest that the katoneng-katoneng constitute a relatively modern tradition
which arose around the time of the second World War, at about the same time as the
bilang-bilang writing became extinct. It is possible that the katoneng-katoneng oral
tradition evolved from the lamentation tradition; if so then it would appear that the
"historical lamentations" served as a connecting link between the two traditions.
Heinrich-Heine-Str. 31,
D-2980 Norden,
Germany ,
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NOTE

1. This is a brief summary of my MA thesis (University of Hamburg, 1989). I am greatly

indebted to Ashley Turner (Medan) and Sabine Kühnast (Hamburg) for their help and then-
suggestions in translating this article.

REFERENCES
Barus, N. 1958. Hio dan Bilang-bilang siku Karo. PESAT 49; 6 December 1958:14.

Barus, N. 1960. Bilang-bilang. Terlong 6, June 1960:11-13.

Brenner, J. F. vom. 1894. Besuch bei den Kannibalen Sumatras: Erste Durchquerung der
unabhängigen Batak-Landc. Würzburg.

Joustra, M. 1902. lets over bataksche litteratuur. Mededeelingen van wege net Nederlandsch
Zendelinggenootschap 46:357-72.

Junghuhn, F. 1847. Die Battaländer auf Sumatra.... 1840-1841 untersucht und beschrieben. 2 vols.
Berlin.

Neumann, J. H. 1929. De bilang-bilang. Feestbundel Bataviaasch Genootschap voor Kunsten en

Wetenschappen. II:215-22.

Neumann, J. H. 1933. Bilang-bilang I. Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde

73:184-215.

Purba, S. 1978. Bilang-bilang. Piso Surit, 1978 (October?), 12-14, 25-26, 15. [Author has verified
that final page of article is p.15.]

Tuuk, H N van der. 1861. Bataksch Leesboek (2). Stukken in het Mandailingsch. Amsterdam.