Karo Batak Fieldsite in North Sumatra, Indonesia

Location

Karoland (Taneh Karo) is the cultural homeland of the Karo Batak people (Singarimbun 1975). Although its boundaries are often conflated with those of the administrative Regency with a similar name (i.e., Kabupaten Karo), its real boundaries include the entire Karo Regency and bordering portions of Langkat, Dairi, Simalungun, and Aceh Tenggara Regencies, as well as the entire stretch of Deli Serdang Regency from the outskirts of Medan to the Karo Regency. With the exception of a substantial number living in local cities and other urban areas throughout the Indonesian archipelago, the majority of Karo Batak people live in scattered villages throughout Taneh Karo. The focal communities of this research (Kushnick 2006, 2009b, 2010) are two villages and one town. The first village, Doulu, is located in a mountainous valley pass approximately 1,200m (4,000ft) above sea level.The second, Laubuluh, is located in a hilly hinterland approximately 1,030m (3,400ft).

Population

The exact number of Karo Batak in Indonesia is unknown because the census does not ask about ethnic affiliation. In 1998, the population of Kabupaten Karo was 280,486. In 2004, the populations of the focal study communities were as follows: Doulu 1,003; Laubuluh 791 (Kushnick 2006). Approximately 99% of the populace of Doulu and Laubuluh are Karo Batak.

Language

The local language is Bahasa Karo, though most people are also fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, the trade language for all of Indonesia. Both of these languages are part of the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family.

Ethnic Identity and History

The Karo are 1 of 6 Batak peoples from North Sumatra. The earliest accounts of Batak peoples emphasized their practice of cannibalizing war prisoners. In fact, in Marco Polo’s memoirs of his 1292 stop on the east coast of Sumatra (then called Java Minor), he mentions an encounter with hill folk who “eat human flesh” (Kipp 1993). This is clearly a reference to the Batak, but unclear which group specifically. The earliest mention of the Karo Batak was in Anderson’s 1826 book Mission to the East Coast of Sumatra wherein he mentions a people by the name of Karau-Karau. Since that time, there has been considerable interest in Karo Batak customs and society from missionaries, travelers, Dutch colonialists, and anthropologists(Kushnick 2009a).

Some important events in the recorded culture-history of the Karo Batak include the following (Kipp 1993; Sibeth 1991; Singarimbun 1975). In 1906, the Karo highlands were annexed into the Netherlands East Indies. With this annexation came a stop of intervillage warfare and abortion, and the beginnings of mandatory vaccination amongst Karo children. In 1908, the Bataksch Instituut was established in Leiden, Netherlands, to conduct practical and scholarly studies on Batak peoples, including Karo Batak society and agriculture in the Karo highlands. In 1909, a road from Medan to the highlands of Taneh Karo was built. In 1911, an experimental agricultural station was established in the Karo highlands. In 1941, the Karo Batak Protestant Church was established.

Social Organization and Kinship

All Karo people are members of 1 of 5 exogamous patrilineal clans: Ginting, Karo-Karo, Perangin-Angin, Sembiring, and Tarigan. These clans are so central in shaping Karo Batak lives tht they sometimes refer to their society as the Merga si Lima (i.e., the five clans). Marriage creates very specific relationships and responsibilities among people of the wife-taking (anakberu) and wife-giving (kalimbubu) clans (Kipp 1993; Singarimbun 1975; Steedly 1993). Matrilateral cross-cousin marriage is the stated ideal but the tradition is rarely practiced (Kushnick & Fessler, in press). Polygyny was at one time an acceptable marriage arrangement, but today it is frowned upon.Upon marriage, a three-part bridewealth is transferred from the groom’s family to the wife’s.Once married, the couple may reside with the groom’s family until they are able to attain financial independence. Finally, land is divided equally among sons upon the death of their parents (Kushnick 2010).

Schooling and Literacy

The majority of the Karo Batak population of Taneh Karo have an elementary level education (Kushnick 2006). As such, one would also classify most Karo Batak people as having at least some literacy. A smaller portion have junior and senior high school level educations, and an even smaller portion have college educations. Only elementary and junior high school education are free in Indonesia. Nonetheless, the cost of tuition is not the only obstacle to obtaining higher levels of education, especially among the village populations. Some villages are quite remote in relation to educational institutions, with the exception of elementary schools.

Economic Practices

Although Karo Batak people can be found practicing many vocations, the majority are farmers. The Karo Batak economy centers on both cash-crop and subsistence agriculture. Both wet and dry-rice is grown, as well as a variety of other vegetables and fruits (Kushnick 2006). Many of the products grown in Taneh Karo are introduced European species. Penny and Singarimbun (1967) claim that a number of favorable factors effect Karo Batak agricultural practices: (a) the fertile volcanic soil, (b) the cool climate of the highlands, (c) the road built between the Karo highlands and Medan in 1909, and (d) Taneh Karo’s proximity to urban areas in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The Karo Batak have proven to be an adaptable people who are willing to adopt new technological practices for seeking economic prosperity. Kipp (1984) provides an example of Karo Batak from certain villages thriving by adjusting to the demand for cloves for the cigarette market. Although their agricultural practices remain unchanged in many ways—such as, the use of traditional farming implements and water buffalo for traction—by the 1960s, they had begun to use fertilizers to a greater extent than other North Sumatran societies. 

Religion and Health Care

The majority of Karo Batak people today are Protestant, with a minority practicing Catholicism, Islam, or traditional animism (Kipp 1993; Kushnick 2006). In Kabanjahe, there exist a variety of options for medical care, including public health facilities, a hospital, and many private-practice doctors. In villages, however, options are much more limited. Most villages have a public health facility (puskesmas) staffed by a nurse or nurse-midwife.