5 Batak Mandailing customs that are characteristic: Kinship system, language, to clothing

Illustration - Batak Mandailing customs (Photo: Dok. North Sumatra Provincial Government)

YOGYAKARTA - Batak Mandailing is one of the ethnic groups that inhabit the North Sumatra region, specifically in South Tapanuli Regency (Tapsel) and Mandailing Natal Regency. Like other tribes in the archipelago, the Batak Mandailing ethnic group also has unique cultural and traditional wealth. This article will discuss in depth the Batak Mandailing customs ranging from language, traditions, to traditional clothing typical of the ethnic group. Yuk simak informasi selengkapnya di bawah ini.

The Origin of the Batak Mandailing Tribe

Menyadur buku bertajul Asal-Usul, Silsilah, dan Tradisi Budaya Batak karya Pdt Dr Jonar Situmorang, M.A., M.Th, eksistensi kelompok etnis Mandailing didukung oleh kenyataan dengan disebutnya Nama Mandailing dalam Kitab Negarakertagama yang ditulis oleh Mpu Prapanca pada abad ke-14 (1365 M).

Negarakertagama is a history and literature book in the Majapahit era. This book contains the history of the Majapahit Kingdom. In the XIII Book, the name of Mandailing and the names of various regions in Sumatra are referred to as the "subordinate states" of the Majapahit Kingdom.

The mention of the name Mandailing in the book refers to the history of a foreign nation from India who embraced Hinduism, culture, civilization, technology, a government system mixed with the local indigenous people and then formed a new nation, society, tribe, ethnicity, culture, and civilization according to their respective traditions in 1030-1365 AD.

Before the 18th century, the Priests came to the Natal and Padang Lawas areas in North Sumatra. Since then, the Minang culture and Islam brought by the community have blended with the local Batak culture and produced new sub-ethnic groups, one of which is Mandailing.

In other words, the Mandailing tribe is a mixture between the Batak tribe and the Minangkabaum tribe which emphasizes religion. There are many aspects that are used as the basis that Mandailing is part of the Batak tribe, namely its customs such as the almost identical form of ulos, the dialect of the language, and the almost identical characters. There are even clans that are related.

Batak Mandailing customs

Here are some of the Batak Mandailing customs that have been passed down from generation to generation and have become the hallmark of the ethnic group:

The first Mandailing Batak custom is that the ethnic group implements a patrilineal kinship system, in which they recognize and use a clan system.

In the Mandailing tribe, there are dozens of clans such as Lubis, Nasution, Pulungan, Coal, Parinduri, and so on.

In terms of language, the language used by the Batak Mandailing ethnic group is still one family with the Batak language, but with a softer pronunciation than the Angkola language. Residents who still use Mandailing as their daily language mostly live in the Mandailing Natal Regency area.

In addition, the Batak Mandailing language is also used in customary ceremonies, rituals, and other customary activities. Mandailing language has its own characteristics, both in terms of form, word formation process, word meaning, to the rules of its use, because in Mandailing language, intonation can affect the meaning.

Traditional House

In the Batak Mandailing tradition, this ethnic group's traditional house is called "bagas godang" which means a big house. In the old days, the bagas godang traditional house was the residence of the kings who led an area.

The bagas bodang traditional house has a rectangular shape with 25 poles. The roof is shaped like a pyramid with a pointed shape on the left and right sides. The construction material is made from high quality wood so that it can last for hundreds of years.

Marriage

The marriage in the Batak Mandailing tradition involves a series of sacred traditional ceremonies. The process begins with padamos hata (initial discussion), followed by mangairit boru (finding out about the prospective son-in-law, mangupa (submission of dowry or tuor), manulak sere (submission of mas kawin), markobar (traditional deliberation), to the Tapian Raya Bangunan ceremony to cleanse oneself of bad qualities, and ends with the implantation of the traditional title and mangupa (advice).

Traditional clothing or clothing

Mandailing traditional clothing is usually used in important ceremonies such as weddings or traditional ceremonies.

Menyadur buku Keragaman Suku Bangsa di Daerahku, ciri khas pakaian adat Batak Mandailing adalah memiliki warna terang dan menarik. Warna yang dipakai pada pakaian adat Mandailing yakni warna merah, keemas an dan hitam.

More in detail, the following are the parts of the Mandailing traditional clothing for men:

Using a black and gold head cover called Ampu. There is a Sadum Ulos on the shoulder with bright colors such as red, green, and black. A suit called Baju Godang which is laced with a gold belt, gold bracelets on the arms, and two small knives called bobat are tucked in.

Meanwhile, the Mandaling traditional clothing for women, namely:

Using a gold head cover called Bulang. Wearing Ulos Sadum which is made with a loom. The clothes worn are long kebaya or kebaya with a songket cloth.

That's the information about the Batak Mandailing custom. Get updates on other featured news only at VOI.ID.