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L. Andaya The trans- trade and the ethnicization of the

In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 158 (2002), no: 3, Leiden, 367-409

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Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access LEONARD Y. ANDAYA The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak'

Considerations of historiography and ethnicity1

Early visitors to were fascinated by rumours of a cannibal tribe called the Batak in the interior of Sumatra. When John Anderson travelled along the east coast and its interior areas in the early part of the nineteenth century, he met a Batak who told him of having eaten human flesh seven times, even mentioning his preference for particular parts of the body. Two other Batak confirmed having also participated in this practice and 'expressed their anxiety to enjoy a similar feast upon some of the enemy, pointing to the other side of the river. This they said was their principal inducement for engaging in the service of the sultan.'2 Such reports simply reinforced myths and partial truths which had circulated about these people since 's oft-quoted story of a Sumatran people (presumably the Batak) who consumed their ill (Latham 1978:255). European perceptions were also influenced by stories commonly told in east coast Sumatra by 'downstream' (hilir) people that those 'upstream' {hulu), that is, in the interior, were hostile and grotesque. A Portuguese chronicler even repeated downriver stories of an inland group possessing tails 'like unto sheep' (B. Andaya 1995:542). It has been suggested that lurid details of cannibalistic practices may have been provided by the Batak themselves in an effort to prevent outsiders from penetrating into their lands. From early times, therefore, cannibalism became associated with Batak identity and had the desired effect of limiting the intrusion of Europeans until the nineteenth century. But perhaps a more

1 My thanks to Barbara Watson Andaya, John Miksic, and Uli Kozok for reading earlier drafts of this essay and for their most useful comments. I would also like to express my gratitude to Bob Blust and Sander Adelaar for their helpful advice regarding linguistic evidence. 2 J. Anderson 1971:34. The 'sultan' was the Malayu ruler of Deli, who claimed many of Deli's hinterland Batak as his subjects.

LEONARD Y. ANDAYA obtained his PhD at Cornell University and is Professor of History at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. A specialist in the history of Southeast Asia, in particular and , he has published, among other titles, The heritage of Arung Palakka; A history of South (Celebes) in the seventeenth century, The Hague: Nijhoff, 1982, and The world of Maluku; Eastern Indonesia in the early modern period, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1993. Professor Andaya may be contacted at the Department of History, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 96822. E-mail address: [email protected].

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 368 Leonard Y. Andaya important reason for the late entry of Europeans in Batak lands was the fact that, from the beginning of sustained European involvement in the area in the sixteenth century until the establishment of plantation and other export industries in the nineteenth century, European orientation was toward the sea and the coastal polities. With hindsight it is easy for historians to see that the Batak were fortunate in avoiding the Europeans in these early centuries. Yet European involvement often resulted in the keeping of records and the accumulation of written materials which have been crucial in the reconstruc- tion of the history of many Southeast Asian societies.3 The lack of a European presence in the Batak lands until the nineteenth century has meant that his- torians have had very limited or no access to any contemporary European accounts of the Batak in the pre-modern period. The ethnonym 'Batak' is very likely an ancient name, but no one has been able to give a satisfactory meaning of the term.4 Perhaps the very first time that the name appears in written sources is in the Zhufan zhi, written by Zhao Rugua, Inspector of Foreign Trade in Fujian, sometime in the mid-thirteenth century. It mentions a dependency of San-fo-tsi () called Ba-ta, which may be a reference to 'Batak' (Hirth and Rockhill 1966:35,62,66).5 The next def- inite identification of Batak comes from Tome Pires' Suma Oriental, which was written in Melaka sometime between 1512 and 1515. It mentions the kingdom of Bata, bordered on one side by the kingdom of Pasai and the other by the kingdom of Aru (Cortesao 1990, 1:145). From the sixteenth century onward, references to the Batak as inhabitants of the interior of , and also

3 For the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the official records of the Portuguese and Spanish overseas enterprise, plus the many accounts found in the collections of the Catholic Orders in Portugal, Spain, France, and the Vatican, have been valuable for historians. For the sev- enteenth and eighteenth centuries, the archives of the European trading companies have proved useful. The most valuable are the voluminous records of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) housed in the National Archives in The Hague. They date from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and have been used by historians to reconstruct the early modern history of many parts of Southeast Asia. 4 In the literature on the Batak, one of the most common explanations for this ethnonym is that Muslims used it to refer to 'pig-eaters'. Rita Kipp cites other possible derivations provided by her informants: from the Sanskrit bhata or bhrta, meaning 'mercenary, soldier, warrior, hire- ling, servant', because of their functions in the past; and 'savage' or 'bumpkin' (Kipp 1996:27). It is tempting to define 'Batak' as 'human beings', which is a common definition of ethnonyms of many indigenous groups around the world. The Batek on the Malay Peninsula, for example, gloss their name as 'human beings'. Despite the lexical similarity, unfortunately there is no link between the two terms, because 'Batek' is from an Austro-Asiatic language, while 'Batak' is Austronesian. There is an Austronesian-speaking group called 'Batak' in Palawan in the , but no meaning is known for the term. 5 Travellers, including Marco Polo at the end of the thirteenth century, refer to certain groups who are cannibals in Sumatra without providing the names of such people. One should never- theless exercise caution in believing stories of 'cannibalism' because of the practice in medieval Europe for travellers' tales to depict 'monstrous races' in lands beyond their known world.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 369 of certain kingdoms along the northeast coast, become more frequent. Today, the Batak groups are listed as the Karo, the Simalungun, the Pakpak- Dairi, the Toba, and the Angkola-Mandailing. It was the Europeans who first placed these clusters of communities in and around who spoke a similar dialect and shared customs under one rubric, the Toba. Following this usage, I will apply the term 'Toba' in this essay to the communities living on and the lands surrounding Lake Toba, including those of Silindung. There is a growing tendency to use the word 'Batak' to refer solely to the Toba, since many of the other groups prefer to be regarded as non-Batak and as Mandailing, Karo, Simalungun, and so on, in the ongoing process of redefinition of ethnic groups. In the nineteenth century, however, the term 'Batak' appears to have been applied to all these different groups. In writing this essay, I have been very much aware of the uneven distribu- tion of source materials. Any systematic study of the Batak began with the arrival of European in the nineteenth century. With the penetra- tion of the area by the Dutch colonial administration later in the century, more studies were commissioned and travel reports published in governmental and scholarly journals. The continuing presence of German and Dutch mis- sionaries and teachers in north Sumatra has assured an ongoing literature on various aspects of Batak society, particularly its religious beliefs. In addition, Indonesian government encouragement of local culture in the 1970s and eth- nic chauvinism and pride since the 1990s have fostered Indonesian and local scholarship on Batak society. For the period before the nineteenth century, there have been a few archaeological studies, particularly by E. Edwards McKinnon and John Miksic, which have considerably advanced our under- standing of early settlements in the Batak areas. Nevertheless, much still needs to be done to gain a more comprehensive understanding of northern Sumatran communities for the first 1800 years AD. With the unevenness of the sources in terms of both period and content, I was confronted with a historiographical problem. Would it be possible to reconstruct the history of an area on the basis of sources which pre- and post-date the events themselves? Should a historian undertake such a task as a legitimate historical enterprise? Both questions I have answered in the affirmative, but with certain reservations. In the following pages I attempt to provide a historical overview of economic and political events in the region of the Straits of Melaka as a basis for suggesting a Batak response to such events. This reconstruction is based on archaeological findings, as well as nineteenth- and twentieth-century compilations of origin tales of the various Batak marga.6 I have also drawn on a knowledge of the better-documented

6 In Batak social organization the marga is one of the basic kinship units and traces descent to a single male ancestor. Membership of a marga is determined patrilineally, with children of

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neighbouring communities of the Malayu7 (Malay), , and Acehnese, as well as groups in the region confronted with similar conditions as the Batak, in order to discuss the Batak situation. The result is a histori- cal reconstruction that combines available documentary evidence, historical imagination, and thirty years' experience in researching and writing about societies in the region. I have tried to proceed with caution, and some of the reconstructed scenarios may eventually prove wrong. Nevertheless, I believe that this essay has advanced certain ideas that may be worth investi- gating further, if new materials come to light, or if historiographical methods become further refined in the future. In short, I hope that scholars will view this venture as a genuine attempt to advance the study of a society whose pre-modern history has been shrouded in mystery for far too long. One of the analytical tools that I use is ethnicity. There has been a consid- erable amount of literature written on ethnicity, principally by sociologists and anthropologists. The aim of most of these studies has been to determine the factors which contribute to the formation of ethnic identity. In the past there were those who argued that each group recognized certain 'primordial' elements as the core of their identity, while others claimed that each ethnic community is the outcome of specific historical circumstances and situa- tions. More and more, however, studies have taken the middle ground and acknowledged the importance of 'primordial' sentiments, but argue that such sentiments are in fact constantly undergoing change in response to specific circumstances.8 A factor noted in the formation of ethnic identity is the desire to maximize the advantages of the group. Many have focused on the economic benefits to both sexes belonging to the marga of their father. The marga can represent an ancient grouping, as well as groups that have developed from the original unit. There is evidence that some of the marga are of mixed origin and have been formed by in-migrants joining with the local popula- tion. Gonda is not totally convinced of Van der Tuuk's derivation of the term marga from the Sanskrit varga, meaning 'company, party, group1. In the Old Malayu inscription at Talang Tuwo in from the seventh century, the Sanskrit term marga is used to mean 'way' (Gonda 1973: 129-30, 205). This derivation appears to have been retained in later centuries. In the Palembang- area the term marga was used for a lineage group. When the Dutch in the early nineteenth century asked a Palembang man what 'marga' meant, he replied: 'One road, people of one incli- nation, one relationship and the same origin1 (B. Andaya 1993:17). It is likely, therefore, that the Batak marga stems from the Sanskrit term marga, meaning 'way, road, path'. 7 Throughout this essay I have decided to use the alternative spelling 'Malayu', rather than the current 'Melayu', in order to be consistent with archaeologists' rendering of the name of the earliest Sumatran kingdom as 'Malayu'. The people of this kingdom would have thus been orang Malayu, or the people of Malayu. Even after the demise of Malayu, the people who spoke the Malayu language and adhered to a culture developed during the Srivijaya/Malayu period would have been regarded as 'Malayu'. 8 For a good introduction to the study of ethnicity, see Eriksen 1993. A clear discussion of the different positions in the debate on ethnicity can be found in Cornell and Hartmann 1998. A use- ful and thoughtful synthesis of the issues raised in the study of ethnicity can be found in Kipp

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be gained from creating a particular ethnic unity. A view with less emphasis on the material and more on the psychological advantages is Horowitz's idea of 'group entitlement'. According to Horowitz, a group's enhancement of sta- tus and prestige in the eyes of others serves to bolster the individual's own sense of pride and self-worth (Horowitz 1985:185, 226-7). Basic to the notion of ethnic identity is the fact that ethnic consciousness arises through contact with others who are different. As Eriksen explains, 'ethnicity is essentially an aspect of a relationship, not a property of a group' (Eriksen 1993:11-2). Once difference is established, it is necessary to exploit this difference through the establishment of ethnic markers or boundaries. Barth suggests that one focus on 'boundaries', rather than the 'cultural elements' contained within such boundaries (Barth 1969:11). In other words, how a group defines and con- tinues to maintain itself against another can be far more revealing of ethnic identity than obvious outward signs such as dress, food, or even language.9 An ethnic group then creates legitimacy and group loyalty through the pro- cess of 'inventing traditions' and 'imagining communities'.10 While social scientists have been at the forefront of such studies, histo- rians are still to be convinced of the value of 'ethnicity' as a useful or even valid historical pursuit. They may share the Comaroffs' concern at the lack of agreement on whether ethnicity is an analytic object, a conceptual subject, or both (Comaroff and Comaroff 1992:49). The reluctance of historians to engage the concept of ethnicity in their studies has resulted in an unreflec- tive acceptance of ethnic communities as somehow fixed forever in time. Yet anthropological studies have demonstrated the fluidity and complexity of ethnic identities, particularly in Southeast Asia. Edmund Leach's classic 1954 study of the Kachin in Burma reveals the ease with which a Kachin could become Shan and a Shan Kachin through a preference for one over another form of social system (Leach 1954). Viewing the ethnic problem from a differ- ent perspective, O'Connor argues that ecological adaptation, language, and agricultural techniques are significant shifts which can explain the so-called 'rise' and 'fall' of ethnic groups (O'Connor 1995:987). Among the insights of particular relevance for this essay are: (1) contact

1996:17-24. As mentioned, the literature on ethnicity is vast and the approaches greatly varied. Historians have yet to contribute much to this literature, with the one major exception of Smith 1986 and Smith and Hutchinson 1996, both excellent sources for historians interested in ethnicity. 9 Nevertheless, Rita Kipp rightfully points out that the outsider still has the task of determin- ing which of the 'differences' - for example, language, dress, religion, or other - would be the significant ethnic marker or 'boundary' (Kipp 1996:19). 10 The term 'invention of traditions' comes from Hobsbawm and Ranger 1983. Equally well- known is Benedict Anderson's term 'imagined communities' from his book of the same name (B. Anderson 1983). These scholars focused on the manner in which new, or even not particularly new, nations invented traditions or found commonalities in order to emphasize their shared identity and hence unity.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access Benzoin

Camphor

60 km

Map 1. Location of and benzoin forests (from Perret 1995)

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 373 with another group is essential to ethnic consciousness; (2) the group is cre- ated to promote its advantage; and (3) certain ethnic markers are emphasized, 'invented', and 'imagined' to provide the primordial sentiments for group solidarity. These insights are useful in assessing historical inter-group relations within Sumatra, where borderlands provide the opportunity for individuals to move in and out of ethnicities. Evidence of ethnic shifts from Batak to Malayu and vice versa has been noted by both Milner (1982) and Perret (1995); less well documented but equally revealing have been the historical ethnic shifts between the Batak and the Minangkabau, and the Batak and the Acehnese. Before examining these ethnic shifts, a significant question that must be asked is why there should have been a need for a larger ethnic identity in the first place (Kahn 1993:15). In an effort to seek an answer, I have attempted to describe the process of 'ethnicization' of the Batak. I use this term to indicate a deliberate decision by the Batak to emphasize their ethnicity for a particular advantage. On the basis of origin tales and linguistic evidence, I have assumed that the Batak occupied the area around Lake Toba in the interior of north- ern Sumatra in the first millennium AD (Bellwood 1997:122).n International trade, I argue, was a major catalyst in the movement of Batak from the Toba highlands towards both coasts, though personal and environmental reasons also contributed to the out-migration. The interior redistribution centres and the international marketplaces on the coasts exposed the Batak to new peoples, new ideas, and new products. In searching for economic advantage in the highly competitive market environment, they sought support among their kinfolk, both real and fictive, by ethnicizing their Batak identity. The last part of the essay then suggests which boundaries were erected by the ethnicized 'Batak' as part of a strategy to maximize economic advantage and emphasize their unique self-worth.

The camphor and benzoin trade

The camphor (Dryobalanops aromatica Gaetn.f.) and benzoin {Styrax benzoin, Dryander) trade provided the first, though indirect, evidence of Batak parti-

11 There is no archaeological evidence to reconstruct early habitation of this area, and so I am basing my assumption on linguistic evidence. According to linguists, much of the spread of Western Malayo-Polynesian languages occurred after 1500-1000 BC and included the Malayic speakers. There was an earlier spread of Western Malayo-Polynesian languages which included those of the Batak and the Gayo of northern Sumatra. Linguists rightfully warn against equating language with language speakers, since an earlier population could adopt the language of a new- comer. Unless more conclusive evidence is presented on the ethnicity of the group that occupied the Toba highlands, I will assume that the inhabitants were ancestors of the group that came to be identified in later centuries as the Batak. I am grateful to K.A. Adelaar for his informed comments on this subject.

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cipation in international commerce. These forest resins were among the prod- ucts in greatest demand at the major port-cities in the Straits of Melaka from the early fifth century, and in Srivijaya between the seventh and eleventh century. Camphor and benzoin trees grow in the areas of northern Sumatra now occupied by the Batak (Wolters 1969:111-2,124-5,230-1).12 Camphor was a highly prized luxury item and so valued in that it was placed on a par with gold (Donkin 1999:127).13 Benzoin was regarded as a substitute for myrrh (Commiphora tnukul Engl.) in southern China by the sixth century, and later came to replace it as a permanent, valuable commodity in China, Western Asia, and Europe (Wolters 1969:111). In addition to their much- vaunted medical qualities as a cure for a host of illnesses and complaints14, camphor and benzoin were difficult to obtain, which further contributed to the high prices they could command in the marketplace. The camphor tree is one of the largest of the dipterocarps in western Indonesia, reaching a height of between sixty and seventy metres. It grows at altitudes of 60 to more than 365 metres above sea level on well-drained soils and often on steep ridges. These conditions are met in the Batak lands between Singkel and Air Bangis in northwest Sumatra. Benzoin trees grow in the same areas and under similar conditions. They are found in clumps from the north of Padang Sidempuan to the area around Tarutung, as well as in three locations from the mountain valley of the Lai Cinendang, a tributary of the Singkil River, northward to Sidikalang (see map 1). Camphor crystallizes in the wood of the tree from an oleoresin present in the tree itself and accumu- lates irregularly in the cavities of the trunk. Only after twelve years does the

12 The resin comes from a variety of species. The Styrax paralleloneurum produces a better- quality benzoin, but the most frequently mentioned in pharmaceutical and botanical literature is the Styrax benzoin (Katz 1998:243-5). 13 Though no comparative prices are available for this period, a nineteenth-century report estimates that between a half and 15 kati (280 grams to 8.38 kilograms) could be collected per tree, and one picul (56 kilograms) of camphor would cost 4000 guilders, a considerable sum in the nineteenth century (Zeijlstra 1913:826). 14 Among the Chinese, camphor was used against all types of pain and against typhoid, intes- tinal discomfort, nasal polyps, rheumatism, eye disease, and so on (Ptak 1998:138). According to a ninth-century Nestorian physician to six caliphs, in the Arab lands camphor was regarded as one of the five basic aromatics. It was also used in medicines for gum and eye infections, as an astringent, and as a prophylactic against the disease-bearing warm winds'. Among the Persians it was used as a cure for headaches, colds, and bulimia, and was an important ingredient, with rosewater and sandalwood, in a solution washed on walls during plagues or epidemics (Stephan 1998:234-9). The Sumatrans and Europeans treated camphor as a medicine, using it for 'strains, swellings, and rheumatic pains' (Marsden 1966:153). Benzoin was used in China as an incense to expel demons and attract benevolent spirits. There is an extensive description of its value from the tenth century, where it is prescribed as a remedy for a variety of conditions, from 'warding off poisonous cholera' to preventing involuntary emissions by males' (Wolters 1969:118-9). In Arabia, Persia, and parts of India it was used as an incense 'to expel troublesome insects, and obviate the pernicious effects of unwholesome air or noxious exhalations [...]' (Marsden 1966:155).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 375 tree produce the camphor, with the oldest trees supplying the greatest quan- tity and others yielding nothing at all (Burkill 1966, 1:876-81). Camphor was presumably collected by Batak men under a special leader known in later cen- turies as pawang, whose spiritual prowess was employed in locating the elu- sive commodity. Nevertheless, even with the aid of religious practitioners and adherence to strict taboos, including the use of a special camphor language, expeditions were not always successful. Writing in the late eighteenth century, William Marsden claimed that not even 10% of all trees cut down yielded any crystallized resin or camphor oil (Marsden 1966:150). Benzoin trees were tapped for their resin after seven years, but stopped producing after about ten to twelve years. While it may have been easier to collect, the finest quality could only be obtained in the first three years of tapping. After that the quality deteriorated, hence its market value lowered (Marsden 1966:154-5,184). O.W. Wolters has shown that camphor and benzoin were appearing in China, India and the Middle East by the early sixth century, though not in any sizeable quantities. But by the eighth century camphor was being included in the tribute to the Chinese emperor from non-Indonesian rulers, indicating the growing value of the product in China. It also implies that there was very likely an increase in the export of camphor from Indonesia (Wolters 1969:230- 1, 233, 235-7). The export of benzoin to China may have begun as early as the fifth century, though some believe that it began as late as the eighth or even the ninth century (Katz 1998:259). The increased demand for camphor and benzoin was met by Srivijaya, a kingdom founded in the late seventh century on the in Palembang (Wolters 1969:246-9; Coedes and Damais 1992). Through a series of campaigns Srivijaya overcame its competitors and became the dominant entrepot in the area. A Srivijayan inscription placed at Ligor (Nakhon Si Thammarat) in AD 775 indicates an expansion of Srivijayan power across the Straits of Melaka. A consequence of, and perhaps even an important motivation for, this expan- sion would have been the control of camphor supplies from the Isthmus and the Malay Peninsula. In the annals of the Liang dynasty, which ruled China from 502 to 556, there is a reference to camphor coming from both Funan and Langyaxiu. It is believed that the latter is somewhere on the eastern side of the Malay Peninsula, while the civilization of Funan was centred in the south of modern Cambodia. Funan must have imported and redistributed the cam- phor, since it did not produce the Dryobalanops aromatica variety brought into China (Ptak 1998:137). Srivijaya's incursion into the Malay Peninsula would have prevented the further export of camphor to ports on the Mekong Delta. By the latter part of the eighth century, therefore, Srivijaya may have suc- ceeded in monopolizing the sale of camphor and benzoin in the region. A major source of Srivijayan camphor and benzoin was the forests in northwest Sumatra. The supply route from these forests to Srivijaya went

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access MELAKA

STRAIT

: TOBA PADANG LAWAS SILINDUNG '

• Tarutun

Panyabungan INDIAN MAKhOAILING

Hutan°Pan >V_1> Muara Sipong

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vZ^ Ps Pariamanjf QV Uw Singkamk

Map 2. Areas to the south of Lake Toba

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 377 to Padang Lawas via Sipirok and the valley of the Batang Toru (see map 2). Padang Lawas appears to have been a collecting centre. From here there was a route leading directly to , as well as two alternative routes southward. One of the southern routes went via Padang Sidempuan to the valley of the Batang Angkola, while the other passed near Sibuhuan in Padang Lawas across the mountains into the Angkola valley near Si Abu. From the Angkola valley the route continued southward through Bonan Dolok to Penyabungan and Hutanopari in the Batang Gadis valley. It then crossed the mountains at Muara Sipongi to Rao. From Rao one could go directly to in the valley of the Batang Mahat, a tributary of the Kampar Kanan. But the more frequently used route passed through the valley of the Batang Sumpur, a tributary of the Sungei Rokan Kiri, and then through Tanjung and Lubuk Sikaping via Bonjol into Minangkabau territory. The Batak most likely transferred the products to the Minangkabau, who then completed the journey through their own lands downriver to the Malayu in Srivijaya. There were again two alternative routes leading from Bonjol to Buo, from which place it was possible to reach the headwaters of the Batang Hari, which is the major river through Jambi (Edwards McKinnon 1984, 2:340-2). From the Batang Hari the goods could be sold to the Malayu downriver and then transported by sea to Srivijaya. Another possibility was to use the tributaries linked by land routes lead- ing from the Jambi River to the Musi River in Palembang. One such route followed the tributary Tembesi River, which flowed down along the Jambi- Palembang border. From Ulu (upriver) Tembesi it was only eight days' travel to Palembang and about twelve to Jambi (B. Andaya 1993:102). The method used to transport the camphor and benzoin in earlier cen- turies is not mentioned explicitly in the sources. From available evidence it appears that was carried by men on their backs travelling on foot along narrow footpaths. Miksic describes a series of footpaths which ran from the interior along the hills to both the east and west coasts. Such trails were found on the summits of the Batak highlands, as well as along the upper reaches of rivers such as the Panai and Bila (Miksic 1979:97,106). Even as late as the mid-nineteenth century the Dutch linguist Van der Tuuk recalled an evening when he hosted half a dozen Toba Batak in Barus who had transported their cargo of benzoin on their backs (Nieuwenhuys 1962:46). Though horses are mentioned as an item of trade, it is difficult to find evidence of horses being used to transport export products. Marsden writes that there were numerous horses in the Batak lands and that the Batak supplied many to Bengkulen. Nevertheless, they kept their finest for ritual purposes and apparently as special delicacies for their festivals: 'Horse-flesh', according to Marsden, 'they esteem their most exquisite meat, and for this purpose feed them upon grain, and pay great attention to their keep' (Marsden 1966:381). Such precious ani-

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 378 Leonard Y. Andaya mals would most likely not have been used as beasts of burden. For nearly four centuries Srivijaya controlled the trade in forest products in the region. Its success as a major entrepot to traders from around the world aroused the envy of other major kingdoms seeking economic dominance in the area. In 1025 the southern Indian kingdom of the Colas launched an attack and subdued Srivijaya and its dependencies along the Straits of Melaka.15 Although Srivijaya recovered and reconstituted the kingdom on the in Jambi, the name Srivijaya disappeared from the records and was replaced in the eleventh century by that of an entity known as 'Malayu'. Following the Cola invasion, the temporary weakness of Srivijaya and its Jambi successor, Malayu, as well as the increasing volume of Indian Ocean trade, enabled several polities to emerge as suppliers of camphor and ben- zoin. Nevertheless, Srivijaya continued to maintain its overlordship into the thirteenth century. Although its secondary centres and feeder ports had always had some direct trade with foreign merchants, after the late eleventh century this privilege emerged as a regular pattern. This development was tolerated as long as the vassal areas did not challenge Srivijaya's orienta- tion away from the trans-shipment trade to the direct export trade in Indian Ocean commodities (Soo 1998:306-8). Two of the most important of these alternative ports were Barus and Kota Cina.

Barus and Kota Cina

The location of the Tamil inscription dated 1088 from Lobu Tua near Barus is the strongest evidence so far for Barus' return to prominence after the late seventh century. The inscription was erected by a Tamil merchant guild, the Ayyavole-500 (The Five Hundred of the Thousand Directions'), which enjoyed the patronage of the Cola dynasty in Tamil Nadu, the Tamil homeland in southern India. By the end of the eleventh century the guild in India had begun to include several ethnolinguistic groups among its ranks and had become established in a number of coastal towns. The Lobu Tua inscription refers to the guild 'having met at the velapuram in Varocu, also called the [...] pattinam [...]'. 'Varocu' is the name for Barus, but there is a difference of opinion about the meaning of the terms velapuram and pattinam. Subbarayalu (1998:30-3) believes that the former refers to the harbour, while the latter describes the town itself. Christie (1998:257), on the other hand, interprets 'pattinam' as designating Barus as a commercial centre of the first

15 Edwards McKinnon (1996:88) suggests that the Tamil merchant guild may have been the instigator of Cola intervention in Srivijaya territories, with a view to gaining economic advantage in the increasingly profitable international trade flowing through the Straits of Melaka.

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rank, and 'velapurarrC as referring to the enclave of Lobu Tua as a trading set- tlement of secondary rank.16 Permission was required for admission to the city, and prices in the trade in aromatics (kasturi) were calculated in gold.17 As an international port, Barus would have had a mixed population, though its core inhabitants may have been Batak. Direct overland routes from the nearby camphor forests directly to Barus helped assure the city's reputation as a reliable supplier of that prized commodity. Camphor from Barus could command such high prices that Batak collectors working on the right bank of the Singkel River in the sixteenth century did not sell their product at the nearby port of Singkel, but took it to the more distant port of Barus (Miksic 1979:94). Ptak (1998:139-40) believes that, though Barus was frequented by Indians and other traders from the west, it was not a major port for the export of camphor to China. Song and Yuan texts, that is, information from the tenth to the fourteenth century, do not indicate a regular trade contact between west-coast Sumatra and the southern Chinese ports of Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang.18 The strong Chinese trade in camphor and benzoin was most likely focused on another port located on the northeast coast bearing the revealing name Kota Cina ('Chinese Stockade').19 Chinese traders were more familiar with Sumatra's northeast coast and the Straits of Melaka20 and would presumably have gone to Kota Cina, rather than to Barus itself, to

16 Joustra explains that 'lobu' means 'abandoned settlement' (Joustra 1910:28). 'Lobu Tua', meaning 'the old abandoned settlement', could have been the name of an earlier centre which later moved to the town of Barus. 17 In Sanskrit the word 'kasturi' refers to musk. Since musk does not occur in the Barus area, Subbarayalu has suggested that the term may have been used to refer symbolically to aromatics in general (Subbarayalu 1998:31-2; Edwards McKinnon 1996:91). 18 This may account for Edwards McKinnon's speculation, based on Chinese ceramic evi- dence at Lobu Tua, that the site was abandoned at about the time of the foundation of Kota Cina (Edwards McKinnon 1996:89). 19 The name originates from a common practice among'the Chinese to create a fortified enclosure to protect themselves and their goods while awaiting a shift in monsoon winds before resuming their journey to India (Miksic 1996:292). 20 Pulau Kompei on Aru Bay is another important place on the northeast Sumatran coast which produced trade ceramics in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. This is probably the site of the Kompei mentioned in Chinese sources as having sent a mission to China in AD 662. Wolters has suggested that 'P'o-lo', which sent a mission to China in the seventh century, was located in northeast Sumatra. On the same coast flourished Panai between the tenth and fourteenth centuries, and Aru from the late thirteenth to the early seventeenth century. Milner et al. sug- gest that Aru and Deli were different names for the same place. According to Tengku Luckman, the kingdom of Serdang then split off from the from the old Deli kingdom in the seventeenth century. Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries Asahan, on the same coast, became a prominent kingdom and an outlet for products from the Batak interior (Nik Hassan Shuhaimi 1984:110; Wolters 1969:187, 193, 220; Milner, Edwards McKinnon, and Tengku Luckman 1978: 18-9; Tengku Luckman 1986:39; Hirosue 1988:40-1).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 380 Leonard Y. Andaya obtain forest resins. The existence of Song and Yuan sherds in interior sites in Kota Bangun and Deli Tua appears to support this contention. Moreover, there would have been the added attraction of gold from the nearby mines in such areas as the Bohorok and Pengkuruan Rivers, some fifty kilometres west of present-day Medan (Nik Hassan Shuhaimi 1984:109-10). Although Miksic stresses the Chinese component of the settlement, Edwards McKinnon argues that Kota Cina was predominantly a Tamil trading settlement established by merchants like those responsible for the Lobu Tua inscription in Barus. The existence of permanent religious struc- tures, including a Siva sanctuary and a Buddhist vihara, is indicative of the economic importance of the Tamil community for whom they were built (Edwards McKinnon 1987:86-7). Nevertheless, the Chinese were also a major presence in the city, judging by the 'tens of thousands of Chinese porcelain sherds' from between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries found on the site (Miksic 2000:111). Kota Cina was inhabited between the late eleventh and the fourteenth century, and grew from a small village into a large settlement of some 10,000 inhabitants by the middle of the twelfth century (Edwards McKinnon 1996:89; Miksic 1996:292). The ruined site was mentioned by John Anderson on his trip to east-coast Sumatra in the early nineteenth century and was only 'rediscovered' in 1972 (J. Anderson 1971:294). Located some three to four miles from the port of Belawan Deli, near the confluence of the Belawan River (known also as Hamparan or Buluh Cina) and the , it was once accessible to sea-going ships (Edwards McKinnon 1984, 1:9). The rise of Kota Cina should be viewed in the context of Tamil trading activity in Sumatra in this period. So far there are three known Tamil set- tlements in Kota Cina, Lhok Cut (), and Lobu Tua, and possible settle- ments at Neusu (Aceh, thirteenth century), Bahal 1 (Tapanuli Selatan in the Padang Lawas area), Buo (), and Kota Kandis on the Batang Hari in Jambi (Edwards McKinnon 1996:87). It is noteworthy that the Tamil- inspired Buo inscription, the bronze imagery, and a possible temple founda- tion at Kota Kandis on the Batang Hari are located on a major route between the resin forests in the Batak lands and Srivijaya/Malayu. Other Tamil inscriptions reinforce the view of a fairly extensive Tamil trade involvement in Sumatra. A provisional reading of the Tamil inscription found at Neusu appears to refer to trade regulations, while, the nearby site of Lhok Cut is believed to be the remains of an eleventh-century port. Two further Tamil inscriptions dating from the second half of the thirteenth century have been found. The first is a late thirteenth-century inscription found at Batu (or Bandar) Bapahat, near Suruaso, in the . Though no transcription or translation has been made, nor any archaeological context provided, the inscription may relate to the Minangkabau trade in camphor

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 381 and gold.21 The second inscription is from Porlak Dolok near Paringginan in the Padang Lawas area and dates from either 1258 or 1265. From what can be inferred from a very damaged text, the inscription commemorates an offer- ing made by the ruler as a meritorious act (Christie 1998:259-63). The sus- tained Tamil economic activity in north and west Sumatra from the eleventh to the fourteenth century provided the economic stimulus for the increasing participation of the Batak communities in the camphor and benzoin trade. These products continued to be transported southward to the entrepots in Malayu, but by the late eleventh century most of the supplies were going to Barus and Kota Cina. The founding of Kota Cina was not an isolated event but was part of the historical oscillation in the Straits between a single dominant entrepot and a number of smaller dispersed ports exporting the products of their immedi- ate interior. Based on recent archaeological explorations in , Miksic believes that Kota Cina may have been simply one of a number of similar- type settlements along the Straits of Melaka, which came to include Singapore (circa 1300) and Melaka (beginning of the fifteenth century) (Miksic 2000:111- 2). Contemporary with Kota Cina was a similar port at Pengkalan Bujang, across the Straits in Kedah, to the north of the Merbok River. The area of South Kedah was a site for two important centres based at Sungai Mas from the ninth century and at Pengkalan Bujang from the end of the eleventh century to approximately the beginning of the fourteenth century 0acq-Hergoualc'h 1992:300). Though Jacq-Hergoualc'h considers these two sites to have been entrepot ports, Leong believes they were mainly a place for loading and offloading ships, whose cargoes were then redistributed on the Peninsula (Leong 1990:29). It is apparent that Kota Cina, too, served princi- pally as a depot for the supply of fresh water and Sumatran forest products. Though Kota Cina may have been the dominant port on the northeast coast, there were other possible outlets for Batak goods in this period.22 The economic opportunities offered by Barus and Kota Cina as alternative sources of camphor and benzoin encouraged the Batak to move toward both the east and west coasts in order to profit more directly from international trade. A trans-insular route, though difficult because of the rough and broken

21 The main Minangkabau gold-producing areas are located in Tanah Datar. According to Dobbin, the main route to the east coast from the valley of the Sinamar around Buo and the Sumpur around Sumpur Kudus was by water or land to the headwaters of the and then overland to the headwaters of a tributary of the Kampar Kiri (Dobbin 1983:60-1). Satyawati (1977:9) suggests that Adityavarman moved his centre to the Minangkabau highlands in order to control the gold and camphor trade via the Kampar and Batang Hari Rivers. 22 Soo (1998:296) mentions Kampar and Lamuri, but other possible ports were Pulau Kompei, on Aru Bay, and Panai. Nevertheless, archaeological evidence seems to support the belief that Kota Cina was the dominant port during its existence.

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terrain, provided a safer alternative to the sea voyage from the west coast around Aceh into the Straits. There was therefore an increase in the numbers of Batak beginning to settle along the new trade routes.

Expansion of the Batak world

The Toba area is said to have been populated by people migrating from the legendary first Batak village, Sianjur Mulamula, situated on the slopes of the sacred Pusuk Buhit on the western shore of Lake Toba. Pusuk Buhit is considered to be the birthplace of their common ancestor, Si Batak, and the home of the most powerful deities. From here groups left and set- tled the series of valleys along the west coast of Lake Toba and then the southern shores of the lake (Toba-Holbung) in search of rice-growing lands similar to those found in their homeland. They later fanned out to the island of Samosir, to the highlands west of the lake (Humbang), to the Silindung valley, and then westward to the coast (see map 2) (Situmorang 1993:41-2). In subsequent periods emigration from the Toba lands continued to occur in response to economic conditions. The process is known among the Toba Batak as marserak, which originally denoted migration within the territories of one's marga or into lands not yet occupied by other marga.23 According to marga origin tales, the point of dispersal was in the Toba homeland (specifically the island of Samosir and the areas to the west and south of Lake Toba) and the Pakpak region west of the lake (see map 3).24 Perret points out, however, that most European commentators place the ori- gin of the Batak peoples somewhere south of the Lake, where the German mission was strongest (Perret 1995:56, 60). Their reports, Perret infers, may have influenced later marga origin tales which acknowledge the Toba lands as the point of origin of their group. As I hope to show, however, the circum- stantial evidence suggests that the Toba area may indeed have been a major centre for later out-migrating Batak to both coasts and southward to the present-day Minangkabau homeland. As a result of the economic opportunities provided by Kota Cina and other east-coast Sumatran ports between the eleventh and fourteenth centu-

23 The meaning of marserak has now expanded to refer to economic and social mobility. Other words are currently in use to describe different types of migration (Purba and Purba 1997:22-5). It must be emphasized here that reasons for emigration of individuals and groups vary consid- erably. Economic opportunities, such as new trade possibilities, have always been a major pull factor in migration. 24 This statement is based on genealogical stories contained in a number of sources, including Sangti 1977; Hoetagaloeng 1926; De Boer 1922; Keuning 1953/54; Wilier 1846; Van Dijk 1895; and J.H. Neumann 1926.

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ries, Batak groups moved eastward from the Lake Toba and Pakpak regions using a number of routes. Perret has drawn a useful map showing the spread of various Karo marga from their homeland in the current Pakpak districts to the present-day Karo region (see map 4). What is noteworthy is that the area of the Karo homeland in the Pakpak districts is in close proximity to the cam- phor and benzoin forests.25 The thriving trade in forest products encouraged the establishment of settlements along the major routes which led from the camphor and benzoin forests through passes in trie Bukit Barisan mountains and finally down the rivers to Kota Cina. The shortest route from the Karo highlands to Kota Cina was via the Cingkem pass and then either down the Serdang River (known in Karo as Lau Tawang) or the Deli River (in Karo, Lau Petani) to the coast (see map 5). But the easiest route from the highlands was via the Buaya pass, which followed the upper course of the Ular River (in Karo, Lau Buaya) to the area of Seribudolok on the border between the present-day Karo and Simalungun lands. In the nineteenth century the most important market for the Karo and Simalungun continued to be on this well-frequented trade route (Westenberg 1905:603). A focus of many of these routes, as well as the paths leading to the Alas and Gayo lands, was the village of Seberaya, strategically located within a network of trails leading from the camphor- and benzoin-producing forests, across the Karo plateau, down to Kota Cina and the east coast (Edwards McKinnon 1996:69,1987:11, 22-4; Miksic 1979:254). South of Lake Toba one of the earliest trans-insular routes led from on the west coast, through a low pass in the mountains, to Gunung Tua and Portibi in the Padang Lawas region. Many of the sites from the eleventh to the fourteenth centuries are located inland, their main function involving trade with the highland groups (Bronson et al. 1973:77). Miksic points out that ceremonial sites, such as those at Padang Lawas and Muara Takus (on the upper ), were often located near the border between the highlands and the coastal plains and 'may reflect some function in regulating intercourse between highland and lowland groups' (Miksic 1979:97, 103).26 From Padang Lawas the major route southward passed through a number of valleys and towns to Rao. From Rao it was possible to go directly to Muara Takus via a tributary of the Kampar River, but the more used route seems to have been to Buo and then out to the Batang Hari River. These routes encour-

25 See Perret 1995:37, map 'Karo migrations according to tradition'. Sinaga also cites evidence that the Karo trace their roots to the Pakpak area, which in turn acknowledges an origin in Toba (Sinaga 1996:46-7). 26 In support of this claim, Edwards McKinnon suggests that the name of the village Portibi' (Batak for 'region or quarter) may derive from the Sanskrit pertiwi, referring to a centre of power. In the Padang Lawas area there are two villages named Portibi: Portibi Jae (Downriver Portibi) and Portibi Julu (Upriver Portibi), which may have been associated with groups representing the uplands and the lowlands (Edwards McKinnon 1984,1:30-1).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access Aceh

Pgmatangsiantar Tanjungbalai

60 km

Map 3. Early Toba migrations according to traditions collected by Vergouwen (from Perret 1995)

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Binjei Medan

y Kutacane Bangunpurba

'/ j ^Gunungrintih

Sembiring Tarigan Peranginangin Ginting Sinuraja , ^ v , - • Barusjahe Barus Sitepu Lingga

INDIAN OCEAN 15 km

Map 4. Karo migrations according to tradition (from Perret 1995) aged the migration of peoples from the area of Lake Toba southward into the region that later came to be associated with the Angkola-Mandailing groups (J.B. Neumann 1885, 2:17-8). Migration from the Toba highlands to areas south of Lake Toba extended into regions of the Malayu and the Minangkabau. It may have begun some- time in the eighth century, with increased Srivijayan demand for camphor and benzoin. According to some Malayu traditions from Kampar, the area of Rao was once Batak but was later seized by certain Minangkabau chieftains. In addition, the lands directly east of Rao were regarded as Batak. There is also a story of an attack in the past on Muara Takus by Batak based in Kuamang, which today is occupied by Malayu. In the nineteenth century a Dutchman reported seeing in the neighbourhood of Kota Gelugur, on the Kampar River, a stone inscribed in Batak characters. He explained that the inscribed stone was intended as a commemorative tablet in honour of the first village heads, assumed to be Batak in origin. Certain unique traits suggest that the people of the area may have originated from Mandailing. J.B. Neumann believes that until the middle of the thirteenth century the Batak occupied the northern half of the Pasaman Mountains (known in Batak as Dolok Pasoman), which

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MELAKA

STRAITS

INDIAN

OCEAN

Map 5. Areas to the north and east of Lake Toba

were the source of the Rokan, Siak, and the Kampar Rivers. These mountains, he argues, marked the southernmost border of the Batak lands. In support of this argument, he explains in a footnote that the word 'Pasoman' indicates 'the end of a world' (J.B. Neumann 1885, 2:17-8). The fourteenth-century Lubuk Layang inscription found on the border of South Tapanuli, near Padang Lawas, dates from the time of the Minangkabau ruler Adityavarman and is believed to have marked a frontier post set up to guard against attacks from the presumably Batak kingdom of Panai (Satyawati 1977:6). Ideas of a single Batak ethnicity were strengthened by the fact that many of those who moved into new lands had a common origin. On the basis of genealogies collected in Portibi and Mandailing in the early nineteenth cen- tury, Wilier concluded that these areas were settled by migrants from the Toba homeland. Only after they had been in the area for a long time did a new noble lineage arrive claiming to be linked to the legendary rulers of Minangkabau (Wilier 1846:262, 344-5, 400-2, 405). Other origin tales collected by Batara Sangti indicate that the Lubis and the Nasution, two of the largest

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 387 marga in Angkola-Mandailing, stem from ancestors in the Lake Toba region (Sangti 1977:129-30).27 The Lubis marga itself acknowledges that its founding ancestor, Namora Pande Bosi, 'the great iron-smith', originally came from Toba. Also claiming an origin in Toba is the Rangkuti, one of the oldest marga in Mandailing. They believe that their ancestors were from the marga Parapat, part of the Borbor group, whose datu are particularly feared for the potency of their black magic. This may account for the Rangkuti's fame as the home of powerful datu (Ypes 1944:141-2). Smaller marga in Mandailing, such as the Pulungan, Parinduri, Rangkuti, and Borotan, all acknowledge a Toba origin. According to J. Keuning, two of the largest marga, the Mandailing Godang and Mandailing Julu, trace their ancestors to Toba lands (Keuning 1953/54: 160-1; Vergouwen 1964:12).28 This movement of Batak people may have occurred at the time of the most intensive use of the camphor-benzoin routes to Srivijaya/Malayu and Kota Cina between the eighth and fourteenth centuries.29 Once these groups became established in their new lands, others were encouraged to join them in response to economic conditions that rose and fell in accordance with the rhythm of international trade in the Straits of Melaka.30 The rise of pepper as an export commodity proved to be a new factor contributing to Batak emigration from the well-populated areas around Lake Toba. In about the fifteenth century (Piper nigrum, Linn.) found a mass market in China, where it was used in the preparation and preservation of food, and by the seventeenth century China may have been importing between ten

27 In the current climate of strong ethnic identification and pride in ethnic difference, some may take issue with these findings, since Batara Sangti himself is a Toba Batak. 28 Mhd. Arbain Lubis, a modern local historian, rejects any idea of a Toba origin for the Nasution marga, but argues that the ancestral figure, Si Beroar, was indigenous to Mandailing (Lubis 1993:193-6). This view represents a common trend among various groups who stress their difference with the Toba as a way of emphasizing their non-Batak identity. Batara Sangti, a Toba Batak, cites genealogies to show that the Lubis and Nasution, two of the largest marga in Angkola-Mandailing, originated from the Toba area (Sangti 1977:129-30). There will be those who reject such claims because they represent views of a partial source. 29 After the Cola invasion of Srivijaya in 1025, the centre of activity shifted northward to Jambi, to the old settlement known as Malayu. While the Srivijayan site on the Musi continued to exist, it was the Malayu kingdom, with capitals both on the coast and in the interior, which attracted the attention of foreign merchants. In the late thirteenth century, the Javanese kingdom of Singosari under King Kertanagara attempted to assert its overlordship in the upper reaches of the Batang Hari. The rivalry between the rulers of and Sumatra eventually led to the movement of the interior Malayu kingdom even further inland to the mountains of the Bukit Barisan. This then gave rise to the Malayu kingdom in the highlands of Minangkabau under Adityavarman in the fourteenth century (L. Andaya 2001b). 30 A similar response to economic opportunities is recorded among the Iban groups of . Iban migration is a well-known phenomenon which continues to the present day. They, like the Batak, moved into empty lands or into sparsely populated areas, quickly absorbing or dominating the local inhabitants (Pringle 1970:249-51).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 388 Leonard Y. Andaya and twelve thousand picul (1 picul = 60.5 kg) of pepper annually. Europe also became a major market for pepper, and by 1500 was importing about twelve hundred tonnes yearly. To meet this burgeoning demand the Sumatran king- doms of Aceh, Palembang, and Jambi increased their pepper production. Some of the Batak may have been enticed to move to the hinterland of these kingdoms to participate in pepper planting.31 Aceh, at the northern tip of the island, began to transform some of its interior areas into pepper lands, and Sultan Iskandar Muda (1607-36) expanded pepper cultivation down both coasts. He conquered other pepper-producing areas across the Straits, in Kedah and Perak, to monopolize their production (B. Andaya 1993:43-6; Lombard 1967:66). The cultivation of pepper was labour-intensive and required almost con- tinual attention. Once the men had cleared the forests and planted the pep- per, the women and children were responsible for putting in support plants, training the pepper vines around them, and weeding the root areas of the pepper vine. The first pepper harvest came after the fourth year, with a large and a minor harvest annually thereafter. The pepper-growers were therefore kept busy picking, cleaning, drying, and bagging the fruit for much of the year. It was estimated that it took a woman an entire day to sift a picul of pep- per berries. Because of the labour involved in growing pepper, most families could not plant rice at the same time (B. Andaya 1993:70). As the powerful rulers of Aceh, Palembang, and Jambi required more and more of their subjects to plant pepper, rice production in these areas declined. Rice had to be imported to feed the families now occupied full- time in the pepper fields. The surplus rice from the extensive wet-rice (sawah) fields of the Minangkabau and the Batak in the interior of central and north Sumatra became the favoured source of supply. Rice, which was ordinarily scarce in Aceh, was available in great abundance under Sultan Iskandar Muda (Lombard 1967:73). A major source of Aceh's supply was the east-coast polities of Tamiang, Deli, and Asahan, which he seized in order to gain control of the rice grown in their hinterlands mainly by Batak. By the mid-seventeenth century, Aceh was importing about 400 tonnes of rice from Deli alone (Hirosue 1994:21). In the late seventeenth century a Chinese who lived for ten years among the Batak in the hinterland of Deli described the over-abundance of rice which the numerous inhabitants enjoyed annually (F.

31 Bugis slaves were used to plant pepper in Jambi and Palembang in the seventeenth century because many local people refused to remain involved in the strenuous task of pepper cultivation (B. Andaya 1993:96-7). Batak migrants willing to plant pepper would have been welcome in these Sumatran kingdoms. Even in the early nineteenth century, when the peak of the pepper trade had already passed, Anderson noted large numbers of Batak engaged in pepper production in the interior of Deli. He observed that in the pepper season the river at the ford in Sunggal 'is almost impassable for the multitudes of people who flock there with produce' 0- Anderson 1971:258).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 389 de Haan 1877:647-8). The lands in the Lake Toba region were well known as a major source of food, in particular rice and various types of root crops. When the missionar- ies Burton and Ward visited the Silindung valley in 1824, they remarked that rice and sweet potatoes were widely grown: 'The former is produced both on the hills and in the vallies in great abundance, and forms a principal article of their barter with the bay. On the hills it is grown by the dry process, accord- ing to the common practice with mountain rice; in the valleys irrigation is employed with some ingenuity. The sweet potatoe grows luxuriantly in every part of the country, but occupies chiefly the sides of the hills.' (Burton and Ward 1827:510.) In the Karo lands sawah fields irrigated by small streams were laid out mainly in the dusun (the Karo plains from the foothills to the east coast); whereas in the highlands they were located in the ravines. Dry- rice (ladang) cultivation was more typical in the highlands. The Simalungun areas grew ladang east of the Karei River, and sawah in the ravines. The Purba district and some pockets adjoining Lake Toba were planted in sawah, but ladang cultivation was more common (Westenberg 1905:579-80). In the lands south of Lake Toba, rice surpluses arose as a result of the extensive cultiva- tion of sawah in the fertile valleys of the lowlands of Mandailing Godang (Groot Mandailing), and ladang in the highlands of Mandailing Julu (Klein Mandailing) (Wilier 1846:370, 373). The sawah fields in the Padang Lawas region, particularly those in Ulu Barumun, were also noted for their pro- ductivity (Joustra 1910:286, 293, 302-3). Much of the extra labour required to bring these new lands under cultivation would have come from the popu- lous areas in the Lake Toba region with their experienced food producers, thus giving rise to another movement of people from the Lake area to lands in Karo, Simalungun, and Angkola-Mandailing. While the international demand for camphor, benzoin, and pepper pro- vided a major stimulus for Batak migration (marserak), other factors contrib- uted to the process. They were status enhancement through the founding of new villages, desire for land, family disputes, the desire for safety from ene- mies, and the need to find new land for a growing population (Vergouwen 1964).32 Other more cultural motives for continuing Toba Batak migrations mentioned by modern scholars are the desire for a long life and numerous descendants (hagabeon); prosperity and well-being (hamoraon); social status (hasangapon); ability to exercise authority {sahala harajaon); and skill in gaining respect (sahala hasangapon) (Purba and Purba 1997:21). As a result of the extension of the Batak world into new areas, modifica- tions in the existing marga system occurred. Individuals became members

32 See also 'Nota over de Landsgroten van Deli' (unpublished manuscript owned by Tengku Sinar Luckman, with no indication of original source), p. 15.

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of new marga through migration, adoption, and birth from 'incestuous' rela- tionships (that is, marriage between members of the same marga) (Ypes 1932: v). The lands now occupied by the Karo, the Simalungun, and the Angkola- Mandailing offer more examples of newly formed marga than the Toba areas. The Toba have extensive genealogies tracing groups to the primeval ances- tor, Si Raja Batak, whereas Simalungung genealogies, for example, rarely go beyond three generations (Clauss 1982:44). When Van der Tuuk was trans- lating the into Toba Batak in the mid-nineteenth century, he found that what interested the Toba most were the long biblical genealogies (Nieuwenhuys 1962:47). In the following century Keuning (1948:15-6) also noted the great Toba interest in and knowledge of the links among the marga. People would explain how the marga came to form a main marga, which were the oldest, middle, and youngest, and how marga came to give rise to even larger marga, culminating in the moieties of the Lonrung and the Sumba. The tendency for the Batak, other than the Toba, to downplay genealogical depth may reflect the relative newness of their marga and therefore the need to emphasize other more useful linkages than that of an ancestral lineage. The Karo today usually characterize their society by and base their identity on the idea of the Merga Silima, or 'the Five Marga'.33 They are the marga Karo-Karo, Peranginangin, Ginting, Tarigan, and Sembiring, which all claim an origin from lands to the west. J.H. Neumann (1926:2-3) suggested that the 'original' inhabitants were a small marga, Karo Sekali, on the basis of their name, which he translated as 'genuine or true Karo' (echte Karo), but that idea has been challenged.34 Unlike the Toba, with their extended patri- lineally based genealogies going back to a common mythical ancestor, the Karo emphasize the matrimonial bonds among the five major clans and the alliances created in the formation of new marga under a local mother marga (Kipp 1996:34; Singarimbun 1975:71-6; Sinaga 1996:283).35 Equally striking is Singarimbun's claim that the 'Karo do not possess any myth of the origin of their own society', nor a 'ritual center'. The Karo clans, he argues, are not descent groups, 'have no history of common origin', and 'do not regard them- selves as agnatically related to one another' (Singarimbun 1975:70, 72). Simalungun society is very much like that of the Karo in stressing the equality of the four basic marga of the Saragih, Purba, Damanik and Sinaga, and ignoring the importance of long genealogical links to the founder of

33 Merga is the Karo term, but I have used marga throughout this essay to avoid confusion. 34 Rita Kipp first raised doubts about Neumann's interpretation, which identified this marga as the first or original Karo, because it was found in only one ward in a village (Kipp 1996:44). Neumann's views, however, seem to have been adopted by Batak authors themselves; see, for example, Sangti 1977:129-30. 35 See also Sinaga 1996:284-7 for a description of how immigrants from the Toba and Pakpak areas became part of newly formed Karo marga.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 391 the marga. The marga do not play a very important role in Simalungun, and there is an absence of any tradition of common marga territory, property, or ceremonies (Tarigan 1972:47; Joustra 1910:184). These features of Karo and Simalungun society appear to be much more in keeping with the nature of rapidly evolving frontier societies where long-standing traditions have less relevance than developments in the more recent past. With less venerable traditions to consider, such societies were more likely to experiment and to adopt new forms and ideas. A continuing important source for such innova- tion among the Batak, particularly in the newly settled communities, was the Indian subcontinent.

Indian influence and Batak identity

The Tamils were a formative influence on Batak society. Although a ninth- century inscription on the Malay Peninsula mentions the presence at Takuapa of members of the Manikkiramam, a Tamil merchant guild, it was only after the successful Cola invasion of Srivijayan territories in 1024-5, perhaps at the behest of Tamil traders, that there was a noticeable increase in Tamil economic activity in the region (Nilakanta Sastri 1949:25-30; Miksic 1998:120-1). In the 1088 Lobu Tua inscription described above, mention is made of local armed men, oarsmen, agents, and merchants serving the Tamil guild. Through daily intercourse between the Tamils and the local inhabitants in this thriving set- tlement, ideas would have been exchanged (Subbarayalu 1998:31-3). Another direct consequence of the Cola invasion was the emergence of Kota Cina. Edwards McKinnon, the foremost expert on this historical site, has stated unequivocally: 'I now see Kota Cina as a predominantly Tamil trading set- tlement established by a community of merchants such as the Ainnurruvar [also known as the Ayyavole] who left an inscription at Lobu Tua' (Edwards McKinnon 1987:87). In response to the rise of Kota Cina, there was a movement of some of the Tamil population from Barus towards the east coast. Edwards McKinnon found that the Sembiring marga of the Karo established itself at strategic points along the routes leading from the west to the east coasts, and that two of the villages, Deli Tua and Hamparan Perak, were located within easy reach of Kota Cina (Edwards McKinnon 1987:90-1). The Sembiring marga is believed to have had direct ties with Tamil traders. The name 'Sembiring', meaning 'the black one', is often cited as a major clue. The names of certain sub-marga - Colia, Berahmana, Pandia, Meliala, Depari, Muham, Pelawi and Tekan - are clearly of south Indian origin (Edwards McKinnon 1987:85-6; Parkin 1978:82, 94 fn 47; Singarimbun 1975:78-80; J.H. Neumann 1926:16-7). In further support of a southern Indian origin of the Sembiring marga, some

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 392 Leonard Y. Andaya scholars have cited a mode of disposing of the dead believed to have been borrowed from the Tamils. This practice involves secondary cremation and setting the ashes adrift (the pekualuh ceremony) and is found only in the Dairi lands in the west and among the Karo (N. Siahaan 1964:114-5; Parkin 1978:94, fn 47; Singarimbun 1975:75). There may also have been some Tamil influence on Karo ideas on village structure. Urung, the Karo term for a village federa- tion, is believed to refer to a form of organization found in medieval Tamil society (Edwards McKinnon 1996:93). Another source of Indian ideas, particularly in the realm of magic and religion, were the Indianized Malayu communities. Their influence is espe- cially evident in the Padang Lawas complex, perhaps the second-largest archaeological site in Indonesia, encompassing an area with a radius of fif- teen kilometres. Judging from inscriptions found here, Padang Lawas played an important role in the region from the mid-eleventh to the end of the fif- teenth century. Between 1935 and 1938 Schnitger found some twenty temples here, as well as a Heruka figure. From the inscriptions and an analysis of the statuary, he concluded that the devotees were adherents of Vajrayana Tantric , Sivaism, and a syncretic Siva-Buddhism. In one of the temples found at Parmutung, Schnitger identified what he believed to be an image of a queen of Panai who founded the temple and who was consecrated as a Bhairavi (Schnitger 1964:93-4; Parkin 1978:84). Many authors believe that the presence of Tantrism in the Padang Lawas complex was due to Indian influence from Malayu/Minangkabau36 via east Java. In support of this argument, they cite the famous fourteenth-century Adityavarman statue in the form of the god Bhairava, one of the important deities in Kalacakra or Left-Handed Tantric Buddhism, found at Rambahan on the Batang Hari. The inspiration for this statue can be traced directly to the Singasari court of east Java, where Adityavarman spent some years and left an inscription in 1343. The model was a similar statue dated 1292 of the Bhairava seated on a dais surrounded by skulls and wearing a crown, ear- rings, and a necklace of skulls (Parkin 1978:254-64; Heine-Geldern 1972:326; De Casparis 1985:246; Fontein 1990:162-3). Tantric influence appears to have continued under Adityavarman's son, Anangavarman, who identified him- self as Heruka, a demon figure. At Kampung Lubuk Layang in Rao, in the Pasaman district, a headless weatherworn statue broken in two was found displaying Hindu, possibly Tantric, elements similar to the guardian statues

36 Although Adityavarman is generally regarded as the first Minangkabau ruler, he began his career as ruler of Malayu. Once he established his base in the Minangkabau homeland, he called himself Kanakamedinindra, or 'Lord of the Gold Land' - a reference to the island of Sumatra. This shows that he sought to be remembered as the heir of the Srivijayan rulers who first reigned in Palembang and later moved to Jambi, where the kingdom became known as Malayu. Adityavarman never mentions the name 'Minangkabau' in his inscriptions (Satyawati 1977:9).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 393 in Padang Lawas (Satyawati 1977:2, 6; Bronson et al. 1973:19). There is also support for the argument that Indian influence may have reached Padang Lawas from the north. Parkin, for example, argues that many Sivaite ideas were brought by Indians themselves through commun- ities such as those found in Lobu Tua and Kota Cina.37 A team of archaeolo- gists visiting the site in 1973 concluded that it had no clear relationship with Java (Bronson et al. 1973:19, 61, 64, 77; Satyawati 1977:2). Their preliminary findings would suggest that the Padang Lawas complex was a result of Indian influence coming from the port cities in northern Sumatra rather than from Java and southern Sumatra. A third possibility is that Padang Lawas received Indianized ideas from both directions and formed a cultural frontier between the Minangkabau and the Batak.

Religion and the high priests in the service of trade

Whatever the ultimate source of Indian religious inspiration in Padang Lawas, the evidence suggests that Indian magico-religious ideas were eagerly sought by the Batak in order to strengthen their belief systems in the ongoing struggle to improve their spiritual and material well-being. The indigenous Batak religion, known as Perbegu or Pemena38, was not sup- planted by religious concepts from India, but came to co-exist with them. It was therefore possible for the Batak to retain their own beliefs while also adopting Buddhist, Sivaite, and Tantric rituals. Parkin explains that Perbegu can be viewed as 'a cult of the human soul, which in a living person is known as "tondi" and for a dead person is gener- ally called "begu"' (Parkin 1978:6).39 Tondi is sometimes translated as 'soul stuff and is found in smaller quantities in animals and plants. It is present in every part of the human being, including the hair, fingernails, sweat, tears, urine, excrement, shadow, and even in the name of a person. The most powerful tondi resides in the and the amniotic fluid at birth, and hence great care is taken to dispose of these with the utmost secrecy. Ritual cannibalism

37 Three more recent works which include a detailed discussion of the impact of Indian ideas on Batak indigenous religion are Parkin 1978, Pedersen 1967, and Rae 1994. In the present essay I have simply focused on Tantrism as an important part of Indian religious ideas that appears to have been particularly relevant in the southward expansion of Batak society towards the Minangkabau lands. 38 The old religion is referred to by Christian Batak as Perbegu, or worship of ancestral spirits. Because of the perceived derogatory nature of this name, adherents prefer the term Pemena, meaning 'the First [Religion]'. 39 The word varies from one Batak language to the other. For example, tondi is Toba, tendi Karo, and tenduy Simalungun. In the following discussion the Toba terms are used.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 394 Leonard Y. Andaya provided the opportunity to strengthen one's tondi at the expense of the victim by consuming those parts of the body that are potent with tondi, such as the blood, heart, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet.40 When a person dies, the tondi becomes begu (ancestral spirit).41 The most powerful begu, and hence the one subject to the most frequent appeals, is the sombaon, the spirit of an ancestor who founded great communities and had at least seven generations of descendants (Pedersen 1967:19-26; Rae 1994:18-20).42 Through public feasts at which homage is paid, a begu is transformed into a sumangot, then a sombaon (Sherman 1990:82).43 The ultimate test of potency was the possession of sahala, which can be succinctly translated as 'manifestation of supernatural power'.44 Sahala is manifested in successful economic and other ventures, numerous progeny, influential relatives, skill in oratory, or bravery in battle. Respect {hasangapon) accompanies one possessed of sahala, while to refuse to obey and venerate such a person is to court disaster (Castles 1972:13-4). From early times religion was closely linked to trade among the Batak. Religious edifices were erected along trade routes to protect the trader from adverse human and natural forces and thus assure the economic success of his venture. Edwards McKinnon observed that from Padang Lawas south- ward was a line of candi or temples marking a route from Tapanuli down to the Minangkabau lands. More candi were found along rivers that were used to gain access to the east coast. The Padang Lawas or Panai complex arose due to its strategic location at the crossroads of several riverine and overland routes.45 The ancient kingdom of Panai, sufficiently important to have war- ranted an attack by Cola forces in 1025, benefited from its links to the inte- rior areas through the important trans-insular portage in the Panai- valley (Edwards McKinnon 1984,1:31-3, 330; Miksic 1979:97).

40 Early Western observers with little or no knowledge of Batak beliefs attributed the prefer- ence for these particular parts of the human body simply to a matter of individual taste. 41 Joustra, however, subscribed to the view of others, who argue that the last breath of a per- son becomes the begu. This is based on the belief that the breath cannot be destroyed, that what is spoken is immortal because it is the wind (Joustra 1902:416). 42 Warneck (1906) describes sombaon as the highest stage that the spirit of the dead can attain. 43 Sombaon is a general term for earth spirits or deities; Ypes believed that it referred also to the dwelling-places of these beings (Ypes 1932:196). 44 Sahala is in essence the same as the idea of mana in Pacific Island societies. These com- munities share a common Austronesian past, and the concept is one which can be traced to the Austronesian language. For a discussion of mana, see Shore 1989:137-43. 45 Jacq-Hergoualc'h also noted the numerous temples in South Kedah, an area long associ- ated with Indian traders. These religious edifices were located at the ports and along the rivers leading to the ports. He believes they were erected by a merchant or group of merchants seeking the favour of the gods. He also noted the similarity in architectural styles between the temples in South Kedah and those of Padang Lawas, which he attributes to the use of an Indian model (Jacq-Hergoualc'h 1992:299, 304-5, 309).

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At the Padang Lawas site, as well as in the Tamil settlements at Lobu Tua and Kota Cina, temples were prominent. With the withdrawal of the Tamil population and/or its absorption into the Batak community, perhaps after the demise of Kota Cina in the fourteenth century, the candi were replaced by tombs erected in honour of important Batak ancestors (sombaon). Westenberg noted in 1891 that 'Malay' (most likely Batak, who moved easily between two worlds; perhaps more properly called 'Malayu Batak') horse traders were going to the Karo plateau from the east coast to make offerings at the tombs of the Sibayak [lords] of Kabanjahe and Barusjahe. On the outward journey was offered, but on the homebound journey, after successful transac- tions, a goat or a white chicken was sacrificed (Westenberg 1892:227). These ancestral tombs proved popular sites of spiritual power. The religious institution that had the greatest economic impact on the Batak was that of the high priests.46 Though it originated in the Toba lands, it spread rapidly to the new areas where Toba migrants had settled. Situmorang suggests that the Toba Batak believed in a sahala-harajaon, or 'spiritual power of governing', which derived from the gods and was transmitted patriline- ally through the original founders of the three major Toba marga - the Borbor, the Lontung, and the Sumba.47 It was this sahala-hamjaon which legitimized the rule of high priests bearing the title Jongi Manaor among the Borbor, Ompu Palti Raja among the Lontung, and Sisingamangaraja (preceded by Sorimangaraja) among the Sumba (Situmorang 1987:221-4).48 Although they were equal in stature within their respective marga, the Sisingamangaraja was the best known to Europeans. The Ompu Palti Raja, unlike the Sisingamangaraja, did not claim a divine origin, or authority beyond his own jurisdiction among the Lontung. The Jongi Manaor's pretensions were also far more modest than those of the Sisingamangaraja; he claimed to have his own areas, independent of either of the other two high priests (Situmorang

46 I have opted for the term 'high priest', rather than the more commonly used 'priest-king'. 'High priest1 appears more appropriate to the function of these figures in Batak society and accords with Kozok's belief that only the last Singamangaraja, the twelfth (1875-1907), referred to himself as king. In his letters he claimed to be 'Ruler of the Batak Clans' and even 'Ruler of Sumatra' (Kozok 2000b:274-6). 47 According to Keuning, Borbor initially formed part of Lontung. As a result of expansion into areas both of the Lontung and the Sumba, the Borbor came to be regarded as a separate, major marga (Keuning 1948:16). 48 In a more recent work, Situmorang asserts that Sorimangaraja was the title of the high priests prior to the creation of the Sisingamangaraja institution in the sixteenth century (Situ- morang 1993:218). This date, which is widely cited in the literature, has been arrived at by the questionable method of counting backward assuming a certain number of years per sundut or generation. Oral traditions (including those surrounding the origins of the Sisingamangaraja) tend to telescope years and often refer to events which occurred far earlier. The Sorimangaraja may have preceded the Sisingamangaraja, but when that occurred cannot be determined with any certainty.

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1993:77-8). The high priests' success in promoting trade and was an important measure of their sahala. There is a fair amount of literature on the Sisingamangaraja, but little on the Jongi Manaor or the Ompu Palti Raja. One can assume, however, that many of the distinctive features attributed to the Sisingamangaraja would have been ascribed to the other two categories of high priest. One of the most extensive accounts of the origins of the first Sisingamangaraja comes from a Batak text collected by CM. Pleyte. In this legend the deity Batara causes a jambu fruit to fall to the ground. It is found and eaten by the wife of the chief of the village of Bakkara, and she becomes pregnant. After three years pass with the baby still unborn, a spirit informs the mother that another four years will elapse before the birth can occur. She will know when it is time because there will be earthquakes, lightning and a heavy rainstorm, spirits will fill the village square, and tigers and panthers will tear at one another. These things occur, and the Sisingamangaraja is born with a black, hairy tongue. The after- birth is buried under the house, but lightning strikes at that very spot and transports the afterbirth to heaven.49 Batara Guru's messenger then brings to the child manuscripts with astrological charts for purposes and matters concerning planting and , the calendar, the laws, and a hand- book of spells. The Sisingamangaraja confirms his supernatural origins by openly declaring, 'I am a descendant of the gods' (Pleyte 1903:3, 6-7,15,17).50 Other legends were later added to reaffirm the Sisingamangaraja's supernatu- ral attributes. In 1870 C. de Haan was told that the Sisingamangaraja could go seven months without food and three months without sleep because the gods supplied his every need (C. de Haan 1875:30). The divine origins of the Sisingamangaraja made him an ideal inter- mediary between the gods and the human community. He could make peace, create laws, and expose both truth and lies - qualities that made him unsurpassed in settling disputes. If a war continued unabated, he sent a staff as a sign that a ceasefire should be declared and the parties submit to his mediation (Tideman 1936:25-6; Meerwaldt 1899:530). He intervened in disputes not only among the Batak, but also between the Batak and the outside world (Cummings 1994:63-4). Early European observers believed that these high priests exercised very little authority because there were no visible signs of political power. Heine-Geldern, for example, acknowledged that the Sisingamangaraja was effective in settling quarrels and mediating

49 As mentioned previously, the afterbirth is regarded as one of the most important sources of a person's tondi. The story of the removal of the afterbirth to the heavens emphasizes the Sisingamangaraja's divine origins. 50 There are variations on the story, but the general outline is the same. For a very detailed account of the miraculous birth and life of the first Sisingamangaraja, see Tobing 1967:23-47.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 397 peace between warring parties, but concluded, 'otherwise his political power was weak' (Heine-Geldern 1953:376). What he failed to realize was that the Sisingamangaraja and the other high priest figures exercised effective control not so much through the use of force as through the threat of supernatural sanctions implied in their words, letters, and widely recognized spiritual powers (Drakard 1999; L. Andaya 2000).51 Although precolonial Batak society has been characterized by Castles as being 'stateless', there was a hierarchy of institutions under these high priests which provided a form of supra-village unity. The basic social unit was the huta, or village, with a varying number of huta forming a horja, and a number of horja constituting a bins.52 Religious leadership was provided by the par- baringin, with the chief official of the bius (known variously as raja bius, raja oloan, or raja na ualu) being chosen by the heads of the horja.53 At the apex of this hierarchy stood the Sisingamangaraja, who instituted bius markets and legitimized officials through letters of appointment. Among the responsibili- ties of the bius was the hosting of the 'large market' {onan na godang or onan bius), where the 'great council' (rapot bolon) mediated disputes and made binding decisions on important public issues (Kubitscheck 1997:193; Sangti 1977:303; N. Siahaan 1964:112; Castles 1975:74; Tobing 1967:17-8; Situmorang 1993:40-4, 100-2).54 Situmorang traces the origins of the bius to the need for management of the irrigation system, and hence the organization of agriculture and the imple- mentation of laws. The bius is usually described as a ' community' because the culmination of its activities is the annual agricultural ritual and sacrifice, at which the parbaringin officiated. In addition to ensuring the fertil- ity of the crops, this sacrifice provides an occasion for community integration and renewal of commitment to its customs and traditions. Perhaps the most important agricultural function of the bius was the promotion through the

51 Heine-Geldern points out, however, that the Sisingamangarajas had employed force in the past. The first had led a war against the Lotung marga, another against the Padris, and a third against the Dutch (Heine-Geldern 1953:374). However, these rulers were obeyed not so much for their military as for their spiritual prowess. 52 Sangti says that some twenty huta would then form a horja, and seven horja would make up a bius (Sangti 1977:293-4). However, most other commentators give varying figures. 53 Situmorang further divides the bius into three categories, with the most developed being the bius under the parbaringin. He characterizes the others as 'developing' and 'backward' bius (Situmorang 1993:42-3). 54 So great was the reverence for the Sisingamangaraja institution that even after the last Sisingamangaraja had disappeared in the nineteenth century, the Batak continued to respond to rumours of his continued presence. In the 1920s a man emerged in Karoland who claimed that the Sisingamangaraja had commanded everyone to slaughter a white chicken. The response was immediate and widespread, causing an unprecedented rise in the price of white chick- ens. In Angkola, people began to eat a certain type of fish because it was rumoured that the Sisingamangaraja had ordered it to ward off evil (Castles 1975:74).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 398 Leonard Y. Andaya year of feasts and rituals devoted to the rice-growing cycle and the appease- ment of spirits (Korn 1953:36,126; Sherman 1990:80-5).55 The network of bins organizations throughout the land provided a supra-village structure based on a blend of economic, political and religious authority. The Sisingamangaraja was revered for his powers in ensuring the mate- rial welfare of the people through the promotion of agriculture, creating harmony among the Batak groups through mediation, and maintenance of the marketplace. In agriculture he was credited with the ability to bring rains, locate wells, maintain the irrigation system, enforce the acceptance of his allocation of rice lands, and ensure the efficacy of agricultural rituals (Tideman 1936:25-6; Meerwaldt 1899:530; Situmorang 1993:42-3). The young Sisingamangaraja was said to have been capable of causing rice plants to grow with their stalks in the ground and their roots in the air. His control over the growth of rice and various types of ubi or root crops and his abil- ity to cause rain and to locate well water were attributes expected of one with direct links to the agricultural deities. Before the rice-planting season began, the Sisingamangaraja conducted rituals invoking the ancestral spirits to ensure a good harvest and hence prosperity for their descendants. In Toba proper - though apparently not in Silindung56 - his appointed officials, the parbaringin, presided over the in the important agricultural rites. Although there is very little information about the other two high priests, the Ompu Palti Raja and the Jonggi Manaor, nineteenth- and twentieth-cen- tury sources indicate that they continued to be highly revered for their ability to summon rain and control rice growth (Hirosue 1994:20, 22; James 1902: 137; Van Dijk 1895:300-1). Conducting the agricultural ritual was considered an essential task of the parbaringin to assure the ongoing prosperity of the inhabitants, the animals, and the crops. As late as 1938 the Dutch received delegations of parbaringin seeking the revocation of a colonial measure intro- duced earlier in the century which forbade the performance of this ritual. It was this prohibition, they asserted, which had resulted in problems in their community (Korn 1953:32-3). The esteem and respect for high priests among the Batak may have increased even further when rice became an important Batak export com- modity. The rise of the pepper trade in the fifteenth century led to an increasing demand for rice by communities engaged in pepper production in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. It may have been around this time that the Batak intensified rice planting in existing fields to meet this need. Rice is

55 Sherman, studying the ritual functions of the bius, concluded that it might be compared to ancestral cults of the earth found elsewhere in Southeast Asia (Sherman 1990:82). 56 The Silindung constitute one of the major marga in the Toba area, which may account for their ability to remain outside the Sisingamangaraja sphere of influence (Ginting forthcoming:291).

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a fragile plant requiring intensive preparation and great care. Moreover, dur- ing its growth it is vulnerable to unexpected weather changes, diseases, and pests, which may destroy the entire crop. As a result, traditional rice-grow- ing societies everywhere have resorted to appeals to supernatural forces to prevent the loss of a crop and to ensure a bountiful harvest. The Batak were no different, and Sir Thomas commented on their belief that the Sisingamangaraja could 'blight the paddy, or restore the luxuriance of a faded crop' (Raffles 1991:436). A second important function of the Sisingamangaraja was promoting har- mony among the Batak groups through his mediation. In this role he was able to effect wide agreement on standard rice measures, as well as the assurance that the sanctity of the marketplace would be observed. When the mission- aries Burton and Ward travelled to the Toba lands, they commented on the influence of the Sisingamangaraja, who was considered by the inhabitants to be 'bertuati, or 'invested with supernatural power'. His representatives, whom Burton and Ward believed to be village chiefs from the surround- ing districts (Burton and Ward 1827:514), were known as parbaringin in the Sumba districts. They were appointed by the Sisingamangaraja and had the important responsibility of maintaining the viability of the markets (Castles 1972:18-9,1975:74). By the nineteenth century it was possible to distinguish a heartland and an extended network of communities forming a single Batak cultural unity, promoted and strengthened by the activities of the high priests. Although the latter had arisen among the Toba, their influence extended to the other areas where the Batak had settled. The Ompu Palti Raja was the high priest with the greatest influence among those in the Simalungun lands involved in the trade between Lake Toba and the east coast, while the Jonggi Manaor's area of jurisdiction was in the lands between the interior and Barus. Of these three, the Sisingamangaraja exercised the greatest influence among the Batak communities in general. Representatives bore their insignia and exercised authority on their behalf because of the awe and veneration with which the Batak regarded these high priests (Hirosue 1994:22). As the Batak became increasingly involved in international trade, these magico-religious figures became the foci and the facilitators of the production and delivery of rice and forest products from the interior to the coasts. The expansion of their functions contributed to the evolution of a supra-village authority and to a growing sense among the people of belonging to a single ethnic group under the leadership of the high priests.

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Ethnicization of the Batak

As the Batak moved toward both coasts and southward from Lake Toba in response to economic opportunities, they came into direct competition with the Malayu, the Minangkabau, and the Acehnese. In face of this develop- ment, the institution of the high priests was invoked to promote ethnic unity. The acknowledgement of the Sisingamangaraja as the overarching spiritual authority over all Batak may have been a deliberate economic decision by the Batak in order to compete effectively against the newly ethnicized Malayu, Minangkabau and Acehnese.57 With the appointment of parbaringin, a hierar- chy was created whose major responsibility was the maintenance of agricul- ture and the marketplace. If not the threat of supernatural sanctions then the promise of economic advantage made the institution of the Sisingamangaraja appealing to the Batak. A European report from the early nineteenth century confirms the elevat- ed status and veneration enjoyed by the Si Singamangaraja among the Batak. In a letter to Marsden dated 27 February 1820, Raffles wrote that among the Batak he was 'something like an ecclesiastical Emperor or Chief, who is uni- versally acknowledged, and referred to in all case of public calamity, etc. His title is Si Singah Maha Rajah, and he resides at Bakara in the Toba district. He is descended from the Menangkabau race, and is of an antiquity which none disputes. My informants say certainly above thirty descents, or 900 years. He does not live in any very great state, but is particular in his observances; he neither eats hog nor drinks tuah [palm-wine]. They believe him possessed of supernatural powers.' (Raffles 1991:435-6.) In this letter Raffles claims that the Sisingamangaraja was 'universally' acknowledged. Although it is more likely that he had direct influence only over the Sumba group of marga among the Toba Batak, stories of his supernatural powers would have been sufficient to convince many other Batak to heed his words or those of the per- sons delegated to represent him. In this way the Batak in the southern Lake Toba region, who were the Sisingamangaraja's principal adherents, would have been joined by Batak elsewhere in forming a group responsive to his wishes. While he did not possess any means for physical coercion, he had a reputation for magico-spiritual powers which in earlier centuries proved far

57 I argue in other essays that there was a conscious decision by the Malayu rulers of Melaka and Johor, the Minangkabau rulers of Pagaruyung, and the Acehnese rulers to appeal to a politi- cized ethnic identity for economic reasons in the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Between the sixteenth and the late seventeenth century, Aceh saw itself as a Malayu kingdom and was the dominant economic, political, and cultural entity in the Malayu world. Only from the eighteenth century did a separate Acehnese identity emerge in recognition of the success of Johor in becoming acknowledged as the centre of Malayu culture. See L. Andaya 2000, 2001a, and 2001b.

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access The Trans-Sumatra Trade and the Ethnicization of the 'Batak' 401 more intimidating. Instead of a political structure with the accoutrements of state power, the Sisingamangaraja and other high priests created a unity among many Batak groups on the basis of their sacred reputation, system of marketplaces, and coterie of magico-religious officials operating in a border- less world. Batak ethnic consciousness was reinforced by the creation of pustaha, or bark books. Written in a language and a script unlike anything possessed by their neighbours, the pustaha were regarded as distinctly 'Batak'. Although employing an old Indian Pallava-derived script, there is no record of when pustaha first began to be written. Kozok has shown that the con- tinues to display an affinity with the Pallava and Old Javanese (Kawi) scripts, whereas modern Javanese has diverged quite significantly from the original Pallava (Kozok 1999:65). Batak writing may have originated with the creation of the pustaha, but remained relatively unchanged over the centuries, perhaps because of the sacred contents. The pustaha contained astrological tables and magic formulae and were intended for magico-religious purposes.58 The survival of a Batak language using a modified Pallava script to transmit sacred and other tribal knowledge is noteworthy. From the seventh until at least the fourteenth century, the dominant intellectual and political languages in Sumatra were Sanskrit and Malayu. Their influence was par- ticularly strong, and evidence of their presence has been noted in the discus- sion of the archaeological finds at Padang Lawas. Yet despite these cultural incursions, the Batak were not overwhelmed by the expansion of the Malayu language and culture into northern Sumatra (Teeuw 1959:148-51; Collins 1996:9). The survival and persistence of the pustaha tradition may have been the result of a deliberate political choice at a time when the Batak were becoming increasingly involved in economic rivalry with neighbouring com- munities. As Pollock so succinctly explained, 'Vernacular literary languages do not "emerge" like buds or butterflies, they are made' (Pollock 1998:7).59 A Batak world was thus inscribed and circumscribed by the pustaha, which not only played a magico-religious role but also became an important marker of Batak identity. Often in the introduction to pustaha, a chain of transmission of know- ledge from the legendary founder to the current writer is listed. Teachers

58 In addition to the pustaha, there were other forms of writing, such as letters, pulas (a type of threatening letter), and laments, though the latter two forms tended also to have a strong magico- religious intent (Kozok 2000a:43-4). 59 I have based my arguments on Pollock's stimulating discussion of the process of vernacu- larization in India. Of particular value and relevance for the Batak situation is his argument that there is a division of labour in languages, in which Sanskrit retains its position as 'the public literary expression of political will', while the vernacular is restricted to 'business' or practical aspects. He terms this language division 'hyperglossia' (Pollock 1998:11-2).

Downloaded from Brill.com10/06/2021 08:47:52AM via free access 402 Leonard Y. Andaya and pupils from different regions travelled together through the Batak areas because their services were sought everywhere (Voorhoeve 1927:10, 13). When the intrepid Italian traveller Elio Modigliani journeyed through the Toba Batak area in 1890, he befriended the great datu, Guru Somalaing, from whom he obtained a text by the 'wandering datu' of the Simanjuntak marga intended for his pupils belonging to the Siagian marga. The itinerant charac- ter of these datu is emphasized in another text collected by Modigliani, where one of the great masters is called ' Mortandang', or 'wandering lion' (Voorhoeve 1979/80:62, 78, 82). It was also commonplace for pupils to travel long distances to study with famous datu (Kozok 1999:17). Through long and intensive study, the datu acquired an incomparable knowledge of the future, the characteristics of plants, and the wisdom con- tained in the writings of the ancestors. The wandering datu was described as not simply a religious practitioner, but also 'a man of science who embodies all current available historical, medical, theological and economic know- ledge' (J.H. Neumann 1910:2). Through his knowledge of the contents of the pustaha, he became the primary source of the old tales, legends, and tradi- tions from which the Batak gained an understanding of their rituals 0.H. Neumann 1910:2, 10).60 This latter function still survives among the Batak today. Ginting describes a Karo guru, the Karo equivalent of a datu, who can 'recite in a sing-song tone the old legends and myths which are important in the performance of a ritual so that the participants understand its back- ground and can therefore experience the ritual more intensely' (Ginting 1991: 86-7). The datu also used his knowledge of plants and the spirit world to concoct the various medicines for treating and preventing illnesses, conduct special rituals to ward off evil or recall a spirit which had wandered away from a body, and prescribe potions to assist in affairs of the heart and give self-confidence (Wilier 1846:295-6; Ginting 1991:86-7). Because of the datu's ability to assure the well-being of the community in so many different ways, he gained the confidence and support of the people. He thus became an influential advocate and an ideal conduit for information and directives of the high priest. His wandering life-style and the practice of accepting pupils from all over the Batak lands contributed to a network that transcended territorial and marga divisions. Also strengthening the sense of a unified Batak world was the pustaha tradition. Voorhoeve, in his intensive study of pustaha, concluded that the sacred language of the texts derives from a sub-Toba dialect spread by wandering datu, who were immune to inter-marga and inter-village conflicts in precolonial times (Voorhoeve 1973:

60 Ginting reminds us, however, that not all guru [or datu] achieved the same level of compe- tence. Those with exceptional skill won a reputation as guru mbelin, or 'great guru' (Ginting 1991: 94, 96).

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39). The spread of the pustaha tradition helped create a shared sacred lan- guage and a common store of magico-religious lore. Prior to the twentieth century, Perbegu/Pemena, or the old Batak religion, was a core element of Batak identity. The key to the ethnicization of the Batak was provided by the components of Perbegu/Pemena: the high priests, the datu, and the pustaha.

Conclusion

The people who are collectively known as Batak today were historically never isolated from the developments occurring in the region. From very early times they were incorporated into regional trade networks because they were major suppliers of camphor and benzoin - two of the most highly valued Southeast Asian commodities in the international trade from at least the eighth up to the nineteenth century (Burkill 1966, 1:878-9). The involve- ment of the Batak in international trade made them responsive to political and economic shifts that had a direct impact on their livelihood. When Srivijaya was conquered by the rival Cola dynasty in 1025, the Batak sought other outlets for their products. The rise of Kota Cina on the east coast and the re-emergence of Barus on the west coast as ports for the export of cam- phor and benzoin drew the Batak towards both coasts. Though Kota Cina itself disappeared sometime in the fourteenth century, other east-coast king- doms came to provide an outlet for the export of Batak forest products and rice in later centuries. While Srivijaya was still the dominant entrepot in the Straits, the Batak used routes from the camphor and benzoin forests located to the northwest and southeast of Lake Toba southward to Padang Lawas, then on to the Batang Hari, and eventually to Srivijaya on the Musi River in Palembang. After 1025 Kota Cina and Barus joined Srivijaya and Malayu as exporting centres for these resins, and much of the camphor and benzoin supplies was diverted eastward and westward towards the coasts. From the eighth to the fourteenth centuries, Batak groups sought to profit from international trade by following these routes and settling in proximity of these export centres. Another major economic stimulus to Batak migrations was the growing demand for rice among pepper growers in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, beginning in the fifteenth century. To meet this new demand, there were migrations from the Toba region to new lands south and east of Lake Toba in search of rice lands. Crucial to the success of Batak involvement in international trade were their religious institutions. Candi and ancestral tombs were judiciously placed along major trade routes to assure spiritual protection and success for Batak traders. With the increasing tempo of trade and the dispersal of

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Batak communities from the Lake Toba region, a need arose for some form of supra-village control. This was provided by the institution of the high priest, which originated in the Toba lands but gained support in the other Batak areas. Through their claims of supernatural power, access to agricultural dei- ties, and creation of a network of officials and markets, the high priests were instrumental in the promotion of Batak trade until their demise in the early twentieth century. The activities of the datu helped to ensure continued sup- port for the high priests among the Batak in the pre-modern period. As different ethnic groups became increasingly competitive in interna- tional trade, particularly in the period between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries, every avenue was explored to gain an advantage over the others. One response was the ethnicization of identity, or in other words, a conscious decision to emphasize ethnicity to maximize their advantage. The Batak became 'ethnicized' by stressing commonality in their acknowledged origins in the Toba highlands, their recognition of the authority of the high priests, and their reliance on the knowledge and spiritual powers of the datu and their pustaha. In the early modern period being 'Batak' became both a political and an economic option, resulting in the removal of huta and marga barriers in the formation of a common Batak ethnicity.

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