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Published: August 13th 2010
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I have arrived at long last, on Samosir Island, home to the kooky little village of Tuk Tuk, where the houses are shaped like upside-down canoes and the people eat each other. Or used to.
Samosir lives in the middle of Lake Toba, the largest freshwater lake in SE Asia but that's only one of its many claims to fame. This place has got that kind of jaw-dropping scenery you'd see in a National Geographic and think, how come I never see anything as pristine and untouched as that? I honsetly thought the bus had dropped me off in New Zealand (not that I've actually been to New Zealand) and not at the ferry terminal in Parapat. The other detail is that this island was the original settlement of the Batak people, a cannibalistic tribe in its heyday that now spans more than 500km of territory in Sumatra. I suppose this island is just another surprise Indonesia's got up her rather long sleeve.
A fellow-traveller-turned-friend and I rented us a pair of bikes for the day and spent it cycling around this lovely island, or rather, around about a tenth of it. The island has 120km of coastline and
Batak Carving
The Bataks only used 3 colours in traditional works - white to symbolize heaven, red for the earth, and black for the underworld. is quite mountainous, making for another solid day of exercise (though I suppose this was necessary after another arduous 24 hours of the 'triple s': sit, stare, sweat). Our first pitstop was the tiny village of Ambarita - just 35 inhabitants strong, outside of Tuk Tuk where you can fulfill any longstanding dreams of jury duty (do they even exist?) around the infamous stone chairs. This was the council that met over the course of the centuries, to discuss village matters and to sentence any wrong-doers to death by execution. The Batak were a very virtuous people who did not stand for criminal behaviour. In Batak culture, it is thought that when one does something he shouldn't, he has given in to baser instincts and has failed to use judgement and reason - the one merit people hold over animals. To call someone an animal - usually a pig or a dog, was the highest form of insult and the Batak believed that if you acted like an animal, they could treat you like one. Enter cannibalism.
Around the stone chairs would sit the king, neighbouring village kings who acted as witnesses, the village elders who provided the king
with advice, the accused and the victim or witness of the crime. Next to the victim sat a stone statue that the local shaman (or witch doctor) would bewitch to ensure that the victim told the truth. Should the accused be formally sentenced to death, the execution ritual would proceed on whichever date the shaman forecasted would be suitable for such activity. The village would gather around another set of stone chairs to watch the ceremony, which was in fact, a celebratory occasion. A theif had been caught and put to justice! A spy had been given his "just desserts"! And now the villagers would get theirs. Ew.
First, the captive would be given his last meal, eaten of course with hands and feet bound, just like an animal. The shaman would then slice the captive's body to release any black magic that may have been hiding within his soul. A man of black magic could not feel pain and so would not scream or bleed when cut. He also could not be killed, and so it was necessary to beat it out of him (literally) before the execution was to take place. Next, a sort of "seasoning" was
rubbed over the body, made of lime juice and salt. If the captive had commited any act of sexual violation, his genitals were cut off. Then, as if all this wasn't gruesome enough, came the beheading. The executioner had one chance to cleanly remove the head from the body - if not, he in turn would be executed! The head was then placed outside the king's house as a warning to villagers and the body was disected. The liver and heart were removed, chopped finely, and served to the king with a cup full of blood. The villagers were then free to pilage what was left of the body. The bones were thrown into the lake, and the water was then avoided for seven days and seven nights. The last act of cannibalism occurred in 1860, thanks to the arrival of the Christian missionaries. This land remains devoutely Christian, despite the Islamic stronghold of Aceh only a few hundred kilometres to the north.
Our wonderful guide also told us about other cultural beliefs that weren't quite so terrifying, but were equally extreme. For example, the number three is a lucky number in Batak culture, so for this reason, families
made it their lot in life to have 33 children - ideally 16 girls and 17 boys. Daughters would bring the family wealth thanks to the dowry system in place, and the boys would ensure the survival of the family name. Standard practice was to have between 10-20 kids, so the couple had to hop to things pretty quickly. Girls were often married off at 12 or 13 years old. Nevertheless, the Batak were a very family-oriented group. Houses were shaped like the underside of their tribal canoes, with the point at the back of the house slightly higher than that at the front. This was a symbol of the parents' wish for their children's lives to be better than their own.
We carried on through the island, fascinated by the history of these strange and intruiging people. Between the rice fields, these unique houses dot the countryside in small clusters, as do the roaming water buffalo and the cheeky kids who ran after us chasing down high-fives. It was a wonderful, though exhausting day learning about the Batak, capped off with a performance of traditional Batak dance and folk songs at our guesthouse.
The short two-day visit
came to an end quickly, and now it's time to bid adieu to Samosir, Lake Toba and to Sumatra. Tomorrow I fly off to my first destination in the heart of Indonesia, Jogjakarta. See you in Java!
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