Boraspati ni Tano or Boraspati, also known as Ilik, is the earth deity in Batak mythology. Boraspati ni Tano is represented as a tokay gecko. Images of Boraspati (or Beraspati in Karo culture) can be found decorating the door of a Batak Karo and Batak Toba buildings as well as other Batak objects e.g. the cover of the pustaha or the pupuk container naga morsarang. [1]
Boraspati ni Tano is the Earth deity in Batak mythology representing fertility, wealth and the underworld. [2] The name Boraspati ni Tano is borrowed from Sanskrit Brihaspati, a Hindu astrological representation of Jupiter and the day of the week Thursday. [3]
Boraspati ni Tano is one of the most important personification of natural forces of Batak's cosmology, together with Boru Saniang Naga (water deity). While Boraspati ni Tano is a male god of the earth and the underworld, Boru Saniang Naga is a serpentine female water deity who personified the storm, the sea, the spring water and other weather elements that are especially dangerous for the fishermen. Boraspati ni Tano is responsible for the fertility of the land. Because of this, Boraspati ni Tano was frequently mentioned in the public invocations (Batak tonggo-tonggo) as a very important figure. Boraspati ni Tano was invoked in the beginning before starting any kind of works e.g. village founding and establishing houses (specifically when the offering-pole was planted into the ground). The Batak deities, together with the ancestor spirits, are the focus of the indigenous religion of the Batak before the arrival of Islam and Christianity. [4]
The Bataks preserved their animistic Indonesian inheritance and ancestral pattern while borrowing little from their Islamic and Buddhist neighbors. Although the Bataks are now largely Christians, the Batak ritual calendar was still in regular use with some knowledge of older beliefs. The Batak calendar, known as the porhalaan, consisted of 12 or 13 lunisolar months of 30 days each. The days were named similarly with the naming of days in the Hindu calendar, borrowing the planetary names from the Hindu system. The days are repeated four times, with 2 additional days at the end. [5]
In Hinduism, Brihaspati is associated with Jupiter and the day of the week Thursday. The relation between Brihaspati and Boraspati showed how Hinduism influenced the animistic belief of Batak people. [5]
Boraspati magical motifs (Batak gorga ) are often painted on the walls of a Batak house or a granary. Together with other motifs, they form a magic to invoke wealth and fertility into the house. [6]
Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week.
The Hindu calendar, also called Panchanga, is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a similar underlying concept for timekeeping based on sidereal year for solar cycle and adjustment of lunar cycles in every three years, but differ in their relative emphasis to moon cycle or the sun cycle and the names of months and when they consider the New Year to start. Of the various regional calendars, the most studied and known Hindu calendars are the Shalivahana Shaka found in the Deccan region of Southern India and the Vikram Samvat (Bikrami) found in Nepal and the North and Central regions of India – both of which emphasize the lunar cycle. Their new year starts in spring. In regions such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the solar cycle is emphasized and this is called the Tamil calendar and Malayalam calendar and these have origins in the second half of the 1st millennium CE. A Hindu calendar is sometimes referred to as Panchangam (पञ्चाङ्गम्), which is also known as Panjika in Eastern India.
Hinduism in Southeast Asia had a profound impact on the region's cultural development and its history. As the Indic scripts were introduced from India, people of Southeast Asia entered the historical period by producing their earliest inscriptions around the 1st to 5th century CE. Today, Hindus in Southeast Asia are mainly Overseas Indians and Balinese. There are also Javanese and Balamon Cham minority in Cambodia and south central Vietnam who also practice Hinduism.
The Batak script is a writing system used to write the Austronesian Batak languages spoken by several million people on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The script may be derived from the Kawi and Pallava script, ultimately derived from the Brahmi script of India, or from the hypothetical Proto-Sumatran script influenced by Pallava.
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. It is bordered by Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra in the southeast, with two different coastlines located on the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca, and a maritime border with Malaysia to the east. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and Central Java, and the third-largest province on the island of Sumatra after the neighbouring Riau. It covers an area of 72,981 km2.It is approximately same with size of Sierra Leone.According to the 2020 census, the province's population in that year was 14,799,361. The mid-2022 official estimate was 15,115,206. North Sumatra is a multi-ethnic province. The Malay people are regarded as the natives of the east coast of the province, while the west coast of the province is mainly inhabited by the Batak. The central highlands region around Lake Toba is predominantly inhabited by other Batak groups. The Nias people are natives to Nias Island and its surrounding islets. With the opening of tobacco plantations in East Sumatra during the colonial era, the colonial government employed many contract labourers for plantations, mainly Chinese, Javanese and Indian migrants. The majority did not return after their contract ended and decided to stay in the province. The recent rapid urbanisation also attracted neighbouring people from Aceh, Riau and West Sumatra.
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing ethnic groups. Which are related groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).
Hinduism in Indonesia, as of the 2018 census, is practised by about 1.74% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism was the dominant religion in the country before the arrival of Islam and is one of the six official religions of Indonesia today. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-century through Indian traders, sailors, scholars and priests. A syncretic fusion of pre-existing Javanese folk religion, culture and Hindu ideas, that from the 6th-century also synthesized Buddhist ideas as well, evolved as the Indonesian version of Hinduism. These ideas continued to develop during the Srivijaya and Majapahit empires. About 1400 CE, these kingdoms were introduced to Islam from coast-based Muslim traders, and thereafter Hinduism, which was previously the dominant religion in the region, mostly vanished from many of the islands of Indonesia.
Singa is an apotropaic figure from the mythology of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The singa represents a benevolent and protective power. The singa is described as "part human, part water buffalo, and part crocodile or lizard". It is variedly represented, but always has an elongated face, with big bulging eyes, a well-defined nose, and long spiralling beard. It is often represented only with its head, but sometimes it may also be represented full body. Other figures - such as other protective deity or ancestral figures - may also be represented standing or sitting on top of the head of the singa.
Devata are smaller and more focused Devas (Deities) in Indian religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism. The term "devata" itself can also mean deva. They can be either male or female. Every human activity has its devata, its spiritual counterpart or aspect.
Christianity is Indonesia's second-largest religion, after Islam. Indonesia also has the second-largest Christian population in Southeast Asia after the Philippines, the largest Protestant population in Southeast Asia, and the third-largest Christian population in Asia after the Philippines and China, followed by India. Indonesia also has the second-largest Christian population in the Muslim world, after Nigeria, followed by Egypt. Indonesia's 29,2 million Christians constituted 10,48% of the country's population in 2022, with 7,42% Protestant (20.7 million) and 3,06% Catholic (8.5 million). Some provinces in Indonesia are majority Christian. In Indonesia, the word Kristen refers to Protestantism, while Catholicism is referred to as Katolik. In recent times, the rate of growth and spread of Christianity has increased, especially among the Chinese minority.
Toba Batak people are the largest ethnic group of the Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
The mythology of Indonesia is very diverse, the Indonesian people consisting of hundreds of ethnic groups, each with their own myths and legends that explain the origin of their people, the tales of their ancestors and the demons or deities in their belief systems. The tendency to syncretize by overlying older traditions with newer foreign ideas has occurred. For example, the older ancestral mythology might be merged with foreign mythology, such as Hindu, Islam, or Christian biblical mythology.
A sopo is a treasury structure in the architecture of the Toba Batak people from North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its form is similar to that of a Batak traditional house with the exception of being smaller in size and a construction ritual that is the opposite of a Batak house. Sopo is used as a repository for various items, e.g. rice, magical items, or trophies. Sopo can also be used as a meeting point for social activities.
The Great Pustaha is a pustaha displayed in the Tropenmuseum of Amsterdam. The name refers to the largest pustaha which was kept in the museum. The official name for the pustaha is simply "pustaha", but for the purpose of distinction, the pustaha is called the Great Pustaha.
Pustaha is the magic book of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The book contains magical formulas, divinations, recipes, and laws. The pustaha is written and compiled by a Batak magician-priest (datu).
Gorga is a form of artistic decoration found in the culture of Batak Toba in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The gorga motif is in the shape of flourishes and undulations. The motif is either painted or carved onto wood using three colors: white, red, black; each corresponds with different realms in the Batak Toba cosmology. Gorga motif is often found in Batak Toba architecture e.g. a Batak Toba house or objects e.g. music instruments. They are meant to protect the building or object from spiritual harm e.g. evil spirits sent from neighboring village.
The naga morsarang, also known as sahan, is a container which is used to store medicine in the culture of Toba Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The naga morsarang is created out of the horn of the water buffalo.
Pupuk is the name given to a magical substance which was used by the Batak shamans of North Sumatra. The pupuk is the main feature to perform black magic, e.g. to inflict damage to enemies. Method of creating the pupuk is inscribed in the pustaha, the magic book of the Toba people, among which involved the kidnapping and murder of a child from neighboring village.
The Porhalaan is the traditional calendar of the Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The Batak Calendar is a lunisolar calendar consisting of 12 months divided to 30 days with an occasional leap month. The Batak calendar is derived from Hindu calendar. The Batak people do not use the porhalaan as a mean to tell time, but rather to determine auspicious day, which is only used by the Batak shaman.
