Jelaskan Fungsi dan Peran dari Pernikahan adat Batak Toba

Kompleksitas upacara perkawinan adat Batak Toba meliputi peran subyek dan objek yang terlibat di dalamnya. Menurut Arnold van Gennep, kompleksitas upacara perkawinan dapat dijelaskan dalam 5 (lima) pokok permasalahan: dua jenis yang berbeda, garis keturunan, keluarga, suku, dan tempat tinggal, yakni:

“The collectivities in question are: the two sex groups, sometimes represented by the ushers and bridesmaids, or by the male relatives on one hand and the female relatives on the other; patrilineal or matrilineal descent groups; the families of each spouse in the usual sense of the word, and sometimes families broadly speaking, including all relatives; groups such as a totem clan, fraternity, age group, community of the faithful, occupational association, or caste to which one or both of the young people, their mothers and fathers, or all their relatives belong; the local group (hamlet, village, quarter of a city, plantation,etc).

Uniknya, dalam ritus perkawinan adat Batak Toba, selain kedua mempelai juga dilibatkan seluruh perangkat masyarakat. Perbedaannya, peran-peran dalam rangkaian upacara perkawinan adat Batak Toba selalu terkait dengan tiga kedudukan utama dalam adat: dongan-sabutuha / dongan-tubu, hulahula, dan boru.