page_title: Batak architecture
section_title: Karo architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Batak architecture / Karo architecture
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Negatief. De melaatse kolonie, Laoe Si Momo (Bronwater) werd op 25 augustus 1906 op initiatief van assistent-resident Westenberg gesticht. De bedoeling was om de melaatse Batak te isoleren om verdere besmetting te voorkomen. "Getracht zou worden een kolonie te stichten waar alle melaatschen huisvesting en verpleging zouden vinden" (Bodaan n.d. [1921?]:11). De kolonie bevond zich op ongeveer 10 kilometer afstand van Kaban Jahe. Binnen vijf maanden woonden daar 72 leprozen, en in april 1921 was dat aantal gestegen tot 280. De zieken woonden in kleine huisjes.. Beschilderde gevel van de woning van een beheerder van een leprakolonie te Lau Simomo, Sumatra.
context_page_description: Batak architecture refers to the related architectural traditions and designs of the various Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. There are six groups of Batak who speak separate but related languages: the Angkola, the Mandailing to the south, the Toba, to the north the Pakpak/Dairi, the Simalungun, and the Karo. While the groups are now Muslim or Christian, elements of the ancient Batak religion remain, particularly amongst the Karo.
  The bale, rumah, and sopo are the three main building types common to the different Batak groups. The rumah has traditionally been a large house in which a group of families live communally. During the day, the interior is shared living space, and at night, cloth or matting drapes provide families with privacy. Most Batak now live in modern homes, and many traditional houses are abandoned or in a poor state of repair.
  The architecture and village layouts of the six Batak groups also show significant differences. Toba Batak houses, for example, are boat-shaped with intricately carved gables and upsweeping roof ridges. Karo Batak houses rise up in tiers. Both are built on piles and are derived from an ancient Dong-Son model.
context_section_description: The Karo rumah adat (traditional house), known as 'Siwaluh Jabu', is, as with the Rumah Aceh, oriented North-South, possibly for shelter from the sun.
  Karo rumah adat are longhouses, for multiple family occupancy, up to twelve families in some areas, though usually eight. A Karo longhouse would be large, in order to accommodate so many families, and is built on stilts.
  The houses are constructed from wood, bamboo, using ijuk fibres for binding (no nails or screws are used) and for the thatched roof. The design is naturally earthquake-resistant.
  In order to choose a suitable site for the house, the guru (witch doctor) would be consulted, who would determine whether the land was bad or good. A plot would be staked out using coconut fronds, and other villagers would be given four days to object to the proposed construction.
  After the four-day period had elapsed, a hole was dug in the centre of the plot, into which was placed a knife, betel leaf and rice. The guru and the kalimbubu and anak beru would perform rites to determine that the ground was suitable.
  After the site was ready, a seven-day ceremony was performed, consulting the spirits of the forest (for wood) and arranging payment for the craftsmen responsible for creating decoration of the house.
  All the occupants of the village would then erect the pillars supporting the house, after which they would eat together.
  The colours used in Karo designs are red, white and black. The red signifies a zest for life, a 'get-up-and-go', the colour seen in traditional clothes used in weddings, black the colour of death, man's ignorance of Dibata's (God) will, and white, the colour of God's holiness.
  Ornamentation is very important in Karo houses, with Buffalo horns an essential decoration of the rumah adat, and two white-painted horns are mounted on each end of the roof (the mounting is done in the night, so nobody sees), using both male and female buffalo. Ornaments in Karo houses served traditionally to protect the residents from evil spirits, and to demonstrate the status of the owner. With the fading of traditional religious beliefs (permena), they are now largely decorative and a reminder of past cultural traditions.
  Ornaments of Karo homes are found in three ways:
  The house is decorated with braided bamboo in a variety of geometric designs. The geometric designs have been classified into seventeen types, each having special magic properties, such as the Tupak salah Silima-lima (five-pointed star), symbolising the merga silima, and deterring those who would try to upset the integrity of it.
  The kitchen is decorated with carvings
  An intaglio carved gecko protects the occupants from evil spirits
caption: Geometric ornamentation on Karo house c. 1914-1919. Each design has specific meaning or powers. Note the stylised cicak (gecko) along the length of each wall
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