Tourism’s impact on Toba Batak ceremony

Abstract

The defining characteristic of ethnic tourism is tourism in which ethnic exoticism is sought, tourism in which the prime attraction is all that is 'native'. More important, 'in ethnic tourism, the native is not simply there to serve the needs of the tourist; he is himself show, a living spectacle to be scrutinized, photographed, tape recorded, interacted with in particular ways' (Keyes and Van den Berghe 1984:345). In this article I discuss how ethnic tourism has developed among the Batak people and what impact tourism has had on Toba Batak ceremonies. I argue that tourism has helped to revive Toba Batak traditional ceremonial practice, particularly ceremonies specifically related to the indigenous religion, which had been declining under the impact of Christianity and Indonesian policies on religion. The description and analysis presented here are based on first-hand observation among Toba Batak people in North Sumatra. In August 1991 I conducted an ethnographic study of Mangalahat Horbo Lae-lae (buffalo sacrificial ceremony), also called the Gondang Mandudu ceremony, in Limbong, a small village on Samosir Island in North Sumatra. The ceremony lasted four days, from 5 August until 8 August 1991. An unusual feature was that this ceremony was arranged by the Indonesian government for a festival called Pesta Danau Toba, or 'Lake Toba Celebration', in conjunc tion with 'Visit Indonesia Year 1991 '. This is a typical way of promoting tourism, as Smith points out: 'Destination activities that stimulate tourism include visits to native homes and villages, observations of dances and ceremonies' (Smith 1977:2). My main argument in this article is that (Toba) Batak tradition reworked for tourists serves to situate the Batak (particularly the Toba Batak) as a 'legitimate' ethnic group within the framework of Indonesian nationalism. The discussion will focus on how the Indonesian government's involve ment in sponsoring the ceremony for the purpose of tourism has affected the response of Toba Batak members in presenting their ethnic culture as