The relationship between the traditional settlement architecture of The Bataknese Toba Tribe and Clan Kinship in The Village of Hutaginjang, North Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

The Bataknese Toba tribe that has settled in the Province of North Sumatra Indonesia has firmly held on to its specific culture as an identity that distinguishes it from other tribes in Indonesia. The culture that most influences the daily life of the Bataknese Toba community is clan kinship, contained in the clan system based on the philosophy of Dalihan na Tolu, which regulates how to behave, prescribing the rules of etiquette in society. In addition to kinship, traditional architectural forms make up the cultural identity of the Bataknese Toba tribe, ranging from the specific arrangement of its settlement to the spatial organization (lay-out) as observed in their residential buildings. This study aims to find out more about the relationship between clan kinship and the physical formation of this Bataknese tribe’s traditional architecture. The village of Hutaginjang in the Sianjur Mula-Mula Subdistrict is a traditional one that still adheres to the traditions and customs of the Bataknese Toba tribe, as the majority of the villagers bearing the family name of Sagala descended from one single ancestor. Each residence is inhabited by a nuclear family and the collection of several dwellings in a particular order forms a settlement that still recognizes mutual kinship. This particular village consists of eight groups of settlements that are still bound by kinship, namely as a small clan group. The research has been conducted by way of the qualitative approach, using the case study method. The analysis is based on an understanding of the theory of relations in architecture, which in this study is explored by focusing on the kinship and the architectural form of traditional housing units of Hutaginjang Village. The required data have been obtained through the study of background literature, field observation, and interviews held with villagers. The result of the research shows that there is indeed a relation between the spatial physical arrangement of settlements and the Bataknese Toba community, both on the village, hamlet, and residential scale. The relationship is discernible in the arrangement of residential buildings in each village and the existence of the open yard space (alaman) as the center of social activity and social interaction. Over time, it was also found that the traditional Bataknese Toba architecture in the village of Hutaginjang has developed due to the influence of modern life, which can be observed in the physical arrangement of its residential buildings.