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Batak |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.08 sec. |
BatakAny member of any of several closely related ethnic groups of central Sumatra, Indon. The Batak are descendants of a powerful Proto-Malayan people who until 1825 lived in relative isolation in the highlands surrounding Lake Toba in Sumatra. They have their own written language. In their traditional religion, ancestors, plants, animals, and inanimate objects are considered to possess souls or spirits; today about a third of the 3.1 million Batak adhere to traditional beliefs, while the rest profess Christianity or Islam. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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In other cases, systems of graphic inscription such as those found on a Tibetan mandala or a Batak calendrical instrument both were artfully rendered and served to transmit knowledge. Two of the Christian leaders were of Batak origin, home of a thriving ethnic "folk" church, and source of many upwardly mobile emigrants within Indonesia. Most Batak are ostensibly Christian now but traces of animism remain, rooted in the awesome natural spectacle of their heartland around Lake Toba with its smoking craters, blazing sunsets and violent storms. |
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