5 Explanations Why The Batak and Karo Tribes Are Far Different

1. Batak people come from Batak King. The Karo people believe that their ancestors were differen

When we talk about the Batak people, we will no doubt talk about one of the tribes in Indonesia. What I know, Batak is nothing of the sort. For example Batak Toba, Mandailing, Pakpak, Simalungun, Angkola, and Karo.

But the Karo people themselves do not like the call Batak ditujukkan on them. The reason, Batak people and Karo people have different ancestors. If the Batak people are those who are descended from the Batak King, the Karo people themselves believe that they are from the kingdom of Aru whose king is called Pa Lagan - a typical Karo name.

2. Karo language is not Batak language. So different, Karo people and Batak people will not be able to understand the language of each other

This is the most prominent reason when Karo people do not want to be called Batak people, because basically they have a very much different language. Although both languages are still one protoaustronesia family, Karo people will not understand if Batak people speak Batak, vice versa.

For example, if we want to ask 'Where are you going?' In Karo, this will be 'Kuja kam e?' While in Batak language, this would be 'Natu dia ho?'. Well, very much different is not it?

3. In addition, Karo and Batak have different characters and customs

Ketika saya bertanya kepada beberapa teman saya yang merupakan orang Karo mengenai alasan mereka tidak ingin disebut Batak, banyak yang menyebut adat istiadat atau karakteristik Batak dan Karo yang jauh berbeda.
Karo punya budaya yang unik dan mengikat. Siapa saja yang termasuk sebagai Karo akan terikat dalam sistem kekerabatan yang disebut Rakut Sitelu. Rakut Sitelu ini tentu saja tidak memasukkan orang-orang Batak seperti Batak Toba, Mandailing, dll. Jadi khusus untuk orang Karo saja.

4. Actually not only people Karo aja lho who are often reluctant to be called 'Batak'

If observed, the term Batak itself is actually more referring to the customs and culture of the Toba people who came from Tapanuli and the area in North Sumatra. So not only Karo, many Mandailing people who are less comfortable if called 'Batak'.

5. Sundanese is not Java although it lives on the same island. Karo also not Batak though both live in North Sumatra

Yup, so the expression of my friend who is a Karo. Actually, the Batak term itself can be very ambiguous and blurred, depending on where we look at it. But during this time most people associate Batak as Toba culture, which of course is not the same as Karo. It is natural that many Karo people do not feel part of the Batak.

In the end, hopefully this article can provide more insight into your understanding of the Karo and Batak people themselves, which is one of the largest ethnic groups in Indonesia. Not wanting to provoke you, because feeling different does not mean supporting division and conflict, is not it?