The Karo Batak Adat House

There are 300 different tribes in Indonesia, each with its own language and culture. The Tapanuli Bataks greet each other in the morning by saying "Horas," the Karo Bataks greet each other with "Mejuahjuah, while the Nias people of N. Sumatra greet each other with "Yahobo." Many of these tribes have their own traditional housing units for tribal members. Many of these are long houses where several families live together. Pictured below are two traditional houses of the Karo Batak people that are still standing and still in use. Most families today prefer to build their own house but some of these traditional houses originally built without nails have remained in continual use for well over a hundred years. They are called Adat Houses and typically house 8 families. There are no partitions inside the typical Adat house. There are four sand boxes built into the floor of the house where two families can build a fire for cooking. Wood is used for fuel. Imagine the smoke that results which goes up into the high roof and into the little house built on top of the big roof made of thatch. This little house is built on top of the big house so that the spirits will have a place to live. Most of these Adat houses are as tall as a three story building and they are always built up high off the ground with only a ladder for gaining access. Children sleep on the floor while the adults sleep on a ledge built along the long side of the house. There is no privacy and no secrets. If one family gets into a squabble, all the other families can join in. When the children become teenagers they are usually moved into an Adat made just for them. One for girls at one end of the village and one for the boys at the other. Here are the photos of the Adat houses of the Karo Batak People of North Sumatra: