Page 37 - E-BOOK SEJARAH DAN BUDAYA INDONESIA

The base of the house is often built as high as 1.75 meters above the ground, and the lower
part is used for pigs, chickens, and so on. The door of the house has two types of doors, namely
horizontal and vertical doors. But now, the horizontal door leaf is not used anymore. The room in
a traditional house is an open space without rooms, although it is inhabited by several families, but
that does not mean there is no division of area, because this is adjusted to the division of residence
of the house which is regulated by their strong customs.

The room right in the back corner is called "jabu bong", occupied by the tallest member of
the family or "porjabu bong", with a wife and many children. This room was previously considered
the most sacred. In the upper left corner to deal with Jabu Bong known as "jabu soding", reserved
for women who are married but do not have their own house. The front left corner is known as
"jabu suhat", reserved for the eldest son who has a family. And on the outside is a "slap plate"
provided for guests. When a large family needs space between two attached rooms or jabu, then
the room is increased by 2 more and is named "jabu tonga ni-ronga jabu hue".

Each household has its own kitchen, which is located behind the house, in an outbuilding
type. Between the two rows of rooms throughout the house is a neutral area, known as the lake
and serving as a place for deliberation. A different building like a house is a sopo house, which
came from a warehouse to store, then lived in. A variation for this house is a two-story sopo, having
only one row of pillars and a lower open space without walls that functions for deliberation, apart
from foreigners, and a place to play music. In front of the house, there are traditional features with
geographical ranges and spiral motifs and ornaments in the type of nursing woman also known as
"adep-adep". This ornament symbolizes fertility and the unity of life.

The house which is basically the most decorated is called Gorga. Another well-known
decoration is the nipahu fern motif, and spiked rattan also known as mardusi is found on the upper
wall of the entrance. In the corners of the house, there are elephant decorations that are packed
densely, the face of a wild animal pattern, has the intention to fight disaster. Likewise, the animal
pattern ornaments the lizard, the head of a lion, which means to deny the risk of outside magic.
This decoration is a type of colored carving, but some are in the form of illustrations only.

The traditional Batak Toba house based on its operation can be divided into 2, namely as a
house used for household shelter called "ruma", and as a house used as a storage area (lumbung)
known as Sopo. This stored supply includes building wood with large and sturdy pillars. The walls
are made of boards, the floor is also made of boards, while the roof is made of fiber. The type of
traditional Batak Toba house is typically a curved roof type and a roof edge in front.

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