ofthe SAME TREE

Parkin explains that Perbegu can be considered “a cult of the human
soul,” which in a living person is known as “tondi” and for a dead person is
generally called “begu.” 102 Tondi is sometimes translated as “soul stuff” and
is found in smaller quantities in animals and plants. It is present in every
part of the human being, including the hair, fingernails, sweat, tears, urine,
excrement, shadow, and even in the name of a person. The most powerful
tondi resides in the placenta and amniotic fluids at birth, so great care is taken
to dispose of them with the utmost secrecy. Ritual cannibalism provides the
opportunity to strengthen one’s tondi at the expense of the victim by consuming
those parts of the body potent with tondi, such as the blood, heart, palms
of hands, and soles of the feet. When a person dies, the tondi becomes begu
(ancestral spirit). 103 The most powerful begu, and hence subject to the most
frequent appeals, is the sombaon, an ancestral spirit who when living founded
great communities. 104 Through public feasts of homage, a begu is transformed
to sumangot, then to sombaon. 105 The ultimate test of potency was the possession
of sahala, which can be succinctly translated as the “manifestation
of supernatural power.” 106 Sahala is manifested in successful economic and
other ventures, numerous children and grandchildren, influential relatives,
skill in oratory, or bravery in battle. Respect (hasangapon) accompanies one
possessed of sahala, while refusal to obey and venerate such a person courts
disaster. 107 This “cult of the human soul” became an important marker of
Batak identity and a recognizable ethnic boundary with their neighbors.
From early times, religion was closely linked to trade among the Batak.
Religious edifices were built along trade routes to protect the trader from
adverse human and natural forces and thus assure the economic success of
the venture. Edwards McKinnon notes that from Padang Lawas southward is
a line of candi or religious temples marking a route from Tapanuli down to
the Minangkabau lands. More candi are found along rivers used to gain access
to the east coast. The Padang Lawas or Panai complex arose due to its strategic
location at the crossroads of several riverine and land routes. The ancient
kingdom of Panai, sufficiently important to have warranted an attack by
Chola forces in 1024 –5, benefited from its links to the interior areas through
the important transinsular portage in the Panai-Barumun river valley. 108
In the Padang Lawas site, as well as in the Tamil settlements at Lobu Tua
and Kota Cina, religious temples are prominent. With the withdrawal of the
Tamil population and/or their absorption into the Batak community, perhaps
after the demise of Kota Cina in the fourteenth century, the candi were
replaced by tombs erected to honor important Batak ancestors (sombaon). In
the late nineteenth century, “Malayu” (most likely Batak who moved easily
between two worlds, perhaps more properly termed “Malayu Batak”) horse
traders going to the Karo plateau from the east coast made offerings at the
162 Chapter 5