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POTENTIAL OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES:A POSSIBILITY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT?69Saksang meat mixed with bloodBatak wedding ceremony and jambarTable 4: Batak food and its social value.Food names Food descriptions Beliefs and social value1.Sangsang/Saksang2.Ikan na niura3.Ikan nanitombur4.Ikan na niarsik5.Bogot nihorbo6. Bangun na niduguSangsang is made of meat and the blood of them eatcooked together with many ingredients, includingandaliman, which gives Batak food its special taste.Ikan na ni ura, or fish cooked fresh, is usually made ofikan mas or Sumatran golden fish. The fish is soakedin lemon juice for hours and is then mixed withingredients such as andaliman, bird chili, candle nut,turmeric and ginger.Ikan na ni tombur or fish cooked with the tomburmethod is made by grilling a fish, then preparingingredients such as bird chili, shallots, garlic, ginger,candle nut, turmeric, andaliman and salt. These arepoured on the fish or eaten separately.Ikan na ni arsik or fish cooked with the arsik methodis fish boiled in ingredients such as asam gelugur,candle nut, turmeric, ginger, shallots, garlic, chili,galangal, salt and, unforgettably, andaliman. It is thendressed with vegetables such as buncis, long bean orcabbage and cooked until the water nearly disappears.Bogot ni horbo or buffalo milk is made by keepingbuffalo milk in a box with a little papaya leaf juice untilit becomes like a soft cheese.Bangun na ni dugu or crushed bangun-bangun leaves ismade of the crushed leaves boiled with chicken,lemongrass, pepper and salt. Sometimes a bit of lemonjuice is added.This dish is usually served to guests in variousceremonies. Nowadays it is also eaten in daily life.This is an honored dish for important guests, becauseit contains a lot of nutrition and energy from thefreshness of the fish, especially if ihan batak orindigenous Batak fish is used.Batak usually eat this in daily life.The dish is eaten in daily life and in almost everyceremony. At a wedding ceremony parents of thewedding pair will give this dish to the couple as ablessing to have as many children as there are fishes’flakes. For such an important event, people usually useihan batak, a fish species which lives in pure water andwhose shoals swim in harmony (as a symbol for apeaceful and harmonious family). Nowadays ihanbatak is rare and expensive, so ikan may be usedinstead.This food can be eaten fresh or cooked using the arsikmethod. It is very nutritious. It is always eaten bylactating women and by children more than one yearold.This is a very famous dish for women after childbirth.It helps them recover and it nourishes mother’s milk.Bangun-bangun itself is used for curing fresh woundsand wounds with an abscess.The Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows