The Position of Toba Batak Ethnic Women on Land Obtained from

Families in North Sumatra Province

Ria Manurung

, Rizabuana Ismail

Robert Sibarani

and Hadriana Marhaeni Munthe

Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl. Dr. T. Mansyur No. 9, Medan, Indonesia

Keywords: women, toba batak ethnicity, land, rights

Abstract: Development activities often ignore the position of women concerning land. The condition of the social

structure and unbalanced relations in society makes women have a disadvantaged position in every policy

issued. Therefore, this study aims to look at the position of women on land in the Toba Batak community.

This research was conducted in 6 regencies in North Sumatra Province, including Toba Regency, North

Tapanuli Regency, Samosir Regency, Humbang Hansuduntan Regency, Barus Regency, and Dairi Regency.

A qualitative approach was used through interviews, observations, and Focus Group Discussions with 50

ordinary and key informants. This research is based on gender equality in society and equality of women's

rights in development. The conclusion of this study shows that Toba Batak women have an essential role in

the existence of land owned by the family.

1 INTRODUCTION

Throughout human life, land becomes a very

important position in supporting life. Land has

various meanings and functions for the community,

including economic interests, including fulfilling the

needs of life. In the interest of social status as

community members by owning a lot of land, they

will have power and respect from the community

compared to those who do not own land. In terms of

the existence of a land tribe, this becomes important

as the identity of the existence of a tribe, and in the

application of customary activities the land becomes

important in ceremonial activities. Especially for

agrarian communities, land becomes a very important

asset for them, where land ownership determines

productivity, economic welfare, social status, and

political power.

There is an increase in population growth that is

getting higher, while the land area is limited; of

course, this raises public interest in land. This

increasing interest in land has given rise to various

community and land relations. Sometimes the

relationship between the community occurs in

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conflict because of the struggle over land for their

needs. Women are found to be one of the actors who

are often involved in land conflicts. The narrative of

women in land conflicts can be seen in the women's

movements, the Pandumaan and Sipituhuta women's

movements against plantations (Siagian and Harahap

2016)

From a traditional perspective, the land is

considered very important for women due to its

essential role in producing food for their family

consumption. According to research on women

farmers, even though they are in a subordinate

position, women farmers are the key to reducing

hunger in the world (Wahyuni, 2018) (World Bank,

2003) (Sasongko, 2005). The available data also

shows that about 40 percent of small farming families

in the Indonesian agricultural sector are women, or

7.4 million, contributing to 14 percent of gross

domestic product (GDP). At the 2017 World

Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, Monique

Villa, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, said

that women own less than 20 percent of the world's

land, but more than 400 million of them farm produce

most of the world's food. The data above shows there

174

Manurung, R., Ismail, R., Sibarani, R. and Munthe, H.

The Position of Toba Batak Ethnic Women on Land Obtained from Families in North Sumatra Province.

DOI: 10.5220/0011563500003460

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Social and Political Development (ICOSOP 2022) - Human Security and Agile Government, pages 174-178

ISBN: 978-989-758-618-7; ISSN: 2975-8300

 2023 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. Under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

is an impression that appears that women dominate

the land more than men (Suradisastra, 1998).

In many communities, it is found that landless

women imply lower social status. The lack of

women's rights to land reduces women's autonomy

and voice, affecting their self-esteem and well-being.

Women who are not guaranteed land rights have less

bargaining power in the household and are less able

to participate in decision-making and access other

resources. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization,

2011) emphasizes that increasing women's access to

economic resources will positively affect a series of

development goals, including poverty reduction and

economic growth.

In the life of the Toba Batak people, Toba Batak

women have a close relationship with the land. The

local context of the Batak Toba community is women

as a source of food providers and food security guards

by placing women as Parsonduk Bolon in the

household to maintain family welfare. In supporting

this role at the time of marriage, this Toba Batak

woman got land in the form of a rice field given by

her family called "pauseang." Pauseang land is owned

by individuals and can also be owned by a community

that is descended from a woman who owns pauseang

land, which shows the existence of female

descendants. This fact can be seen, among others, in

the existence of pauseang land owned by the Tambun

clan in the Sibisa area, which is a land belonging to

the Manurung clan. This ownership is not only

limited to regional geography but includes the

descendants of the Tambun clan worldwide.

Although the Toba Batak community is known as

a patriarchal society, Toba Batak women and their

husbands are allowed to live on family land. They can

manage their family's land, called "sonduk hela."

There is a custom that Toba Batak women like to buy

land rather than sell land. An interesting fact found in

the Toba Batak community is that Toba Batak women

always try to protect their family's land. Among them,

Toba Batak women are often found as guardians of

land owned by the family because all of their brothers

are not in the area where the family lives. There were

several cases where this woman was very persistent

in protecting her family's land when her extended

family wanted the land to be managed so that she

would fight against them. There are many records of

women's resistance to protecting the land.

In addition, if a brother sells the family land, he

will try to buy the land on his own or provide loan

money where the land is used as collateral and can be

redeemed. The existence of this condition makes

women also have the opportunity to get a lot of land

in the place of their families.

From the description above, it is interesting to

analyze the position of women in maintaining the

state of their land and belonging to their extended

family. This is important given that land is the

primary source of income and food security for most

rural households in many countries. This is not an

easy challenge as tenure arrangements are dynamic

and can vary widely within and between countries.

2 RESEARCH PROBLEM

What is the Position of Toba Batak Ethnic Women on

Land obtained from the family

3 LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 The Function and Use of Land for

the Toba Batak People

The Toba Batak people have long known the division

of land locations based on the function and use of the

land as follows (Firmando, 2021):

a. Forest area: the so-called tano jungle and

harangan. Young forests are called spears or

rabbis.

b. Agricultural Area: Rice fields are called saoa or

hauma. The fields for growing rice are called

hauma tours.

c. Grazing Area: Streets are pastures for grazing

livestock without supervision

d. Backup Areas: Backup areas are named

according to different purposes. Offer at a push

or bonus level.

e. Sacred Area: This channel is believed to be

around the spirits and souls of dead ancestors

called parsombaonan, solobean, parbeguan and

saba parhombanan, or other equivalents of this

designation

3.2 The Struggle of the Batak Toba

Women to Defend the Land

Ulfa Nadra's (Nadra, Santoso, & Sasana, 2016)

research results found that women in the Batak ethnic

group are not only involved in domestic activities but

are also central figures in rice farming activities. This

phenomenon has occurred for centuries and is a habit

that has been passed down from generation to

generation in the households of ethnic Batak farmers.

Agrarian conflicts in the Batak Lands related to

social development occurred several decades ago in

The Position of Toba Batak Ethnic Women on Land Obtained from Families in North Sumatra Province

175

the Batak lands. The exciting thing about land

conflicts in the Toba Batak community is that Batak

women are always involved in conflicts to defend the

land. This picture can be seen in several cases of land

conflicts that occurred. In 1972 in the village of

Syriac, North Tapanuli, a dispute started with the

Forestry Service, who planted pine trees on vacant

people's land without prior permission. Counted 200

Batak women came down to protest. Batak women to

fight for their land rights walk 65km from their

village to Tarutung. The case ended when the Regent

of North Tapanuli decided to stop the activities of the

Forestry Service.

In 1989, a rural conflict also occurred in Sugapa

Village, North Tapanuli. 10 Batak women protested

against the 52 ha land taken over by Indorayon, which

was used as the People's Inti Plantation (PIR) area and

planted with eucalyptus. These ten women represent

42 Heads of Families who feel that they have never

agreed to hand over their land to become a PIR area.

The story of the ten women who fought for their

customary land is one that the Batak people

remember as an example of fighting for customary

land rights (Silaen, 2005)

In a land dispute related to social development

that occurred on September 12, 2019, a group of

Batak women, residents of Sigapiton Village, Ajibata

District, Toba Samosir Regency, blocked a vital tool

that entered their village and took action to take off

their clothes. This important tool is part of a tourism

development project belonging to the Lake Toba

Tourism Authority (BOPDT), namely The Nomadic

Caldera Toba Escape.

3.3 The Concept of Poverty and

Inequality

The land is an essential asset in an agrarian society

where land ownership determines productivity,

economic welfare, social status, and political power.

Therefore, land rights can be an essential tool for

promoting the health and well-being of the poor. The

case for improving land rights is solid for women in

developing societies as women tend to own smaller

lands and plots than men (World Bank, 2003).

Women are consistently less likely to own or operate

land; they are less likely to have access to leased land,

and the land they do have access to is often of lower

quality and in smaller plots” (Food and Agriculture

Organization, 2011). Women also face widespread

discrimination on inheritance rights, and when they

access to land through markets and redistributive

reforms are less likely than men to acquire land due

to discrimination in the land market, differences in

income and access to credit, and social discrimination

(World Bank, 2003). According to the Marxist view,

the leading cause of poverty is the unequal or unequal

distribution of wealth and income, which is the main

consequence of capitalism.

3.4 The Concept of Land for Women,

According to Frminism

To create gender equality, whether based on human

rights or economic efficiency. The main challenges

for land administration are: to understand and

recognize the complexities of property rights regimes

as they relate to the dynamic roles of men and women.

In today's society, and to provide effective

institutional structures that can protect and strengthen

equitable access to land within the framework of

community-specific land policy objectives. This

statement is essential given that land is the primary

source of income and food security for most rural

households in many countries.

3.5 Development Concept

A prosperous society is not only synonymous with the

growth of national income, industrialization or social

modernization, or per capita income. However, the

development aims to increase freedom in many

aspects, such as a capability approach which

characterizes a person's condition to do something

and the assets owned. Individual freedom needs to be

reflected as a development value. Lack of freedom to

achieve economic opportunities, political freedom,

and social power is a form of development poverty

(Ar, 2018).

In social development, income is not only a

measure that can stand alone. According to Amartya

Sen, individual freedom in owning assets and

managing them is a factor that must be integrated into

the process. This factor highlights the importance of

development focusing on equal roles, values, and

customs that can affect individual freedom to own

and manage property (Sen, 2006).

4 RESEARCH METHODS

This study focuses on 6 areas in North Sumatra

Province where most of the Batak Toba people are

located, consisting of Toba Regency, North Tapanuli

Regency, Samosir Regency, Dairi Regency, and

Central Tapanuli Regency. A qualitative approach

was used with data collection techniques through

interviews, observations, and Focus Group

ICOSOP 2022 - International Conference on Social and Political Development 4

176

Discussions with 50 ordinary and key informants to

answer this research problem.

5 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.1 Reasons for Giving Land That

Women Can Obtain after Marriage

For the Batak Toba community, after the son and

daughter at the time of marriage, they are given land.

For boys, it is called Panjean land, while for girls,

Pauseang Batak Toba land is given; there is still more

land that is inherited by women, including:

a. "Indahan Arian" is given a piece of land by a

father to his daughter when the daughter already

has children. So, this gift is meant to be “indahan

arian” for his grandson.

b. Batu ni assimun, a gift from a father to his

daughter who already has children. In the form

of pets and gold. The point is a gift that seems

like a gift for his grandson.

c. Dondon Tua, a gift from a father to his daughter

who has given birth to a child in the form of a

plot of land to his eldest grandson.

d. Punsu tali, a gift from a father to his daughter.

This gift is the last gift and can only be received

by the daughter when the father dies.

e. Ulos naso ra buruk, a gift from a father to his

daughter. This gift is the first capital when

starting to build a household.

Generally, all women had the right to a share of

the land from their parents. However, it was found

that there were differences in the rules of the

geographical distribution of land. Women in the

Barus, Tarutung, Samosir and Humbang areas do not

know Pauseang land. Still, they are more familiar

with land given as upah loja boru which are only

given after their parents die. This land is known as the

land of giving as a bond of love between parents and

their daughters, namely the puncu tali. Pauseang land

is only known in the Toba Regency area. This land is

usually given when the daughter is asked to marry and

at the same time as the sinamot (meaning: dowry)

from the male side.

5.2 Accepted Land Form

The land in this research area is generally land and

watery land (rice fields). In general, the informants

received land in rice fields, and they had the right to

manage the land they received from their families.

They generally manage the land to be used as rice

fields to help them meet their food needs. However,

also found that several informants received land that

had been used as a place of residence and business.

They have made this decision as a place to live and

business based on the support of their parents.

5.3 Women’s Access to Land Received

Women are a link in the development chain, but in

general, they are not valued as members of society as

a resource in the development process. Batak women

were found to have direct access to land as managers

and decision-makers to determine the function of the

land they managed. This condition is possible

because, in general, women who manage this land are

women where women are wives and are supported by

their daughters, who are already able to work in the

fields. In addition, it was also found that Batak

women could directly access their agricultural

products for sale to the market.

5.4 Their Strategy Is to Defend the

Land That Has Been given

Women in the study area were found to have different

strategies for defending the land given to them. The

strategy taken is

a. Informants strengthen ownership by certifying

the land owned to show the power of state legal

ownership

b. For land handed over but not yet certified, the

informant strengthens his land ownership

through a statement letter on paper stamped and

signed by a relative. If the parents are still alive,

it is also signed by the parents.

c. The informant makes the land he receives into

his residence and already has a letter from the

subdistrict certificate.

d. For land in the form of rice fields, the informant

always manages it, and his son already manages

it there.

e. If they have financial difficulties, the land will

be sold to their relatives with an agreement that

if they have the money, they will be redeemed

5.5 Strategies Used by Women to

Defend Their Family’s Land

The exciting thing is that apart from protecting the

land that was given to her, it turns out that the Toba

Batak woman will also defend the land owned by her

brother. Toba Batak women will defend their family's

land when their relatives sell them by providing loans

or buying the land directly so that it does not fall into

the hands of others.

The Position of Toba Batak Ethnic Women on Land Obtained from Families in North Sumatra Province

177

6 CONCLUSIONS

1. Batak women have direct access to the land they

own from their families

2. Toba Batak women are the decision-makers in

managing the land they own from the family

3. Batak women begin to have a strong position on

land given to them by their families, both by

custom and by law

4. Toba Batak women always try to protect the

land given to them by their families.

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