Hybrid Ethnographic: Honoring Ancestors; The Mangongkal Holi Ritual of Toba Batak People, North Sumatra, Indonesia
I am conducting an ethnographic research on the mangongkal holi ritual of the Toba Batak people, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The ritual is located in Samosir Island Regency, Sianjur Mula-Mula village, the indigenous site of Toba Batak. This dissertation project explores the performative dimensions of the mangongkal holi ritual—a sacred ancestral bone exhumation ceremony—offering new insights into Toba Batak contemporary cultural ritual practices through the lens of traditional music and ritual performance.
