Batak: Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur

Seven weeks of fieldwork in Toba, Karo and Mandailing — an exhibition of photographs, a book, and a documentary film.

Tim Tanah Air spent around seven weeks documenting the rituals of birth, death and marriage across Toba, Karo and Mandailing. My contribution to the exhibition was not photographs but a forty-minute documentary, screened inside the gallery alongside the prints and the book launch — the seed of the feature Batak, Perjalanan ke Tanah Leluhur, nominated for Best Feature Documentary at Piala Citra 2014.

Type: Group exhibition — Tim Tanah Air
Team: Arnold Simanjuntak · Budi Chandra · Diana Putri Tarigan · Hasiholan Siahaan · Sihol Sitanggang · Mahatma Putra
Venue: Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara, Jakarta
Dates: 20 December 2012 – 12 January 2013
My contribution: A 40-minute documentary film, screened in the gallery
Related: The film — Films

Batak exhibition film poster — Poster for the film, premiered inside the exhibition at Galeri Foto Jurnalistik Antara, December 2012. Design: Mahatma Putri.

The 40-minute documentary screened inside the exhibition, later nominated for Piala Citra 2014.

In the gallery

Opening night at GFJA — Opening night, 20 December 2012: Antara chief executive Saiful Hadi (right) with Cosmas Batubara (centre) and photographer Sihol Sitanggang (left). Photo: Widodo S Jusuf — ANTARA FOTO.

The signed film poster at the gallery entrance — The film poster signed by guests at the gallery entrance. Photo: Imam Santoso — ANTARA News.

Photographs in the exhibition

Elders in ulos clapping as a small girl dances, Mangalahat Horbo ceremony, Samosir — Mangalahat Horbo, Samosir. Photo: Arnold Simanjuntak — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Mourners gathered around a body wrapped in cloth at a Batak funeral, Simalungun — Upacara Kematian, Simalungun. Photo: Arnold Simanjuntak — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Terraced hillsides above the lake at Limbong Sagala, Samosir — Limbong Sagala, Samosir. Photo: Budi Chandra — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A bride and groom stepping out of a wooden house on their wedding day, Pangururan — Perkawinan, Pangururan. Photo: Hasiholan Siahaan — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A woman carrying a buffalo head on a tray through the crowd at a funeral ceremony, Samosir — Upacara Kematian, Samosir. Photo: Sihol Sitanggang — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A crowd of women in ulos clapping at the Sipahalima ceremony, Laguboti — Sipahalima, Laguboti. Photo: Budi Chandra — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Two boys beside a carved wooden figure at Huta Sialagan, Samosir — Huta Sialagan, Samosir. Photo: Budi Chandra — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A child among rows of adults in ulos shawls at the Sipahalima ceremony, Laguboti — Sipahalima, Laguboti. Photo: Sihol Sitanggang — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Two women in Karo headdress holding a newborn at the Sirembah Ku Lau ritual, Tanah Karo — Sirembah Ku Lau, Tanah Karo. Photo: Diana Tarigan — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Bathing in the river during the Sirembah Ku Lau ritual, Tanah Karo — Sirembah Ku Lau, Tanah Karo. Photo: Diana Tarigan — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A communal meal on mats after the Sipahalima ceremony, Laguboti — Sipahalima, Laguboti. Photo: Sihol Sitanggang — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

A family gathered by the river for the Sirembah Ku Lau ritual, Tanah Karo — Sirembah Ku Lau, Tanah Karo. Photo: Diana Tarigan — Tim Tanah Air. Source: BeritaSatu.

Press & documentation

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