Batak Architecture

Batak architecture is the building tradition of the six related Batak ethnic groups of North Sumatra, Indonesia, the Toba, Karo, Angkola, Mandailing, Pakpak or Dairi, and Simalungun peoples, whose houses are built on wooden piles and derive from ancient Dong-Son models. Its three principal building types are the bale meeting hall, the rumah communal house, traditionally home to a group of families living together, and the sopo rice barn. Toba Batak houses are boat-shaped, with intricately carved gables, upsweeping roof ridges and a large, steeply pitched thatched saddleback roof that dominates the structure, while Karo houses rise up in tiers under a hip roof that can reach as tall as fifteen meters. Buildings are constructed of wood and bamboo bound with ijuk fiber rather than nails, producing naturally earthquake-resistant structures, and are traditionally decorated with geometric designs in red, white and black pigments, though many traditional houses are now abandoned or deteriorating as Batak communities adopt modern construction.