90 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A COMMUNAL HOUSE IN THE KARO-BATAK COUNTRY 



The independence of the native women impresses European trav- 

 elers as most unusual for an Oriental country. This independence 

 may be the outgrowth of curious marriage customs. For instance, 

 among some tribes a man and woman do not establish a home of 

 their own. The husband remains among his own circle of relations 

 and resides only temporarily with his wife. The children remain in 

 the mother's custody and inherit all of her property, as well as half 

 of that earned by the father and mother together. The remaining 

 half goes to the father's sisters or to the children of those sisters. 



the "Government Center," or "European 

 Quarter," of Kebon Djahe, and half a 

 mile beyond, perched on the top of a 

 steep clay bank above a small river, the 

 remarkable buildings of the native kani- 

 pong lay hidden away in a clump of trees. 



A REMARKABLE BATAK COMMUNITY 



In their chief features, all Batak kam- 

 pongs are more or less alike, but in ar- 



chitectural elabora- 

 tion Kebon Djahe is 

 unique. Confined, as 

 usual, within a rect- 

 angular space of 

 smooth -trodden clay 

 hedged by a bamboo 

 thicket, the buildings 

 were all raised on 

 wooden piles, their 

 immense thatched 

 roofs and extraordi- 

 nary decorations com- 

 pletely dwarfing the 

 low, windowless sides. 

 Clumps of plantains, 

 encircled by fences of 

 woven bamboo, sprung 

 like oases from the 

 hard clay ground, and 

 innumerable evil-look- 

 ing dogs, chickens, and 

 black pigs scratched 

 or rooted in the rub- 

 bish beneath the 

 houses. The build- 

 ings ranged in size 

 from little granaries 

 and storehouses of 

 quaint and graceful 

 design to the huge 

 communal house, 

 where the men delib- 

 erate and banquet and 

 where the fetishistic 

 treasures of the vil- 

 lage are kept and 

 friendly strangers en- 

 tertained (see illustra- 

 tion on this page and 

 on page 76) . 



Each end of the 

 larger houses termi- 

 nated in a narrow 

 veranda of bamboo 

 poles, with a bamboo 

 ladder or a notched log leading up to 

 the small opening which it gave into the 

 dark interior. 



The immense roofs sloped uniformly 

 on the sides from widely flaring ridges to 

 low, overhanging eaves, but the ends were 

 broken in about half way down, forming 

 great gables beneath the jutting ridge- 

 poles. Brilliantly colored matting woven 

 into artistic designs filled these triangular 



