Batak (Indonesian people)
Batta (pl. Batak) are a Malay tribe on Sumatra. The first attempt to convert the Batak to Christianity was made by the English Baptists in 1820. Fourteen years later the Boston Missionary Society sent two missionaries to the Batak, who fell victim to cannibalism. In 1861 the Rhine mission opened its work in the area, spreading to the north; in 10 years they had 10 stations with about 2,500 Christians, and in 1914, 40 stations with 125,000 baptized members. Toward the south and east the Dutch missions opened their work. In the southernmost province of the Batak area (Mandailing) the Dutch Mennonite mission had its field. The population here was predominantly Muslim. The first station was opened in 1871 by Heinrich Dirks at Pakanten. In the course of time two other stations were established: Penjabungen and Hoetagodang, with several subsidiary stations, two hospitals, and an orphanage. The Mennonite membership was about 450 in 1914.
Pakanten had a hospital and a missionary school. The head nurse, Jonathan Djapangoeloe, worked faithfully here for more than 40 years. P. Nachtigal was a successful missionary at this place from 1911 until his death in 1928. In the 1950s his widow lived in retirement at Lautenbach, Germany. He established Hoetagodang in 1912, and was the only missionary in the station after 1919. In 1925 a migration from the Toba district to Groot-Mandailing opened a new field of work. It was supported by funds raised in Holland by J. E. van Brakel and a generous contribution from the Heubuden Mennonite congregation in East Prussia. After the death of Nachtigal the work was orphaned until 1931, when the Rhine mission took it over. In 1939 the mission congregations joined the Batak church.
Bibliography
Bork, F. "Die Religion der Batak auf Sumatra." Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft deutscher Naturforscher und Aerzte (82. Versammlung II) 1, 1911.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe; Schneider, 1913-1967: v. I, 136.
Jaarverslagen van den Staat en de Verrichtingen der Doopsgezinden Vereeniging tot bevordering der Evangelieverbreiding (Dutch Mission Society) (1870-1940).
"Land und Leute von Sumatra." Mennonitischer Gemeinde-Kalender (1909) f.
Uit het Verleden en Leden van de Doopsgezinde Zending (1947).
Warneck, Joh. Die Religion der Batak: ein Paradigma für die animistischen Religionen des Indischen Archipels. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1909.
Warneck, Joh. Sechzig Jahre Batakmission in Sumatra. 3. Aufl. Berlin: Warneck, 1925.
| Author(s) | Nikolai Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Nanne van der Zijpp | |
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, Nikolai and Nanne van der Zijpp. "Batak (Indonesian people)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 25 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Batak_(Indonesian_people)&oldid=54298.
APA style
Wiebe, Nikolai and Nanne van der Zijpp. (1953). Batak (Indonesian people). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 25 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Batak_(Indonesian_people)&oldid=54298.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 248. All rights reserved.
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