''Horas'' ( Toba Batak: ᯂᯬᯒᯘ᯲) is the

Batak Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, ...

word to express gratefulness, happiness, and healthiness, however it is more commonly used as a simple greeting and goodbye. It is the equivalent to "hello" or "goodbye". This word can be found in every

Batak languages __FORCETOC__ The Batak languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken by the Batak people in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra and surrounding areas. Internal classification The Batak languages can be divided into two ma ...

, with a few exceptions being; Batak Dairi and

Batak Karo The Karo, or Karonese, are a people of the ''Tanah Karo'' (Karo lands) and part one of Batak people sub-ethnic group from North Sumatera, Indonesia. The Karo lands consist of Karo Regency, plus neighboring areas in East Aceh Regency, Langkat Rege ...

. The Batak Karo and the Dairi Batak has their own greetings which is ''mejuah-juah'' or ''njuah-juah''.

In pop culture

In pop culture, the word ''horas'' may be found in songs, such as: * Sai Horas Ma Ho Tu Si Boru Lomomi, a Batak song composed by Hendro Sinambela * Anak Medan, a Batak song composed by Freddy Tambunan{{Cite web , date=2018-08-31 , title=Lirik Lagu "Anak Medan" Cipt : Freddy Tambunan , url=https://tourtoba.com/anak-medan/ , access-date=2022-02-17 , website=TourToba.com , language=id

References

Batak Greeting words and phrases