Pakpak or Pakpak Dairi people are one of the ethnic group found mainly in

North Sumatra North Sumatra ( id, Sumatra Utara) is a province of Indonesia located on the northern part of the island of Sumatra. Its capital and largest city is Medan. North Sumatra is Indonesia's fourth most populous province after West Java, East Java and ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. They are scattered in a few regencies and cities in

and

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...

, such as

Dairi Regency Dairi Regency is a regency on the west shore of Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The regency covers an area of square kilometres and it had a population of 269,848 people at the 2010 Census and 308,764 at the 2020 Census.Badan Pusat Stati ...

Pakpak Bharat Regency Pakpak Bharat Regency is a regency in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The regency covers an area of 1,218.3 square kilometres and it had a population of 40,481 at the 2010 census and 52,351 at the 2020 Census. Its seat is the town of Salak, North Sumatr ...

, Humbang Hasundutan Regency and

Central Tapanuli Regency Central Tapanuli Regency (''Tapanuli Tengah'' in Indonesia) is a regency in North Sumatra province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The seat of regency government is at Pandan. The regency covers an area of 2,194.98 km2 and it had a population of 311,232 at ...

, and also in

Aceh Singkil Regency Aceh Singkil Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Singkil) is a regency in the Aceh province of Indonesia. It is situated largely on the island of Sumatra, but also includes the offshore Banyak Islands, the largest of which is Tuangku (Great Banyak), wit ...

and Subulussalam,

and also Pakpak people have some communities in other cities across Indonesia. In administrative governance, most of the Pakpak people settled in

, which later on July 28, 2003 grew into two regencies, namely:- *

(capital city

Sidikalang Sidikalang is a town in North Sumatra province of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including ...

) *

(capital city

Salak Salak (''Salacca zalacca'') is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It is cultivated in other regions of Indonesia as a food crop, and reportedly naturalized in Bali, Lombok, Timor, Maluku, and ...

) The Pakpak people are most likely the descendants of the soldiers from

Chola Kingdom The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

that attacked

Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th t ...

Kingdom in the 11th century. Pakpak people with surnames of Tendang, Banurea, Manik, Beringin, Gajah, Berasa is believed to be the sons of Mpu Bada.

Sub-ethnics

The Pakpak people are divided into five sub-ethnic groups or in local terminology, ''Pakpak Silima Suak'': * ''Pakpak Klasen'' people occupy Parlilitan in Humbang Hasundutan Regency, and Manduamas which is part of

. * ''Pakpak Simsim'' people dwell in

* ''Pakpak Boang'' people settled in

and Subulussalam,

. The Pakpak Boang people are often mistaken as

Singkil people Singkil people are an ethnic group of people found in Aceh Singkil Regency and Subulussalam, Aceh province, Indonesia. The customs and culture of the Singkil people are very different from the Pakpak people. This is because of the Singkil peop ...

. * ''Pakpak Pegagan'' people settled in Sumbul and its surrounding in

. * ''Pakpak Keppas'' people settled in

and its surrounding in

Pakpak surnames

Pakpak

surnames In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

are such as: * Anakampun * Angkat * Bako * Bancin * Banurea * Berampu * Berasa * Beringin * Berutu * Bintang * Boangmanalu * Capah * Cibro * Gajah Manik * Gajah * Kabeaken * Kesogihen * Kaloko * Kombih * Kudadiri * Lingga * Maha * Maharaja * Manik * Matanari * Meka * Maibang * Padang * Padang Batanghari * Pasi * Penarik Pinayungan * Ramin * Sambo * Saraan * Sikettang * Sinamo * Sitakar * Solin * Saing * Tendang * Tinambunan * Tinendung * Tumangger * Turutan * Ujung

Society

The Pakpak people are bound by a social structure, which in local terminology is called ''sulang silima''. ''Sulang silima'' consists of five elements that are:- * ''Sinina tertua'' (''Perisang-isang'', descendants or older generations) * ''Sinina penengah'' (''Pertulan tengah'', descendants or middle generations) * ''Sinina terbungsu'' (''Perekur-ekur'', youngest generation) * ''Berru'' (Kinsmen who receive women into their family) * ''Puang'' (Kinsmen who give women into another family) Five of these elements are very instrumental in decision making in various aspects of life especially in kinship system and traditional ceremonies, be it in the context of a single surname clan based community (''Lebbuh'') or village based community (''Kuta''). Therefore, five of these elements must be involved in order for a decision to be considered as valid in customary terms. Traditional Pakpak ceremonies are named with "working" terms, however the term "festivals" are also frequently used today. Traditional ceremonies are divided into two major parts, namely:- * Traditional ceremonies that involves joyous occasion are referred to as "good works". * Traditional ceremonies that involves sorrowful occasion are referred to as "bad works". Examples of "good works" ceremonies are such as ''merbayo'' (wedding ceremony), ''menanda tahun'' (paddy planting ceremony), ''merkottas'' (initiating a risky task) and so on. While examples of "bad works" ceremonies includes ''mengrumbang'' and ''mate ncayur ntua'' ceremony (funeral).

References

{{Portal, Indonesia Ethnic groups in Sumatra Ethnic groups in Indonesia Ethnography Batak History of Sumatra Batak ethnic groups