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Musjawarah in Karo-Land

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

Geert van den Steenhoven
Geert van den Steenhoven*
Affiliation:
Katholieke Universiteit, Nijmegen, Holland
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In this essay, I propose to pay attention to Karo-Batak dispute settlement in the framework of regional manifestations of musjawarah, the Indonesian way of popular decision-making. To that end, I shall begin with a brief description of the Karo categories of kinship and affinity, followed by an exposé of the Karo institution of dispute settlement, called runggun adat as well as by the description of a specific case which I recorded in 1969, almost thirty years after it occurred.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 7 , Issue 4 , Summer 1973 , pp. 693 - 718
Copyright
Copyright © The Law and Society Association, 1973.

Footnotes

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The field research (May, June, 1969) was made possible by a grant from the Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO) in the Hague. Prof. M. A. Jaspan of the University of Hull fathered the plan and introduced me locally. R.I.M. Perangin-angin, chairman of the State Court at Kabandjahe provided me with continuous counsel and help; Terbit Sembiring, M.A., of Pantjur Batu was my indispensable daily companion and assistant/interpreter; Dr. Masri Singarimbun kindly facilitated accommodation for my wife and myself and made available to me a copy of his doctoral thesis at Australian National University, Canberra (1965), a very important guide through the maze of Karo kinship and affinity. Prof. A.A. Trouwborst of Nijmegen University kindly read and commented on the draft of the present essay.

References

In the following bibliography, the only two English-language publications regarding Karo-land are as yet unpublished (Singarimbun, 1965) or depleted (Steenhoven, 1970). Tamboen (1952) is written in the Indonesian language. Reference to the Karo institution of dispute settlement by runggun adat in the titles mentioned below is restricted to a few casual observations in Westenberg (1914: 475) concerning the word runggun, in (1914: 503-7 passim) concerning “settlement,” and in Steenhoven (1970).Google Scholar
DJOJODIGOENO, M. M. (1969) “Wat is Recht? —over de aard van het recht als sociaal proces van normeringen” Publicaties over Adatrecht van de Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, vol. 2.Google Scholar
ENDA BOEMI, A. (1925) “Het Grondenrecht in de Bataklanden” diss. Leiden.Google Scholar
HAAR, B. Ter (1948) “Adat Law in Indonesia.” New York (translation from the Dutch, edited and introduced by A. A. Schiller and E. A. Hoebel).Google Scholar
KOESNOE, Moh (1969) “Musjawarah — een wijze van volksbesluitvorming volgens adatrecht” Publicaties over Adatrecht van de Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, vol. 1.Google Scholar
KOESNOE, Moh (1971) “Introduction into Indonesian Adat Law” Publicaties over Adatrecht van de Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, vol. 3. (bilingual publication Indonesian /English).Google Scholar
LLEWELLYN, K. N. & HOEBEL, E. A. (1941) “The Cheyenne Way — Conflict and Case Law in Primitive Jurisprudence,” Norman, Oklahoma.Google Scholar
MIDDENDORP, W. (1920) “Het Recht van de Sterkste op de Karo Hoogvlakte” Verslagen van het Indisch Genootschap, vergadering van 5.11.1920. The Hague.Google Scholar
SINGARIMBUN, M. (1965) “Kinship and Affinal Relations among the Karo of N. Sumatra,” diss. Canberra.Google Scholar
STEENHOVEN, G. van den (1970) “The Land of Kerenda — background, procedure and settlement of case 43/S in the State Court at Kabandjahe (Karo-land, N. Sumatra).” Publicaties over Adatrecht van de Katholieke Universiteit te Nijmegen, vol. 5.Google Scholar
TAMBOEN, P. (1952) “Adat-Istiadat Karo,” Djakarta.Google Scholar
WESTENBERG, C. J. (1914) “Adatrechtspraak en Adatrechtspleging der Karo-Bataks,” Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indie, vol. 69.Google Scholar