Motorbikes, Mausoleums, and Mountaineering

Our last full day in paradise (Monday) was mostly spent on the back of motorbikes driven by Aron and Hapne. First we caravanned a short distance north of Tuk-Tuk to the village of Ambarita where Hapne’s grandmother is buried. Hapne’s parents and oldest brother also came along. Her father used his machete’ to hack a path through the dense undergrowth of a cornfield to get to the burial pavilion. Batak tradition is to bury the deceased until sufficient time has past for decomposition to occur leaving only the bones, which are then disinterred, cleaned and placed in an elaborate family mausoleum amid much pomp and ceremony. Sometimes as many as 20 years will pass before the relocation of the bones when the family can afford the celebration worthy of the individual. On this day, the family came to pay respects, clean off the grave, and place some favorite items (betel nut leaves and crackers). They brought water to cleanse their faces as ritual and to douse the grave. Prayers were offered. We feel privileged to have such an up close and personal view of Batak life—not what most tourists see. After that we visited a nearby historical site with a circle of stone chairs used by tribal elders and large stones for ritual executions of criminals and evisceration for the purpose of consuming the beating heart of the victim. Our favorite part of the day was the long motorbike ride up some steep and treacherous dirt and stone roads to the ridge of the mountains on Samosir Island. The view there was spectacular. Later in the evening we celebrated Hapne’s birthday with singing and cake at her parents house. For the first time during our visit it rained this evening—a hard, soaking rain. We got drenched walking back to our resort. On Tuesday we drive the scenic route back to Medan.