The Existence of Batak Toba Women's Land in Patriarchal Culture, Indonesia

Ria Manurung; Rizabuana Ismail; Robert Sibarani; Hadriana Marhaeni Munthe

doi:10.35516/Hum.2025.8027

Authors

Ria Manurung ‏‏Department of Sociology, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4750-9096
Rizabuana Ismail ‏Department of Sociology, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7329-5183
Robert Sibarani Department of Malay Literature, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7878-6985
Hadriana Marhaeni Munthe ‏‏Department of Sociology, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8868-0837

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2025.8027

Keywords:

Batak Toba community, cultivating adat land, patriarchal, women and land, the existence of women

Abstract

Objectives: In a patriarchal society, the right to land in the Batak Toba ethnicity is held by men. Women do not have the right to develop or own land. This study aims to analyze the role of Toba Batak women in maintaining and managing the inherited land they acquire.

Methods: This study uses qualitative methods with a descriptive approach. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 180 Batak Toba women who inherited land from their parents.

Results: The research showed that Batak Toba women must fully understand that there are safety valves that support women and strengthen their ownership of land given by their father's or husband's family. These safety valves are manifested through inheritance systems from parents to daughters, from husbands to wives, techniques and methods of land division, and the attestation process attended by customary institutions (Dalihan Na Tolu). However, they often lose out because their "name" as the landowner is not listed on the land certificate. They do not have "legal" authority from the state, which claims the right to own and manage land.

Conclusions: This study shows that not all Toba Batak women understand the rights and roles granted to them concerning land through customs and the safety valves that support women. It is necessary to raise awareness among women about their role as safety valves and to enhance the role of customary institutions in affirming women's position as managers and landowners. Further research can focus on policy-making that respects the social context and positions women as key safety valves.

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