Gendered odds

On the surface, the similarities between the societies of the Wana in Sulawesi in the twentieth century and the Toba Batak in the nineteenth century are striking. The Wana and Toba Batak both lived in relatively isolated areas in the interior of a vast island. Crop failure, epidemics, and endemic diseases took their toll on human life. The causes for the high incidence of child- and maternal mortality were probably by and large the same.⁸⁴

But there are also striking differences. According to Atkinson (1999:164-5, 168) the Wana lacked incentives for bearing many children and were ambivalent about having babies, using contraceptive techniques, magic and coitus interruptus to space pregnancies. She attributes their efforts to limit the number of children to the fear of losing the mother in childbirth and the scarcity of food during the dry season, which in itself already served as a natural check to pregnancy. The Toba Batak, on the other hand, did not try to limit the number of their children:

none of consulted sources refers to such behaviour.⁸⁵ Perhaps the fertile valleys and southern shores of Lake Toba guaranteed a larger and more consistent food supply than the dry hills of the Wana’s natural environment.

But another plausible reason for the difference in reproductive behaviour, and easier to substantiate, is the difference in kinship organization and related religious concepts. The Wana kinship organization was bilateral, implying that male offspring was not a matter of concern, or at least not especially so (which explains why Atkinson makes no mention of a preference for sons). For the Wana, having a small number of children was sufficient, regardless of their sex. In contrast, the Toba Batak ardently desired many sons to continue the patriline, which also made possible an optimal use of available land, increased the lineage’s political power, and ensured the well-being of their souls in the hereafter.⁸⁶ Daughters were valued because they could be married

81 Lombeck, [A.], ‘Die alte Sarah’, Der Kleine Missionsfreund 1905:22-5.

82 Although dating from a later period, the following lawsuits between a widow and the son of her co-wife are probably exemplary of conflicts of an earlier period as well: 1) Strafvonnis Kleine rapat Porsea, no. 21, 15 january 1929, KITLV, Adatrechtstichting H 1051, 80, I; 2) Rapat-damai Hoeta Toroean no. 1, 21 juli 1925 KITLV H 1051, 86. Lawsuits between sons born to co-wives : 1) Civiel vonnis Kleine Rapat Palipi no. 16, 13 november 1925, H 1051, 87; 2) Vonnis Groote Rapat Balige no. 25, 12 november 1926, H 1051, 80 I; 3) Bezwaarschrift ten vonnis Grote Rapat Balige, no. 199, 5 augustus 1927. H 1051 80, I; 4) Civiel vonnis Grote Rapat Tarutung no. 14/19, 11 april 1929, H 1051, 81. See also Ypes 1932:417.

83 For an interesting contract of a bigamous man who tried to forestall conflict about his inheritance between the children of his deceased first wife and his second wife, see Erfrecht 1936.

84 With the exception of the effect of warfare, which influenced life expectancy of the Toba Batak negatively in nineteenth century, but not of the Wani in post-independence Indonesia.

85 According to Henny (1869:40) abortion (abortus provocatus) was not unknown, but it did not occur on the same scale as among women in the Padang highlands (with which he was apparently familiar). Schreiber (1911:632) wrote that he had never heard of a case of abortus provocatus in Silindung, where he had worked since 1901.

86 Niehof, who did research on fertility patterns in two villages on Madura, makes a relevant observation: she found that kinship organization and the availability of sufficient food supplies are factors affecting the number of children women want to have. In the matrifocal fishing community of Patondu less children were desired than in the more patrifocal and agricultural community of Tambeng (Niehof 1985:279-283).

off to other clans. Although this had many advantages, too, its importance was secondary. The ideal, however, was to have both sons and daughters in great numbers; and therefore fertility should go unchecked.

The concept of a blessed life was (and still is for many Toba Batak) to attain the status of a saurmatua. A saurmatua is a person for whom a magnificent funeral can be staged by his (or her) sons and grandsons and their many bridegiving and bridetaking affines. In the past, such a person could reach the higher status of revered ancestor, a sumangot, if the group of male descendants continued to expand and prosper in next generations. In pre- and early colonial times, very few people must have had the good fortune to become a saurmatua, because the chances for survival were so slim and life expectancy was low. Still, some were better situated than others to reach the pinnacle of life. The rajas had the resources to marry more wives and therefore sire more children, amass more wealth, and enjoy a higher status than men who could not afford a polygamous household. Although, in principle, women, too, could reach the status of a saurmatua, the odds were not in their favour. Biologically it was impossible for a woman to have as many children as a polygamous man. The chance of their of dying without leaving a son behind who could hold the mortuary rites for them was also greater than for men.

As for the opposite of a blessed life, the odds were also gendered. The worst imaginable fate for a man was to die without male offspring. Nonetheless, a man was still entitled to a decent burial close to the village, if he had been able to amass sufficient wealth during his lifetime⁸⁷, although his soul would still become an outcast in the world of the spirits. The worst imaginable fate for a woman was not to die without male offspring, but to die in childbirth. The custom prescribed that her remains could not be given a decent burial, and her spirit was considered extremely dangerous and feared by all. Due to the high maternal mortality rate in the past, not a few Toba Batak women must have faced this bitter fate.

87 A specific ritual could be organized for a rich man who died without male issue. A wooden effigy (sigalegale) was made for him, clothed and adorned, which was ‘danced’ in the market by holding it on ropes, accompanied by his dancing wife, brothers and parents. A buffalo, cow, or pig was slaughtered and the meat divided among the crowd. After the effigy had been ‘killed’ by a shotgun, it was thrown over the village rampart (Warneck (1909:108). Today, the dance of the sigalegale is a tourist attraction on Samosir (witnessed in July 2010). Whether it is still performed in the context of a mortuary ritual as well, I do not know.