Tor-tor Dance, Batak Traditional Ritual

Tor-tor dance is a dance that moves as a rhythm with the music accompaniment called Margondang which is played with traditional musical instruments such as gondang, flute, trumpet, and others.

According to the its history, Tor-tor dance was used in ritual ceremony associated with spirits where these spirits, where these spirits are called in and “sign” to the stone statues (a symbol of the ancestors), then the statues moved like dancing but with stiff movements.

The movements include only of the foot movements (tiptoes) and hand movements. There are many different types of Tor-tor dance, there is what’s called tortor Pangurason (purifying dance). This dance is usually held at a big party to clean the location of the party from the danger by using lime.

There is tor-tor Sipitu Cawan(Dance of the Seven Grails). This dance usually performed at the inauguration of a king, according to the legend this dance came from 7 princess of heaven who bathed on a lake on top of mountain Pusuk Buhit along with the arrival of Piso Sipitu Sasarung(Seven Dagers Glove).

And lastly, there is tor-tor Tunggal Panaluan which is a cultural ritual.This ritual usually held when a disaster struck the village, Tunggal Panaluan is held to find the solutions to the problems. Because the stick of Tunggal Panaluan is a blend of the power of Debata Natolu namely Banua Gijjang (Overworld), Banua Tonga (Middle-earth) and Banua Toru (Under World). Tor-Tor at the present time is no longer associated with only spirits, but became an art because tor-tor is a cultural tools in every activities of Batak indigenous people.

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