DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2018.v06i05.001

Pages: 981-988

Customary funeral ceremonies of Toba Batak ethnicity are a sacred activity and are a hereditary legacy that is done from generation to generation. This customary funeral ceremony has a distinction of ceremonial process based on the situation and place of the deceased person in his hometown. However, currently there are some changes in the implementation of traditional funeral ceremonies after Batak people move overseas or to big cities. Informants in this study are traditional leaders, religious figures, people who have conducted customary funeral ceremonies that are in the city of Medan. This study found that the implementation of the stages of the ceremony at the traditional ceremonies of death that occurred today experienced a development where the existing custom became more diverse. The existing customary rites have begun to change; these changes bring around a new habit. The occurrence of new habits is caused by various things, namely the influence of the teachings of the majority embraced by the Batak Toba community, the changes in space and time, and the actualization of status and power to achieve the purpose of life. Various strategies are done by the agent to achieve the purpose of life by changing the existing structure. The change of structure is seen in the change of procedure of repeatedly performing customary rite ceremonies, in which various customary rites of funeral are always produced and reproduced, so that they will still exist. Along with the various developments, the future implementation of customary funeral ceremonies will experience challenges, namely consumerism, materialism and decreased solidarity. But the challenge is not a barrier to keep performing traditional ceremonies.