| Situated along centuries-old global trade routes, North Sumatra has long been a place of global confluence. My dissertation examines the ways in which musical performance among the Toba Batak people, a group living in the island's interior and in its large cities, reflects this legacy. The cultural and musical history of the Toba has been affected by successive waves of foreign influence from India, the Middle-East and the West. Dutch colonialism and German missionary activity transformed Toba culture and society in the nineteenth century, and Indonesian independence resulted in Toba incorporation into a larger national identity.; This dissertation examines the multiple musical genres that are present in Toba performances, illuminating the broader contours of Toba history. The interaction between Toba past and present emerges in the culture's multiple performance traditions, composed of many genres with roots in varied histories. On a broad level, this dissertation aims to show the ways that old and new histories participate in global trajectories by using Toba musical performance as a case study. On a smaller level, it uses the personal experiences of informant and researcher to demonstrate how these larger histories are relevant in day-to-day lives. |
