Reconstruction of the Meaning of “Boru Panggoaran” in the Toba Batak Kinship System
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64099/30qta842Keywords:
Boru Panggoaran, meaning reconstruction, women's rolesAbstract
This article reconstructs the meaning of Boru Panggoaran in the Batak Toba kinship system. The concept has often been reduced to the domestic and customary obligations of the first daughter, although it contains broader relational, symbolic, and cultural meanings. Using qualitative library research and cultural text analysis, this study examines anthropological, sociological, and Batak cultural literature, as well as selected Batak cultural expressions such as proverbs and song texts. The analysis employs Clifford Geertz's interpretive theory of culture and Berger and Luckmann's theory of social construction to show that cultural meaning is inherited, negotiated, and reinterpreted in changing social contexts. The findings indicate that Boru Panggoaran functions as a relational identity, a figure of care, a symbol of family hope, a mediator of kinship relations, and a bearer of honor within the Dalihan Na Tolu system. In contemporary society, its meaning shifts from a rigid domestic expectation toward relational agency, cultural responsibility, and gender-aware dignity. This reconstruction enables Batak Toba culture to preserve its core values while opening fairer space for women in family, adat, education, and public life.
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