Gorga Batak

Toba Batak Gorga is the art of carving or chiseling which is usually found on the exterior of the Toba Batak traditional house and art tools (drums, serunai, lute), and so on.

Gorga can be called a pattern or motif that is not only carved but also painted. Generally Batak Gorga only uses three colors of paint. Such as, red, black, and white. Gorga has decorations that are made by carving wood. But now it is partially related to cement in permanent Batak houses and then it is painted in three different colors.

These three kinds of colors are called triple bolit. The materials for this Gorga are usually soft wood. Which is easy to cut / chisel. Usually, the Batak grandmothers choose ungil wood or some people call it ingul wood. This Ungil wood has certain properties. Including being resistant to direct sunlight, as well as exposure to rain water. Which means it is not easily damaged / decayed due to sunburn and rainwater exposure. Ungil wood is also commonly used for the manufacture of materials for boats on Lake Toba.

Gorga Batak Meaning

Gorga Lions: By hearing or reading the words of the lion it will cross our hearts and minds the words: King of the Forest, strong, good, strong, capable, dignified. Not everyone can build a Gorga house due to various factors including socio-economic factors and others. The person who is able to build a Batak Gorga house is clearly a capable and dignified person in his village. That is why the Singa Gorga is included in the Batak Gorga collection

Gorga Batak Colours

In ancient times, naturally, the ancestors of the Toba Batak people created their own paint, namely:

Firstly, The Red paint is taken from hula stone, a type of natural red stone that cannot be found in all regions. The way to find it also has special skills. This stone is ground into a fine like flour and mixed with a little water, then smeared onto the carving.
Further, White paint is taken from white soil, the soft and soft soil in the Batak language is called Tano Buro. This tano buro is ground until smooth and mixed with a little water, so it looks like modern wall paint.
Moreover, Black paint is made from a type of plant that is ground until smooth and mixed with ashes of a pot or cauldron. The ashes are scraped from a pot and put into the pounded leaves. Then roasted continuously until they produce like black wall paint today. Source : Wikipedia

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