Reconstructing Collective Identity: The Case of Pakpak in Dairi Regency, North Sumatera, Indonesia
Budi Agustono (University of North Sumatera)
Pakpak is one of the ten ethnic group in North Sumatera province. It is a host population in their own region, Dairi regency. It has been long time Pakpak loss their identity due to the dominance of immigrant culture. They speak immigrant language, and leaving their own one. They also change their clans into immigrant ones. Otherwise, the immigrants mostly come from North Tapanuli regency and Toba Samosir regency also changed the name of villages and rivers previously used Pakpak language into their language. Religiously speaking, Pakpak and immigrants are Christians, but in the political and economic fields, Pakpak who claim Dairi regency as their customary land, have been excluded by immigrants. Most of the civil servants in government offices are occupied by the immigrants.
In the 1990s which was known as a democratization era, Pakpak, who have suffered from economic and political deprivation began to reformulate and reconstruct their identity as an ethnic group. They redefine and interpret their history and trace back their glory in the past as basis of searching for identity. The Pakpak’s elite encourage to speak their own language among themselves and establish mass and cultural organizations for solidifying their identity. These organizations have awakened the pride of ethnicity and strengthened their ethnic consciousness.
After the fall of Suharto’s New Order regime, and the implementation of regional autonomy (2001), Pakpak were aggresively demanding Dairi regency divided into two regencies. Pakpak’s elite were using and manipulating ethnic loyalties to demand the division of regency. The splitting uo of Dairi regency into two regencies has become a solution to resolve open ethnic clashes between Pakpak and immigrants in this region. The establishment of new regency was regarded by Pakpak was their victory over the immigrants. They become a host or master in this new regency.
