The western Karo Bataks lost creation myth

About this book

"The Batak people of northern Sumatra are divided into five groups. The northern group, the Karo, is less numerous and prosperous thant that of the centre, the Toba. Unlike the Toba Batak, their more populous and powerful neighbours, the Karo Batak today claim they have no creation myth. Yet certain clues point to shared cosmogony among several Batak groups, now reinforced by Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller's discovery of a very old traditional house among the western Karo. The symbolic decoration of the house eliminates all doubt: the Karo once viewed the cosmos as divided into three worlds -Upper-, Middle and Underworld. The giant dragon who lived in the Underworld carried the Middle World (where humans reside) on its back, while the Upperworld was the abode of a supreme deity accompanied by his sons, various spirits and the souls of human ancestors who had been rich and powerful during their lifetimes."