A MIXED CHRISTIANITY AND TRADITION ON THE BATAKNESE GRAVESTONES IN GAJAHMADA PUBLIC CEMETERY 2 IN MEDAN, INDONESIA

Death is a natural process and therefore must come to all living things. When human beings die, for example, they would be buried in the burial complex having various shapes, or ornaments, of tombs. The shapes of the cemetery and the use of ornaments in the tombs indicate the ideology or views of the ethnic community about death. The ideology from nation is sometimes influenced by the ideology of another nation; therefore, when a new ideology enters and is accepted by an ethnic group, there exists a process of changing the shape of their graves. Likewise, when Christianity is accepted by traditional Batak community, changes can be seen in the cemetery of the Batak people. This paper discusses the various changes of forms of traditional cemetery in the Batak tribe, especially in connection with changes in time and changes in the way the Batak people live and die. This paper is based on the results of qualitative descriptive research in cultural studies attempting to show models and changes to the burial model of Bataknese graves. This research describes the traditional part that is influenced by Christianity in the Bataknese graves in Gajahmada 2 cemetery in Medan.