Sitepu,
Ied Veda

Sitor Situmorang, Indonesia’s renowned poet and writer of the 1945 Era, was originated from the North Sumatra’s Batak Toba, a sub ethnic of Batak ethnic group, that mostly occupies the Lake Toba areas, in the north Sumatera Province. Situmorang’s Toba heritage influenced his work, both in poems and in prose. Urat Bona Pasogit (the Root of the Homeland), Di Hutan Lintong (In Lintong Forest), Danau Toba (Lake Toba), Jalan Batu ke Danau (The Stone Pathway to the Lake) are examples of his poems that vividly portray the homeland he was very proud of and will be used to discuss the theme. His poems are pictures of home, culture and heritage. The paper will therefore discuss how the poems are used not only to express his admiration to his homeland, but also his way of connecting to his root. This paper will also discuss about the uniqueness of the Batak people and their strong attachment to their land of origin, their culture and the kinship, which is particular to this area. The writer uses cultural criticism for a deeper understanding of the societal issues addressed in literary works.