Debata Kase-Kase as The Foundation for The Existence of The Pakpak Community
Yakobus Ndona(a*), Sampitmo Habehaan(b)

a) Faculty of Social Sciences, Pancasila and Citizenship Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Medan
yakobusndona[at]unimed.ac.id
b) Faculty of Social Sciences, Pancasila and Citizenship Education Study Program, Universitas Negeri Medan

Abstract

This article talks about Debata Kase-kase, the result of field research on the highest divinity on which the existence of the Pakpak community is based. The Pakpak people, like most of the world^s people, place divinity at the foundation of their existence. This truth is reflected in various rituals and symbols in the Pakpak culture, which document the experience of the revelatory Pakpak ancestors in reality. The research uses a qualitative approach. Data was collected through interviews with traditional leaders as well as in-depth observations of traditional rituals and symbolic objects in the Pakpak community. The collected data was analysed using the circle pattern of Paul Rocoer^s philosophical hermeneutics. The results of data analysis show that the Pakpak people believe that the entire cosmos is surrounded by divine power. These forces are centred on a single power, Debata Kase-kase, as the supreme divinity and therefore the foundation of existence. Pakpak^s traditional beliefs can be classified as natural monism.

Keywords: Debata Kase-Kase, Pakpak, Community

Topic: Social Science and Humanities