SACRED BOUNDARIES: GEN Z UNDERSTANDING THE PROBIHITION OF SAME CLAN MARRIAGE IN BATAK CULTURE THROUGH CLAUDE LÉVI STRAUS PERSPEKTIVE

Abstrak

This study examined the prohibition of same-clan marriage in Batak Toba culture as a sacred social boundary regulating kinship and social organization, with a specific focus on how Generation Z understands and relates to this prohibition. In Batak society, individuals sharing the same clan name are considered blood relatives and are therefore strictly forbidden from marrying. Previous studies have focused mainly on legal, sociocultural, and religious aspects, paying limited attention to its deeper structural logic and rarely applying Claude Lévi-Strauss's structuralist theory to understand it as a mechanism for alliance formation and social organization. This study therefore addressed two central questions: (1) to what extent do Generation Z members of Batak Toba society understand the structural logic behind the prohibition as a mechanism of alliance formation and social organization? and (2) how does this understanding shape their relationship with the sacred boundaries that have long governed Batak kinship? A qualitative research design with a descriptive-analytical approach was employed. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with ten Gen Z respondents of Batak Toba descent, supported by literature review and analysis of anthropological texts. The findings revealed that while the majority of respondents remained aware of and personally committed to the prohibition, their adherence was rooted primarily in family-based moral transmission rather than a deep structural understanding of its role in inter-clan exchange. Two distinct challenges were identified: first, a growing awareness gap among respondents raised outside traditional Batak environments, reflecting clan erosion driven by urbanization and geographic displacement, and second, a notable shift toward individualistic interpretations, wherein the prohibition is increasingly treated as a personal moral preference rather than a collectively enforced social obligation. Interpreted through Lévi-Strauss's alliance theory, these findings suggest that the sacred boundary between clans remains symbolically recognized but is structurally weakening amid modernization and shifting generational values.