Fahombo Batu (stone jumping) of Nias: A symbol of leadership, physical fitness, and cultural identity

Rahma Hayati Harahap (), Azizah Nur () and Zeni Eka Putri ()
Additional contact information
Rahma Hayati Harahap: Universitas Sumatera Utara
Azizah Nur: Universitas Sumatera Utara
Zeni Eka Putri: Universitas Andalas

Priviet Social Sciences Journal, 2026, vol. 6, issue 8, 398-409

Abstract: Fahombo Batu, or Nias Stone Jumping, is a traditional practice that symbolizes bravery, maturity, and honor among the Nias people of Indonesia. While commonly understood as a rite of passage, its broader role in shaping leadership values, physical discipline, and cultural identity remains underexplored in contemporary scholarship. This study addresses this gap by examining Fahombo Batu as an embodied cultural institution that connects physical performance with social recognition and symbolic authority. Using a cultural anthropology approach through qualitative literature review, this research analyzes ethnographic and historical sources to trace the continuity and transformation of the practice. The findings indicate that Fahombo Batu functions not only as a marker of adulthood but also as a medium for transmitting leadership ideals, reinforcing social cohesion, and sustaining collective identity. In the context of modernization, Fahombo Batu has been recontextualized as a cultural tourism attraction. Rather than eroding its meaning, this shift demonstrates the adaptive capacity of local traditions to negotiate between symbolic heritage and economic demands. This study contributes to cultural sociology by offering a perspective on how embodied traditions reproduce social values while remaining resilient amid social change.

Keywords: fahombo batu; nias culture; tradition; cultural identity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journal.privietlab.org/download.php?id=13078 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:prv:pssjpv:1781

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://journal.priv ... SJ/article/view/1781

DOI: 10.55942/pssj.v6i8.1781

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Priviet Social Sciences Journal from Privietlab Research Center
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mochammad Fahlevi ().