My birthplace is 'students city' [I]

GUNUNG TUA - MUARA SORO 
KOTA NOPAN

In South Tapanuli, there are some settlement called 'Gunung Tua' as in North Padang Lawas, Mandailing Godang, and Mandailing Julu. Mandailing people settlement in Mandailing Julu named Gunung Tua - Muara Soro, is a 'Huta' which has a 'Bagas Godang' (king's palace). Ooccupants nobility 'Bagas Godang' it is 'Huta' leader surnamed (clan) Lubis. My grandfather named Lobe Karim have clan Nasution.  

He has a modest house on a hillside walled 'gogat' ('bamboo split'), thatched roofed, with a pit as a place to store wood fuel, and it's not far from 'Aek Coro' river flowing on the edge of settlements that. Because of the small river upstream (Aek Coro) is situated on the slopes of Gunung Tua and empties into the settlement, then the settlement where they were called the Gunung Tua - Muara Soro, and at my grandpather house that I was born by request of my grandparents because my parents first so they will bear children.

My grandfather always I greeted with a delicious name I listened namely 'Ompung Coro'. In the place of my birth, my grandfather had a social strata as 'Anak Boru ni Raja' or often also called 'Bayo-bayo na Godang'. In accordance with the social strata on 'Huta' it, so if for example the King was about to carry out a traditional wedding ceremony of his son (called 'Anak ni Raja'), then my grandfather the 'pual-pail' ('to and fro') contacted all the relatives (called 'Koum-Sisolkot') and work hard to make traditional wedding ceremony 'Anak ni Raja' it can be done as well as possible. All that because he was a 'Anak Boru' incumbent for 'Sangap Marmora' and 'Manjuljulkon Morana' (honor and the dignity of the 'mora'), otherwise the 'Mora' obligation or 'Anak Boru' entitled to treatment 'Elek Maranak Boru' of the 'Mora', according to tribal Mandailing which must be applied in their socio-cultural life.

After I was born at home 'Ompung Coro', then few days, both my parents took me back home to our house in the 'Pasar Kotanopan', exactly behind the house of a bloody watchmaker China (called 'Si Gomuk', according to the fat body) and in addition to office P.O. ABS (Aek Batanggadis Sejati) bus. Little fellow I used to play with the children of China's watchmaker bleed (friends my age) named 'Si Kibun' and son of the owners 'restaurant' (office) P.O. ABS was named 'Si Adi', while as a child I was called by the name of the title 'Si Edi'. Not infrequently, when it rains, even though it was raining quite heavily, we play rain while skating on the surface of the cement floor in an old building heritage of Dutch colonial power that is 'Pasanggerahan' is located not so far from our home, or we go to the river bathing to 'Batang Gadis' river for  'mendehe' or 'mandurung' ('catch fish') in it, even went far enough to 'Tor Siojo' to look for fresh fruits to be eaten like 'apundung', 'lancat', 'rambutan', 'marapolom', 'tarutung', and so on. Especially my friend, 'Si Kibun', though bloody China, but he did not seem to feel embarrassed and reluctant to help us work and are actively involved in the implementation of a traditional wedding ceremony, for example, even he is more diligent than our work bloody Mandailing children.

That is part of childhood memories in 'Pasar Kotanopan-Mandailing Julu', which still remains sticky (fresh) in my memory.

~o~