TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:Gokar's senior politician Akbar Tanjung said that Malaysia's attempt to claiming the Tor Tor dance as its own would prove to be futile. "Everybody knows that Tor Tor is from Tapanuli," said Akbar at the Golkar offices, on Jalan Anggrek Neli, Slipi, Jakarta, Monday June 18, 2012. According to the former House Speaker, the Tor Tor dance originates from and is developed from within the Tapanuli community of North Sumatra. "Nobody else can lay claim to it as the dance originates from Tapanuli." Akbar suspected that the issue of Malaysia's plan to claim Tor Tor and Gondang Sambilan musical instruments could be a gross misunderstanding. Maybe the Tapanuli people in Malaysia continued to retain their culture." Chairman of Sidempuan Traditional Institute, Saleh Salam Harahap, stated that the two kinds of art form is a culture which has long been in existence and widely known to Batak and Mandailing ethnic groups. "This culture has been in existence over the last 500 years in Mandailing," said Saleh yesterday. He explained that the Gondang Sambilan musical instruments and the Tor Tor dance were usually played simultaneously. In Mandailing, Gondang Sambilan and Tor Tor were presented on the occasion of celebrations, wedding parties, and receiving a distinguished guest. During the colonial days, this art form was the amusement of the kings and was also a form of resistance against the Dutch soldiers. A different terminology was used by the Mandailing ethnic group to refer to the gondang musical instruments. The Mandailing in Angkola, Sidempuan, South Tapanuli, call it Gondang Dua which was previously called Gondang Tujuh in the three localities. Only those in Mandailing Natal continue to call it gondang 9. The change in its name was banned during the colonial period. Saleh believed that Malaysia's attempt to claim this cultural form would be blocked by the Mandailing community across Malaysia. He said there are two traditional Mandailing institutions in Malaysia. "It's impossible that the Mandailing traditional stakeholders in the State of Perak, Malaysia, and in Kuala Lumpur sold the culture of their ethnic groups," said Saleh. IRA GUSLINA SUFA