Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest producer of gold, and many of its tribes incorporate the precious metal into their ceremonial attires, including the Batak Mandailing people of North Sumatra.
Bulang, the gold head ornament of a Batak Mandailing bride, takes shape as lustrous multi-tiered horns, symbolizing the crucial role she plays in maintaining family harmony, and of the majesty of the social structure.
The higher a bride’s social status is, the higher the number of tiers that adorn her head. The number also represents how many animals are to be sacrificed during the traditional wedding ceremony as a sign of respect for the ancestors, whereas the type of bulang itself determines what animal.
A buffalo is considered to be of the highest value, and as such, the bulang horbo, or buffalo bridal head ornament, is customarily reserved for Batak Mandailing brides of royal lineage, and may feature three, five or seven tiers, while the single-tiered bulang hambeng is worn exclusively during wedding ceremonies that offer a goat as the sacrificial animal.
