ABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate the ritual process in terms of meanings and values of the Erpangir Ku Lau ritual ceremony and the presentation in the context of the Batak Karo ethnic music of Gendang Lima Sendalanen. This was a qualitative descriptive study using an ethnographic method. The research setting was Semangat Gunung village, Karo Regency, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. The informants were Batak Karo artists and lecturers of traditional Batak Karo music at the State University of Medan. The results of the study show that Erpangir Ku Lau contains meanings and values of social, cultural, and multicultural education, reflected in the lyrics of oral literature from the spells of the ritual ceremony chanted in ritual songs such as ‘Simalungun rayat’, ‘odak-odak’, and ‘Patam-patam’.
