In this post I want to share photos of life in a Karo Tribe village in 1930, photographed by W. Robert Moore. The Karo are one of the largest tribes that inhabit the North Sumatra and Aceh regions of Indonesia.

Usually people assume Karo is part of Batak, the largest tribe in North Sumatra. However, the Karo people reject this assumption and think that they are an independent tribe. However, there are some similarities between Karo and Batak in various ways.

Lack of literacy culture makes it difficult for us to know the history of Karo. However, it is commonly known that Karo once had his own kingdom, namely the Kingdom of Haru. It is said that this kingdom stood at the same time as other major kingdoms in the archipelago.

The Karo people are fond of wearing dark clothes and gold jewelery. Their houses look like the typical houses of North Sumatra and West Sumatra.

Life in the photos above looks so calm and beautiful. Without any sign of modern life. In one photo also seen Karo women pounding rice, proves that the Karo people have long been eat rice. It is the same as the staple food of Indonesians today in general.

Photographs: W. Robert Moore/CORBIS