Ro Bonjol…Ro Bonjol Bonjol is coming…Bonjol is coming.

BASYRAL Hamidy Harahap, a history researcher, still remembers stories handed down from generation to generation in Simanabun, Padang Lawas, on atrocities committed by Tuanku Tambusai and his men when they attacked the village. The villagers would beat kentungan (bamboo drums) and repeatedly shout “Bonjol is coming” as they ran up the hill for safety.

Basyral is a descendant of Raja