Pematangsiantar (sometimes written as Pematang Siantar, acronym PT. Siantar or P. Siantar, colloquially just Siantar but the official name has no space) is an independent city in North Sumatra, Indonesia, surrounded by, but not part of, the Simalungun Regency. Pematangsiantar formerly had the status of a second level district (daerah tingkat dua) and has been elevated to Kota - its population was 219,319 in 1990 Census, 242,756 in 2000 Census, and 229,525 in the 2005 Intercensal count. making it the second largest city in the province after the provincial capital Medan.
The city is divided administratively into eight districts (kecamatan), tabulated below with their 2010 Census population:
Before 1907, Pematangsiantar was a Kingdom led by the 'Damanik. Damanik is one of the clans of the Simalungun ethnic group of the Batak people. The last king of the dynasty was Tuan Sangnawaluh Damanik. In 1907, the Dutch took control, turning Pematangsiantar into their colony. The city remained under Dutch control until 1942 when the Japanese invaded and ruled over Indonesia.
"i am birth - i am death
i'm an elusive symbol
for eternal come and go
for come and go
i have come - i have gone
i have shown you moira
and her restless re-creation
your own re-creation"
"never, no never the day will go down on me
within knowing him by my side
sothis, o sothis, don't pass me again
before i know how to heal