<![CDATA[While the Batak Toba language possesses a rich body-part lexicon, the underlying semantic logic organizing these terms has not been formally analyzed in a unified model. This study addresses this gap by examining how spatial orientation, partonomic hierarchy, and functional motivation structure body-part categorization in Batak Toba within the Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) framework. Grounded in a qualitative descriptive design, primary data were gathered through the first author's introspective elicitation based on native-speaker competence and validated via acceptability judgments with other native speakers to ensure trustworthiness. The analytical procedure involved spatial mapping using universal semantic primes (ABOVE, MIDDLE, BELOW), partonomic hierarchy analysis, and the formulation of non-circular, reductive semantic explications tested for substitutability (salva veritate). The findings reveal that Batak Toba body-part terminology is systematically organized into three macro-categories—upper body (e.g., simajunjung 'head'), middle body (e.g., sipangido 'hands'), and lower body (e.g., simanjojak 'legs')—governed by spatial primitives and supported by functional motivations such as cognition, object manipulation, and locomotion. Furthermore, the system operationalizes core cross-semantic principles, particularly topography, partonomy, functional alignment, and symmetry. By generating explicit semantic scripts that bridge non-linguistic visual perception with formal linguistic conceptualization, this study offers a replicable model for semantic typology and provides foundational data for Austronesian language documentation and culturally grounded lexicography.]]>
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