In the 20th century, the transformation of Shower Heads identity into Malay in East Sumatra occurred in a pattern similar to that in other regions.This transformation of identity was closely related to the river as a means of transportation at that time.Through rivers, the rural communities carried commodities to be traded at the downstream, where Malay population dominantly lived there.
This pattern then formed the upstream communities such as Karo, Toba, Simalungun and Mandailing to settle downstream and become Malays.However, in the mid-20th, the Malay identity began to be abandoned due to a Transportation Art bloody event.This incident made the residents who grew as Malays use their clan again.