The Origin of Lake Toba - Folklore

Once upon a time, in a village in North Sumatra, there was a farmer who lived alone in fertile valley. He farmed for his purposes. Sometimes, he went fishing to the river, which was not far from his home. Every time he is fishing, the fish gets easyly, because in the clear river that is a lot of fish. And then, he would cook the fish to eat.

One afternoon, after farming in the fields, he went to the river for fishing. But, after a while, he did not get any fish. This incident never experienced before, because usually, the fish in the river that can easily be lured. Then he gets upset and decided to go home. But, when he would pull rod, the rod suddenly struck and pulled by the fish to the middle of the river. His heart was turned into joy, because he knew that the fish grabbed the pole is a big fish.

For while, he let his line drawn by the fish and then he jerked it immediately and he got a big fish. The fish quickly pulled to the ground and then he remove the hook from the fish's mouth. He kept the fish in the bag and went home with a cheerful heart.

He had imagined pleasures of grilled fish for dinner.

When I got home, he immediately took the fish to the kitchen. When he would bake the fish, it turns out he's running out of firewood. Then he came out to fetch firewood from storage.

But on arriving at the kitchen, he was surprised at all because the big fish was gone, and in place of fish that had been placed, there are a few pieces of gold. He was shocked and surprised because it was a strange incident and immediately left the kitchen and went into the room.

But in the room, he was more surprised. In his room, there was a woman facing the mirror and combing her hair, which is long and curly. And then she turned and looked at the farmer who was confused. And then the man became very fascinated, because she is extraordinary beautiful woman.

Because it was night, she asked that the lights turned on. And then, she accompanied him to the kitchen to cook dinner. During cooking, the woman told him that she was an incarnation of the big fish and a few gold pieces was the incarnation of its scales.

After some time, she was willing to accept the proposal of farmers, on the condition that he should swear that all his life he would never questioned his wife, who is an incarnation of the fish. After him swear so, they were married.

Then, they were blessed with a son. The boy was very spoiled by his mother, so he became a slacker son.

Every day, the boy was told by his mother to deliver lunch for his father who worked in the fields. However, often he does not want to help her so that his mother had to deliver the lunch to the fields herself.

One day, his mother told him to deliver lunch to the fields for his father. Like always, he refused, but, because of constantly being forced by her mother, then with anger, he went to deliver it. On the way, he ate some of the lunch, rice and dishes.

When he arrived in the fields, he gave leftover lunch to his father. His father who is very hungry then became very upset when he saw the leftover lunch. And the more furious when  no guilt, his son said that he was eating it. The father was so lost patience and hit his son, saying: "Damn. Ungrateful. You're truly a child of a woman who comes from a fish! "

The child was crying and ran to his mother at home. He was told that he was beaten by his father. All the words of his father, he told well. Hearing that, the mother was so sad, especially since her husband has violated his oath. The mother told him to immediately go up the hill and climb the tallest tree on the hill. Without more asking, he did her mother's orders immediately. He ran towards the hill and climb the tree.

Then the mother was running towards the river which is not so far away from their homes. And when she arrived at the banks of the river, lightning and thunder boomed. A moment later she jumped into the river and turned back into a big fish. And suddenly very heavy rain dropped and the river was a great flood, submerge the entire area of ​​the fertile valley.

The father could not save his life and was drowned. And then, that's what is known as Lake Toba. And the hill to which the child escaped known as Samosir Island.

Lake Toba - The Most Beautiful Volcano Lake

Lake Toba is a volcanic lake with a length of 100 kilometers, 30 kilometers wide and reaches a depth of 505 m. The lake is located in the center in the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia, with the altitude of 1000 meters above sea level. With an area of ​​1707 km ², this lake is the largest lake in Indonesia and Southeast Asia and the largest volcanic lake in the world. In the middle of this lake there is a volcanic island called Samosir Island.

Lake Toba is formed by a large eruption around 73000-75000 years ago. This eruption was the largest explosive eruption of the earth within 25 million years.

This incident caused mass death and the extinction of some species also followed. The eruption also caused the ice age, although experts still debate it.

After the eruption, the caldera formed which is then filled with water and became what is now known as Lake Toba. Pressure upward by magma that has not come out cause the emergence of Samosir Island.

Lake Toba is an amazing natural wonders on the island of Sumatra. Hard to imagine to find another beautiful place to visit in North Sumatra. Cool refreshing atmosphere, expanse of clear water turning blue, green mountains and stunning scenery is a small fraction of the images offered by this giant lake.

The area around Lake Toba has landscapes of lush pine forests and there are also some very stunning waterfalls. Around Lake Toba, you will also find sulfur hot spring.

For people of Batak, Toba Lake is believed as the residence of Namborru (seven ancestral goddess of Batak Tribe). So, if they want to perform the events around the lake then they have to pray and ask for permission first from Namborru.

And about how Lake Toba performed, Batak tribal folklore tells that Lake Toba originated from the river turned into a lake. Want to know the story, please go here, The Origin of Lake Toba.

In the middle of the lake there is Samosir Island with an area of ​​approximately 640 km ², which is nearly proportional to the area of Singapore.

Samosir Island, a volcanic island in the middle of Lake Toba, is largest island within an island, and the fifth largest lake island in the world.

This island has become a tourist destination for a long time, but the preservation of its natural is still good because customs are still holded firmly.

There are two beautiful lakes in Samosir,  named Lake Sidihoni and Lake Aek Natonang.

On this island, you also can find misty mountains, crystal clear waterfalls to swim, and farming communities. Batak hospitality will lure you wherever you go because you can immediately find a new friend here.

Tourist center on the island of Samosir is in Tuk Tuk, a village where the ferry from Parapat anchored. In addition by the ferry boat, Samosir Island can also be reached by road via Pangururan, a place where Samosir Island and Sumatra Island is connected. 

Parapat is not a separate thing from Lake Toba. Located on a peninsula that protrudes into the lake, Parapat offers spectacular scenery of Lake Toba. Parapat inhabited by tribe of Batak Toba and Batak Simalungan, which are known as cheerful and sociable nature people.

For tourism, there is Lake Toba Festival which is performed annualy.

The festival raised local culture which is packaged professionally. One of the attraction is Carnival Sigale-gale. This event is very unique and colorful and will attract the attention of tourists, local and foreign.

Carnival Sigale gale will take the route as far as 4.5 kilometers. Starting from the football field in Ambarita to the open stage at Tuktuk in Samosir Island.

In this carnival, tourists are treated to a performance art Batak tribe, also equipped with Gorga (sculpture), Gondang (art music), Mask Batak, Tandok (woven art), and of course, Ulos (the art of weaving), which became an icon of the Batak fashion. Batak Culture Carnival is displayed with professionals and displays Batak culture as part of the national culture of Indonesia.

Another interesting event in Lake Toba Festival is Lake Toba's World Drum Festival. Based on data, there are only a few regions in the world which makes gondang (drum) as the melody in a traditional music performances. In Indonesia, there are also a few tribes, one of them is the tribe of Batak.

Besides cultural arts performances, also featured a variety of sporting competitions. Not just the local competition, but even that would be an international competition.

The goal is to promote Lake Toba, in addition to the tourist destinations of the world, as well as one of the water sports arena in Indonesian. Some sport contested such as, swimming, marathon, Solu Bolon, a traditional rowing race boat used in Lake Toba, and paragliding in accuracy landing category. Believe it or not, the area around Lake Toba, referred to as one of the best paragliding spots in the world.