Lake Toba is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera of the Toba supervolcano.The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the island of Sumatra, with a surface elevation of about 900 metres (2,953 ft), the lake stretches from 2.88°N 98.52°E to 2.35°N 99.1°E. The lake is about 100 kilometres long, 30 kilometres (19 mi) wide, and up to 505 metres (1,657 ft) deep. It is the largest lake in Indonesia and the largest volcanic lake in the world. Toba Caldera is one of twenty geoparks in Indonesia, and was recognised in July 2020 as one of the UNESCO Global Geoparks.
North Sumatra, also called North Sumatra Province, is a province of Indonesia located in the northern part of the island of Sumatra, just south of Aceh. Its capital and largest city is Medan on the east coast of the island. It is bordered by Aceh on the northwest and Riau and West Sumatra on the southeast, by coastlines located on the Indian Ocean to the west, and by the Strait of Malacca to the east.
Batak is a collective term used to identify a number of closely related Austronesian ethnic groups predominantly found in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing, related ethnic groups with distinct languages and traditional customs (adat).
Nias is an island located off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago of which the island is the centre, but also includes the Batu Islands to the southeast and the small Hinako Islands to the west. Nias Island covers an area of 5,573.27 km2 (2,151.85 sq mi). It is mostly a lowland area rising to around 800 m (2,600 ft) above sea level. There were 756,338 inhabitants on the island at the 2010 Census; at the 2015 Intermediate Census this had risen to 798,506 and the 2020 Census resulted in a total of 880,550. The official estimate as of mid-2023 was 930,294.
The Uluan Peninsula extends into Lake Toba on the northeastern side toward Medan, in Simalungun Regency and Toba Samosir Regency of North Sumatra province. It has experienced a large amount of uplift because of a series of massive volcanic eruptions that began 1.2 million years ago. The most recent eruption, which occurred 70,000 years ago was among the largest known eruptions ever. Uluan is located on the Porsea caldera, a part of the volcano that erupted approximately 800,000 years ago. Parapat, the primary transit point for tourists going across the lake to Samosir Island, is located on Uluan.
Toba Batak is an Austronesian language spoken in North Sumatra province in Indonesia. It is part of a group of languages called Batak. There are approximately 1,610,000 Toba Batak speakers, living to the east, west and south of Lake Toba. Historically it was written using the Batak script, but the Latin script is now used for most writing.
Boho is a Batak village on the island of Samosir on Lake Toba, in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra.
Samosir Regency is an inland regency in North Sumatra. It was created on 18 December 2003 by splitting away the western districts of the former Toba Samosir Regency. The regency covers a land area of 1,444.25 square kilometres, including the whole of Samosir Island in the inland sea of Lake Toba. It had a population of 119,653 at the 2010 census and 136,441 at the 2020 Census; the official estimate for mid 2023 was 141,333 - comprising 70,648 males and 70,685 females. Its administrative seat is the town of Pangururan on the west coast of Samosir Island.
Simalungun Regency is a regency in North Sumatra Province of Indonesia. Its seat was formerly at Pematangsiantar, but this city was under Law No.15 of 10 March 1986 was separated from the Regency and made into an independent city (kota), although it remains geographically surrounded by the regency, whose new administrative seat is at Raya, while the regency's two most populous districts are Bandar and Siantar. The regency now covers an area of 4,372.5 square kilometres, and at the 2010 census it had a population of 817,720; at the 2020 Census this had risen to 990,246, of whom 497,314 were males and 492,932 were females; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,035,920 - comprising 521,262 males and 514,658 females.
Parapat is a small town and port in North Sumatra province on the edge of Lake Toba, on the Uluan Peninsula where it forms the closest point to Samosir Island. It is the primary transit point by ferry for visitors going across the lake to Samosir Island. Administratively it is part of Simalungun Regency.
Patuan Bosar SinambelaginoarOmpu Pulo Batu, better known as Si Singamangaraja XII, was the last priest-king of the Batak peoples of north Sumatra. In the course of fighting a lengthy guerrilla war against the Dutch colonisation of Sumatra from 1878 onwards, he was killed in a skirmish with Dutch troops in 1907. He was declared a National Hero of Indonesia in 1961 for his resistance to Dutch colonialism.
Toba Batak people are the largest ethnic group of the Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
Sigalegale is a wooden puppet used in a funeral dance performance of the Batak people in Samosir Island, Northern Sumatra. Sigale Gale is a well-known feature for visiting tourists. During the dance, the puppet is operated from behind, like a marionette, using strings that run through the ornate wooden platform on which it stands. The setup enables its arms and body to be moved and its head to turn.
Batak architecture refers to the related architectural traditions and designs of the various Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Six groups of Batak speak separate but related languages: the Angkola, the Mandailing to the south, the Toba, to the north the Pakpak/Dairi, the Simalungun, and the Karo. While the groups are now Muslim or Christian, elements of the ancient Batak religion remain, particularly amongst the Karo.
Sisingamangaraja XII Airport is a domestic airport located in Silangit, North Tapanuli, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The airport was known as Silangit Airport before being named after Batak warrior and king Sisingamangaraja XII (1849–1907) in 2018.
Batak cuisine is the cuisine and cooking traditions of Batak ethnic groups, predominantly found in Northern Sumatra region, Indonesia. Batak cuisine is part of Indonesian cuisine, and compared to other Sumatran cuisine traditions, it is more indigenously preserved. One characteristic of Batak cuisine is its preference to andaliman as the main spice. That is why andaliman in Indonesia sometimes dubbed as "Batak pepper".
A sopo is a treasury structure in the architecture of the Toba Batak people from North Sumatra, Indonesia. Its form is similar to that of a Batak traditional house with the exception of being smaller in size and a construction ritual that is the opposite of a Batak house. Sopo is used as a repository for various items, e.g. rice, magical items, or trophies. Sopo can also be used as a meeting point for social activities.
MV Sinar Bangun sank on 18 June 2018 in Lake Toba, North Sumatra, Indonesia, during its trip from Simanindo Harbour in Samosir Island to Tiga Ras Harbour in Simalungun Regency. The ferry was carrying 188 passengers and crew. After the sinking, authorities immediately deployed search and rescue personnel to the area. Twenty-one survivors were rescued, three bodies were found and 164 people were listed as missing and presumed dead.
A solu is a traditional boat of the Toba Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The solu is a dugout canoe, with boards added on the side bound with iron tacks. They are of various size, the largest, for 50 rowers, are about 18 meters in length; there is a slight keel carved fore and aft. They are propelled by sitting rowers, who sit in pairs on cross seats. The paddles used have an oval blade and cross handle. The boat can be distinguished by its ornaments: The stern ornament is called giarogia di pudi, which consists of three sticks with tufts of horsehair and a row of shorter sticks called rame rame with a bigger one in the middle distinctly phalloid, strung across; no tradition appears to explain this singular ornament. The ornament on the prow is a carved and painted figure symbolising a buffalo head, with another rame rame strung in front with its singular central phallus. A sort of bowsprit with tufts of horsehair at the sides and one of human hair at the end, over it rises an upright carved post, called the torgiok.
Tapanoeli Residency was an administrative subdivision of the Dutch East Indies with its capital in Sibolga. It was located in northern Sumatra and existed in various forms from 1844 until the end of Dutch rule in 1942. The area it encompassed at various times corresponds to most of the western coast of the current day Indonesian province of North Sumatra and parts of Aceh, including much of the traditional heartland of Batak people. Lake Toba, a historically important crater lake, was also within the borders of the Residency.
