Lake Toba: The Batak

This post is part of a series called Peace, Love & Nasi Goreng

Diego and I finished up our time in Northern Sumatra at Lake Toba, the largest lake in Asia, learning about the Batak people. This is the first place where I wish we could have spent more time. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t practical to change our ongoing travel arrangements. Lake Toba is culture rich and peaceful and not at all the tourist trap I expected. We made the most of our time exploring Samosir Island in the center of the lake, but we left hiking to the viewpoint and kayaking the lake completely unexplored. Boo.

Peace is Possible

Sumatra sealed the deal for me on my most significant take-away from Indonesia — peace among religions is possible. All over Indonesia, people live together peacefully while holding radically different religious views. Java is mostly Muslim, but also has a healthy population of Buddhists and Hindus. Bali is mostly Hindu, but also has a lot of Muslims. Sumatra is a mixture of Muslims and Christians — churches and mosques built right beside one another with nothing more than a thin strip of grass to separate them. It is possible. So what do they know that we don’t know?

Learning about other cultures is my favorite part of travel, but not just for the sake of learning something new. It’s because it’s often extremely humbling and provides the right posture from which to reflect on my own culture. One of our hosts told us that he attributes this peace to a respect and need for one another and to staying out of each other’s private space. In Indonesia, there is a small hut of sorts for every 3-4 houses in a neighborhood. Neighbors rarely go into each other’s homes. Instead, if they are free, they go sit in the hut and if their neighbors wish to join them for tea or conversation then they do. He had me at respecting one another.

The Batak

The people in this region are called Batak, which I initially mistook for the name of a tribe. Actually, Batak references an ethnicity and there are many tribes within the ethnicity. Still, these tribes living on and around Samosir are generally referred to collectively as the Batak Toba people. There are a few immediately obvious differences in the culture at the lake – namely, the traditional style of Batak homes, the numerous large and elaborate mausoleums, and the Christian churches that spot the landscape.

Batak Toba Jabu

Jabu simply means house in the Batak language. A soaring saddle shaped roofline dominates the architectural style, but the intricately carved and painted façades of each house is what I most enjoyed. These communal homes are built on stilts to prevent dampness and flooding inside, and the space beneath the house is used for animals and storage. The interior consists of dimly lit small rooms with a wooden ceiling and attic. Traditionally, the hobbit-sized front door was accessed by ladder, but stairs seemed more common among the houses we saw.

Batak Tugu

Tugus are the Batak name for the large and elaborate mausoleums I mentioned. They are part of the family’s home, often positioned in a side yard or an adjacent rice field and sometimes considerably nicer than the house itself. You cannot miss them; I had to know more. So I’m not certain I fully understood the explanation I was given, but here goes…

The Batak Toba believe that death is the beginning of a phase of life during which one is perfected. Part of that process requires a proper final resting place for their bones. That place is best if it is with the rest of their marga – or family of those who share their last name. Apparently there is a sacred ritual involved in actually exhuming the current grave and moving them to be with their marga.

Other Traditions

We were also fortunate to meet a local weaver making an ulos, the traditional attire for Batak women. She learned the dying art from her mother when she was just 15-years-old. Her textiles are masterful. The other photo below is of one of the many rice fields throughout Samosir. The rice farmers share responsibility for working each other’s fields together. Each day they choose a new field to focus on. Surprising no one, I LOVE this concept.

Ulos, traditional Batak attire – it’s so intricate and special. One of these takes her a month to weave.

Scooter Mishap

Our scooter served us well until we put three holes in the back tire. At that moment we were very fortunate that there was a tire repair place a half a block away. If I had been alone, the nearest repair shop would have been on another island. But, Diego. It was actually kind of cool to watch them fix it and I had a handsome little flirt to keep me company.

My favorite little onlooker….he kept staring at me while we were getting our tire changed so I took his picture and showed it to him. He laughed and laughed…belly laughs are the best laughs.