History in Lake Toba

As one of the deepest lakes in the world, the Southeast Asian Lake Toba, locally Danau Toba, has long attracted attention from travelers as a resort area, but the vast volcanic lake also has a history as deep as its waters.

The Formation of Lake Toba

Caldera-forming eruptions are estimated to have occurred as early as 850,000 years in the past, but the “The Toba Eruption” or “Toba Event” did not occur until about 70,000 years ago. The eruption, estimated as “mega-colossal” according to volcanic index, caused collapses which formed a huge caldera.

The appearance of the present day lake was created by the caldera filling with water, and an island, Samosir Island, forming in the center of the lake.

Small eruptions still occasionally occur at Toba, but its earthquakes are more often noted in modern times. Due to Lake Toba being situated near the fault line running through Sumatra, Toba experienced notable earthquakes in 1892, 1916, during the years of 1920 to 1922, and 1987.

In fact, despite the area having long attracted travelers such as Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, the history of the areas surrounding the lake reads as a timeline of natural disasters.

The Historical Location of Lake Toba and Samosir Island

Lake Toba and Samosir Island are located within the province of North Sumatra among the Indonesian Islands, a location within the India-China trade route, which nourished the flourishing of towns in the area.

During the 17th century, much of North Sumatra was colonized by the Dutch, and by the 1860s they began to clear the land for tobacco plantations. This led to Medan, which became the capital of the province in 1915, becoming a center of government and commerce, and today, tourists usually travel to Medan in order to continue their journeys to Lake Toba, which is about 4 to 6 hours away, depending on selected overland transport.

Samosir Island within the lake now acts as the cultural center of the Bataks, the traditional inhabitants of Sumatra.

The Batak People and the Heritage of Lake Toba

Most of the modern day history of the island is largely history of the Batak community. The first ruler of the Batak people, Si Raja Batak, who is supposed to have descended from above onto Mount Pusuk Buhit, is believed to be the single ancestor from whom all clans, or Margas, descend.

Stone seats and benches from 300 years ago are all that remains of the conference room of the rajas, one of the last of which is buried in an elaborate tomb on the island, and the ruins of the judgment place can also be seen.

Resulting from the influence of Dutch and German missionaries during the mid-19th century, most Bataks are now Christians, but the population has retained its own languages.