Tuesday 28 July 2020

The Legend of Lake Toba

Once upon a time, in North Sumatra a long time ago there lived a poor orphaned young man named Toba. He lived alone. The poor young man lives in a fertile valley. Everyday he supports himself by farming and fishing in the river which is located not far from his home. The results of farming and fishing he cooks for food as a side dish while the rest he sells in the market. During this time it was easy for him to get fish from the crystal clear river.
The Legend of Lake Toba


The Young Man Gets Beautiful Goldfish

One afternoon, after returning from the field, the poor young man went fishing in the river. After all this time fishing, he never gets fish. An incident like this has never been experienced. Finally he pulled his fishing line and then decided to go home. But strangely when the fishing line is pulled, a fish suddenly grabbed it. His heart was happy when he saw a beautiful goldfish hanging at the end of his fishing line. The goldfish scales are very beautiful golden yellow. He had never seen a fish in his life like that.

"What a beautiful goldfish I got. Unfortunately, only this goldfish was caught by me today. I will take it home to be cooked. " said Toba.

Soon the young man hurried home to cook the fish he caught.

Upon arrival at home, the young man put the goldfish in a container. He immediately prepared firewood for cooking. It turned out that the firewood owned by the young man had run out. He went out to get firewood behind his house. After taking a few pieces of firewood he returned to the kitchen to cook.

Goldfish Turns into Beautiful Women

How surprised the young man, when he got in the kitchen he found the goldfish had disappeared. But strangely near where the goldfish lay a few pieces of goldfish. Toba was amazed at the strangeness. He just stared at the gold coins on the table. Due to confusion, Toba then entered his room. How surprised the young man was when he saw a beautiful woman in his room.

"Who are you, beautiful woman? Where are you from? Why are you in my house?" Asked the young man in surprise.

"I was the goldfish you caught earlier, while the gold money on the table was the incarnation of my body scales." answered the beautiful woman. "My name is Princess. I once violated the prohibition of the Gods until finally the God gave a curse that I would turn into a fish. The curse will automatically disappear if a human touches me. Because You touched me, so I was freed from the curse. Thank you for freeing me. "

Inevitably Toba feels happy mixed with confusion. He did not expect the beautiful goldfish he had transformed into a beautiful beautiful woman. After introducing himself, without thinking, Toba asked the beautiful woman to be his wife.

"I see. I am a farmer. My name is Toba. Will you be my wife, beautiful woman?" asked the young man shyly.

The woman looked down and paused for a moment, then said "Well I am willing to be your wife but with one condition you may not bring up my origin, that I am the incarnation of fish. If You bring up my past, then there will be a big disaster." answered the beautiful woman.

"Of course I don't care about your origins. I agree to your conditions." said the young man, nodding his head.

The Youth Married Beautiful Women

Soon they were married. Even though they both live very simply, time passes so quickly for a happy couple. Toba works even harder to make his wife happy. Because of his diligence, their lives have both improved.

Villagers are in an uproar with the presence of beautiful women whose origins are unclear. They often ask Toba about the origins of his beautiful wife. But Toba never memwas taken care of by the villagers. The change in Toba's life, which was originally a poor young man, became established and made the villagers think that Toba maintained a spirits. But Toba never paid attention to the rumors of villagers.

Without feeling Toba and Putri finally blessed with a boy they named Samo.

Samo grows into a healthy child. His mother spoiled Samo a lot. Whatever Samo asked for would be fulfilled by his mother. As a result, after 6 years of age, Samo turned into a very naughty child and difficult to advise. Samo prefers playing and lazing rather than helping his parents. His mother often told him to deliver rice to his father in the fields, but Samo always refused. Her mother was forced to deliver rice herself for her husband to the field.

Samosir Delivered Food Stocks

One day, as usual, Samo was told by his mother to deliver rice to his father in the field. At first he did not want to, but because his mother continued to force he finally went to the field to deliver rice to his father. The mother gave a packet filled with rice with fish dishes. On the way to the fields, Samo felt hungry.

"Ouch my stomach is rumbling after a long time playing. Yes, I just ate this packet of rice. "

Samo then eats rice for his father until it runs out. Samo only left fish bones. He then repacked it. Arriving at the farm, Samo gave his father a packet of rice. Because he was very hungry, Samo's father immediately opened the rice bag. He was surprised to learn that the contents of the package only contained fish bones. The father then scolded Samo.

Toba Breaks His Oath

"Hi Samo! What are you doing? Why in the package only contains fish bones? Did you eat it?" his father shouted at Samo.

"Sorry dad, in the way my stomach feels hungry, so I eat rice with my father." said Samo in terror.

The father was furious and then slapped his son's cheek saying that his child was a child of fish.

"Indeed you really are too much !. Can't you help your parents. Why are you so difficult to manage? Maybe it's because you're a fish boy! "

Samo cried because his father slapped him. He ran back home. Arriving at home, Samo complained to his mother that his father had beaten him while calling him a child of fish. Samo asked his mother if he really was a baby fish.

"Mother ... is it true what the father said that I am a fish?"

The mother was surprised to hear the question of her child. While crying he hugged Samo. The mother said that her father had broken the oath.

"My child, Mother is indeed a fish that turned into a human. But, your father has broken his oath. He swore he would not bring up the origin of the mother. . "

Samo immediately obeyed his mother's orders by going to save himself up the hill.

Flood struck

After he saw Samo climb a tree high on a hill, Samo immediately ran to the river. At that moment there was thunder and lightning followed by heavy rain. Suddenly the sky turned dark. Ms. Samo turned back into a fish and then disappeared somewhere, while from the footprints the water came out very heavy. Not long after that the place was flooded to form a lake. While the father could not save himself. He died swept away by a torrent of water.

The community then called the lake by the name of Lake Toba. Until now no one knows the whereabouts of Samo but, the hill where the disappearance of Samo is located in the middle of the lake, is called by the name of the island of Samosir (Samo who was driven out). The word toba has the meaning of not knowing reciprocation. Over time, people gradually call it the Lake by the name of Lake Toba.

Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia, located in North Sumatra Province. In the middle of the lake there is an island called Samosir Island. Around 74,000 years ago, there was a terrible eruption of a super volcano. As a result, a caldera is formed which is then filled with water and becomes a lake. While the remaining magma that has not yet come out presses up the middle of the caldera to become an island, namely the island of Samosir.

We already know that Lake Toba was formed due to a super mountain explosion (supervolcano). However, in the midst of North Sumatra society, folklore develops about the origin of Lake Toba. It is said that Lake Toba and Samosir Island originated from the story of a poor young man who married a beautiful woman incarnated fish. After marriage, the poor young man broke his promise when he married, resulting in the formation of Lake Toba.

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