The Mystique of a Traditional Batak House
The Lake Toba region in Sumatra Island of Indonesia is not just renowned for aesthetic beauty, but is also home to many cultural treasures. One such cultural icon of the region is the Traditional Batak House or Batak Toba House. At first sight, the traditional Batak House, (also known as ‘jabu” or ‘rumah bolon”), gives one an unreal sense of an unearthly feeling. Or the immediate thought would probably be ‘can this be real or is it an alien structure’ ? The Lake Toba region and Samosir Island are dotted with these unique looking structures, many of which are uninhabited and converted to showpieces. The Batak house, which is a distinct symbol of the Batak people, is also a true reflection of their life philosophy and mythology. Historians aver that the early Bataks may have been influenced by Hinduism in some ways about the arrangement of life in the universe. This seems to be reflected in their building style too. 1860, Samosir The Batak house is basically a wooden construct
