Indonesian Folktales Series: The Legend of Lake Toba Folklore

. September 18, 2024

The Legend of Lake Toba Folklore

The second folklore tale still comes from North Sumatra, the legend of Lake Toba. This story tells of a young man named Toba who lived a simple life working in the fields every day.

One day, Toba went fishing in a river. From the results of the fishing, Toba got a fish that had a golden yellow color. When Toba removed the hook from the fish's mouth, the fish turned into a beautiful woman.

The woman then introduced herself. The beautiful woman was named Putri. Toba fell deeply in love with Putri and asked her to marry him. Putri then accepted Toba's proposal but with one condition.

The condition was that Toba must not tell anyone that he (Putri) was a fish in the river. Toba then agreed to the request.

After the marriage, they both lived simply and happily. Months later, Toba and Putri were blessed with a son named Samosir.

As time passed, Samosir grew into a lazy and naughty person. Samosir spent his days playing around and being lazy. In addition, Samosir also had a high appetite.

One day, Putri asked Samosir to deliver food to her father in the fields. Because he was lazy, Samosir felt forced to do this. On the way, Samosir felt very hungry.

Because he was so hungry, Samosir ate the food that was supposed to be given to his father, Toba. Samosir then left only a little of the food that should have been given to his father.

Upon arriving at the field, Toba was very upset and angry because he saw little food left. In a fit of rage, Toba snapped at Samosir and said, “You unlucky son of a fish!”

Samosir, who was very scared and sad, went home and told his mother what happened. His mother who heard the story felt very sad because it turned out that Toba had broken his promise.

Putri and Samosir then held hands, and both disappeared suddenly. Not only that but from every trace of Samosir's footsteps, water continues to appear in such large quantities that it drowns the surrounding area including Toba.

This story teaches us the importance of honesty and keeping promises that have been made. In this case, Toba broke his promise by referring to Putri's origin as a fish. In addition, this story also teaches the importance of respecting parents. Samosir's disobedience to his father's orders was one of the triggers for the disaster. It is important to always respect and obey parents.