Horas!
North Sumatra, with its boundless charm, is ready to captivate your heart. Each of the eight “Puak” or tribes presents unique customs and traditions. Its enchanting nature offers a variety of tourist attractions, from Prapat to the island of Nias.
The resilience of its people needs no questioning. No wonder North Sumatra has become the home of many traders, lawyers, and successful entrepreneurs who are willing to migrate and venture far for a better life.
The North Sumatra Pavilion at TMII is ready to welcome visitors with its uniqueness. Before renovation, there were six traditional houses representing various cultures: Batak Simalungun, Batak Karo, Nias, Pakpak Dairi, Batak Toba, and Malay. Unique details adorn each house in the pavilion, such as carvings of a pair of Gajah Dompak (elephants) and Cicak (gecko) as guardians on the Batak Toba traditional house, known as the Bolon house. Not only that, the head of a buffalo also adorns its roof as a symbol of prosperity.
The Nias traditional house in the North Sumatra Pavilion offers uniqueness, featuring a stack of stones two meters high for the traditional stone jumping sport. This attraction is presented alongside the display of Nias Warriors and was even depicted on the Rp1,000 banknote in the past.
The pavilion also houses the beauty of Ulos fabric from Toba, Uis fabric from Karo, and Hiou fabric from Simalungun, which are traditional woven clothes believed to provide protection from evil spirits. Due to its sacredness, its presentation involves a special ceremony as it is considered a meaningful offering.
DID YOU KNOW?
With a length of 87 km, a width of 27 km, and a depth of half a kilometer, Lake Toba in North Sumatra is considered the world’s largest caldera lake. Its story began from three massive eruptions in the past. Uniquely, there is an island in the middle of the lake, namely Samosir Island, which is a volcanic island.