Culture, language and script of the Toba, Karo, Simalungun, Pakpak, Angkola and Mandailing — each in its own terms, in Indonesian, German and English.
Their languages, adat and scripts are related, but not the same. Pick one to get to know it better.
Foto: ButetSinaga · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Around Lake Toba and on Samosir. Ulos, rumah bolon, gondang sabangunan and Dalihan Na Tolu.
Meet the Toba →
Foto: Christian Advs Sltg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
In the Karo highlands and around. Merga silima, rakut sitelu, uis and the siwaluh jabu house.
Meet the Karo →
Foto: Ariokh Thio Gunadi Purba · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
East of Lake Toba. Hiou, the rumah bolon of Pematang Purba and Tolu Sahundulan.
Meet the Simalungun →
Foto: Christian Advs Sltg · Wikimedia Commons_(01).jpg) · CC BY-SA 4.0
In Dairi and Pakpak Bharat. Oles, Sulang Silima and Sidikalang coffee.
Meet the Pakpak →
Foto: Esti PIbranto · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
In South Tapanuli and Padangsidimpuan. A language close to Mandailing, and Dalihan Na Tolu.
Meet the Angkola →
Foto: Nasution007 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
In Mandailing Natal. Bagas godang, gordang sambilan and Dalian Na Tolu.
Meet the Mandailing →Toba ulos is not “Batak ulos”, and Karo uis gara is never called “Batak uis gara”. This table puts each people's terms side by side. Empty cells are not yet confirmed — help us fill them in.
| Side | Toba | Karo | Simalungun | Pakpak | Angkola | Mandailing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Horas | Mejuah-juah | Horas | Njuah-njuah | Horas | Horas |
| Thank you | Mauliate | Bujur | Diatei tupa | to be added | to be added | to be added |
| Traditional woven cloth | Ulos | Uis | Hiou | Oles | Parompa sadun · abit godang | to be added |
| Traditional house | Rumah bolon | Siwaluh jabu | Rumah bolon | to be added | Bagas godang | Bagas godang |
| Traditional music | Gondang sabangunan | Gendang lima sendalanen | Gonrang sipitu-pitu | Genderang | Gondang | Gordang sambilan |
| Kinship system | Dalihan Na Tolu | Rakut Sitelu | Tolu Sahundulan | Sulang Silima | Dalihan Na Tolu | Dalian Na Tolu |
| Wife-giving side | Hula-hula | Kalimbubu | Tondong | Kula-kula | Mora | Mora |
| Same-clan kin | Dongan tubu | Senina · Sembuyak | Sanina | Dengan sibeltek | Kahanggi | Kahanggi |
| Wife-receiving side | Boru | Anak beru | Boru | Berru | Anak boru | Anak boru |
| Example clans | Simanjuntak, Napitupulu, Sitorus | Ginting, Karo-karo, Peranginangin, Sembiring, Tarigan | Damanik, Saragih, Purba, Sinaga | Berutu, Solin, Angkat, Bancin | Harahap, Siregar | Nasution, Lubis |
| Ethnic church | HKBP | GBKP | GKPS | GKPPD | GKPA | to be added |
Religion differs too: many Mandailing and Angkola are Muslim, while among the other peoples the majority is Christian, with followers of other religions and ancestral beliefs in every group. Ethnic churches are just one example of different names.
Family terms of address depend on marga, generation and kinship system — and differ between Toba, Karo, Simalungun, Pakpak, Angkola and Mandailing.
The Batak script is an abugida used — with slightly different letter forms — by the Toba, Karo, Simalungun, Pakpak and Angkola-Mandailing. Each base letter stands for a consonant + “a”; diacritics change the vowel or silence it. Pick a variant, then a letter to see its forms.
Foto: SOAS University of London, Digital Library Services · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0The automatic transliteration is approximate. The Toba and Karo variants are available now; Simalungun, Pakpak and Angkola-Mandailing will follow. Audio uses your device's Indonesian voice.
Source: Surat Batak — Wikipedia · Aksara Batak — Uli Kozok
Annual cultural festival around Lake Toba with music, tortor, solu boat races and food. Dates and venues change every year.
Source: Festival Danau Toba — Wikipedia
Anniversary of the death of Sisingamangaraja XII (1907). His grave is in Soposurung, Balige.
Source: Sisingamangaraja XII — Wikipedia
Commemoration of the founding of the HKBP (1861), celebrated by HKBP congregations in Indonesia and abroad.
Source: Huria Kristen Batak Protestan — Wikipedia
A village-wide thanksgiving after the rice-planting season, lasting several days; those living away come home to visit relatives. Indonesian intangible cultural heritage since 2014.
Source: Kerja Tahun — Wikipedia · Mengenal Merdang Merdem — detikSumut
Planning a Batak community event in Germany — a celebration, church service or tortor practice? Send the details to the batak.de team.
Lakes, traditional villages, volcanoes, royal tombs, beaches and waterfalls in the Toba, Karo, Simalungun, Pakpak, Angkola and Mandailing lands, with a map.
Foto: Christian Advs Sltg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Foto: Palma Bernardo Alexius Hutabarat · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 — kawah Sibayak dengan Sinabung
Foto: Ariokh Thio Gunadi Purba · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Foto: IHLubis · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Foto: Esti PIbranto · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Foto: Lo2asinamura · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Collected automatically from trusted newspapers. Click a headline to read the full article on the original site.
News items are shown in their original language, Indonesian.
Foto: Roberto Marpaung · 
Foto: Ariokh Thio Gunadi Purba · 
Foto: Nasution007 · 
Foto: Miranda samosir · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Foto: Ning Gusti · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 — kawah dari puncak
Foto: Christian Advs Sltg · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 — dari Semangat Gunung
„Mardiana Pasaribu disidang atas pencurian emas dan uang dari lansia Minar Sinaga. Dia dituntut 2 tahun penjara setelah menipu korban dengan modus dukun.“
Open article at detikSumut ↗
„Tiga organisasi di Kota Pematangsiantar mengadakan kegiatan lomba memancing memperebutkan Piala Wali Kota memeriahkan Hari Sumpah Pemuda tahun 2026.Lomba memancing gratis ini diselenggarakan oleh kolaborasi Ikatan …“
Read more at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Bupati Mandailing Natal (Madina), Sumatera Utara, Saipullah Nasution menekankan tiga fondasi utama kepemimpinan dalam organisasi kemahasiswaan, yakni integritas, progresivitas, dan tanggung jawab untuk mewujudkan visi …“
Read more at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Wali Kota Pematangsiantar Wesly Silalahi SH MKn menerima BKPRMI Award sebagai tokoh publik yang peduli dengan anak yatim dan pemuda masjid. Penghargaan tersebut diserahkan Menteri Koperasi Ferry Juliantono dalam acara …“
Read more at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Polres Padangsidimpuan mengungkap dugaan penyalahgunaan pengangkutan BBM bersubsidi jenis Pertalite di Jalan Merdeka, Kelurahan Kayu Ombun, Kecamatan Padangsidimpuan Utara, Selasa (27/10).Dalam pengungkapan tersebut …“
Read more at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Fauzan Irgi Hasibuan, SH, MH, dilantik sebagai Kepala Sub Bagian Pembinaan (Kasubagbin) pada Kejaksaan Negeri (Kejari) Simalungun, Sumatera Utara.“Hari ini saya dilantik dan dipercaya mengemban tugas sebagai ...“
Open article at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Kementerian Ekonomi Kreatif/Badan Ekonomi Kreatif melalui Direktorat Gim, Deputi Bidang Kreativitas Digital dan Teknologi, mengenalkan permainan gim papan (board game) kepada pelajar di kawasan Danau Toba, Parapat …“
Read more at ANTARA Sumut ↗
„Petugas mengamankan barang bukti berupa 24 paket diduga sabu dengan berat bruto 4,54 gram saat menggerebek Warung Pido“
Open article at Tribun Medan ↗
„Kapolres Pematangsiantar AKBP Dhana Noer Kurniawan memimpin apel gelar pasukan Operasi Patuh Toba 2026 di Lapangan Apel Mako“
Open article at Tribun Medan ↗
„Kapolres Pematangsiantar AKBP Dhana Noer Kurniawan memimpin pengaturan arus lalu lintas pagi di Simpang BRI, Jalan Merdeka“
Open article at Tribun Medan ↗
„Salah satu lokasi yang mendapat perhatian berada di Jalan Lintas Sipirok-Tarutung, tepatnya di Dusun Aek Sulum, Desa Marsada, Kecamatan Sipirok.“
Open article at Tribun Medan ↗
Short quotes from the RSS feeds of detikSumut, ANTARA Sumut, Tribun Medan, Tempo. Copyright remains with the publishers.
batak.de uses the word Batak for the family of related languages, scripts and adat in North Sumatra: Toba, Karo, Simalungun, Pakpak, Angkola and Mandailing. We do not mean a single identity by it. Some Karo and Mandailing do not call themselves Batak, and we respect that.
That is why each people is named in its own terms: ulos among the Toba, uis among the Karo, hiou among the Simalungun; HKBP, GBKP, GKPS. One people's terms are not used here as “Batak” terms for all.
batak.de is made by people of the diaspora in Germany, is non-commercial and open to corrections. Something wrong or missing? Write to the editors.