For the Toba ethnic group from South America, see Kom people (South America).
Ethnic group
'Toba Batak people ᯅᯖᯂ᯲ ᯖᯬᯅ Batak Toba
Toba Batak traditional clothes
Total population
c. 4,100,000 (2020)
Regions with significant populations
Indonesia: North Sumatra: Toba Samosir Regency, Samosir Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Sidikalang, Sibolga, Pematang Siantar, Medan, Dairi, Deli Serdang, and the surrounding areas – 3,000,000
Outside North Sumatera: Riau, Batam, Jakarta, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Papua, Bali, and around Indonesia – 1,100,000 [1]
Outside Indonesia: Singapore Malaysia European Union United States – 1,100+
Languages
Toba Batak language, Indonesian language
Religion
Christianity 97.8%, Sunni Islam 2%, Other 0.2%[2]
Related ethnic groups
Angkola people, Karo people, Mandailing people, Pakpak people, Simalungun people
A Batak Toba man from Samosir with a hoe over his shoulders, pre-1939.
Toba Batak people (Batak script: ᯅᯖᯂ᯲ ᯖᯬᯅ) are the largest ethnic group of the Batak peoples of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The common phrase of ‘Batak’ usually refers to the Batak Toba people. This mistake is caused by the Toba people being the largest sub-group of the Batak ethnic and their differing social habit has been to self-identify as merely Batak instead of ‘Toba’ or ‘Batak Toba’, contrary to the habit of the Karo, Mandailing, Simalungun, Pakpak communities who commonly self-identify with their respective sub-groups.
The Toba people are found in Toba Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Samosir Regency, North Tapanuli Regency, Central Tapanuli Regency (with Sibolga and its surrounding regions), and part of Dairi Regency.[3] The Batak Toba people speak the Toba Batak language and are centered on Lake Toba and Samosir Island within the lake. Batak Toba people frequently build in traditional Batak architecture styles which are common in Samosir. Cultural demonstrations, performances, and festivities such as Sigale Gale are often held for tourists.
Paleontological research done in the Humbang region of the west side of Toba Lake suggests that human activity existed 6,500 years ago. The genetic test of the Toba Batak people shows that the Toba Batak are the descendants of different people with distinct genetic components. The Toba Batak's ancestors migrated from Formosa thousands years ago.[4]
^Jacob Cornelis Vergouwen, Masyarakat dan hukum adat Batak Toba
^"Badan Pusat Statistik Kabupaten Toba Samosir". tobasamosirkab.bps.go.id.
^Jacob Cornelis Vergouwen (2004). Masyarakat Dan Hukum Adat Batak Toba. PT LKiS Pelangi Aksara. ISBN 9-7933-8142-6.
^Mapping Human Genetic Diversity in Asia, The HUGO Pan-Asian SNP Consortium (2009)
North Sumatra, Indonesia, who speak Batak languages. The term is used to include the Karo, Pakpak, Simalungun, Toba, Angkola, and Mandailing, related ethnic...
TobaBatak (/ˈtoʊbə ˈbætək/) is an Austronesian language spoken in North Sumatra province in Indonesia. It is part of a group of languages called Batak...
infobox; Lake Toba separates the Karo (Northern Batak) from direct contact with the Toba (Southern Batak). The Batak languages can be shown to descend from a...
Lake Toba (Indonesian: Danau Toba, TobaBatak: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; romanized: Tao Toba) is a large natural lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia, occupying the caldera...
associated with the TobaBatakpeople instead of being recognized as a distinct ethnic minority. Consequently, the Mandailing people have been torn between...
Simalungun people, in addition to TobaBatak and Indonesian. Long before Dutch colonialism was established in North-East Sumatra, people now known collectively...
Sumatra, Indonesia. Six groups of Batak speak separate but related languages: the Angkola, the Mandailing to the south, the Toba, to the north the Pakpak/Dairi...
Angkola (also known as Batak Angkola or Anakola) people are part of the Batak ethnic group from North Sumatra who live in the South Tapanuli regency. The...
toba or Toba in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Toba may refer to: Toba Sur language, spoken in South America BatakToba, spoken in Indonesia Toba people...
has media related to Batak letters. Entry on Batak at Omniglot.com – A guide to writing systems Transtoba2 – Roman to TobaBatak script transliteration...
towns around the Lake Toba offers freshwater fish dishes such as carp arsik. The Northern Sumatra capital of Medan is also a Batak cuisine hotspot where...
turn. Traditionally the performance was carried out of childless person. BatakToba believe souls become an ancestral spirit and the children of the deceased...
Fijian people Uma mbatangu of the Sumba people Jabu of the TobaBatakpeople Rumoh of the Acehnese people Rumah gadang of the Minangkabau people Torogan...
Batak Protestan (HKBP, or Batak Christian Protestant Church in English") is an Evangelical Lutheran church among the Batakpeople, generally the Toba...
term for genealogy in Batak culture/language. The Batak believe that they all come from the same ancestor: Si Raja Batak, the Batak patriarch. They kept...
highlands region around Lake Toba is predominantly inhabited by other Batak groups (Toba, Simalungun, and Karo). The Nias people are natives of Nias Island...
regions have their own type of xylophones. In North Sumatra, The TobaBatakpeople use wooden xylophones known as the Garantung (spelled: "garattung")...
was seen by Batakpeople as the one who could protect them against Dutch influence. In 1890, he moved north to the village of Sigumpar, Toba [id] near Laguboti...
traditional houses of Aceh. Batak architecture (North Sumatra) includes the boat-shaped jabu homes of the TobaBatakpeople, with dominating carved gables...
A solu is a traditional boat of the TobaBatakpeople of North Sumatra, Indonesia. The solu is a dugout canoe, with boards added on the side bound with...
The Flag of Batak, otherwise known as the Bonang Manalu is the flag of the Batakpeople of North Sumatra, Indonesia. It is an equal horizontal tricolour...
represents the deity Boraspati ni Tano, a beneficial earth deity of the TobaBatakpeople. The pages are made of the bark of the alim tree or the agarwood (Aquilaria...
tribal member with the agreement of the tribe. In the tradition of the TobaBatakpeople, a datu is magician-priest who teach divination and magic via his...
Global Information
Indonesia: North Sumatra: Toba Samosir Regency, Samosir Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, Sidikalang, Sibolga, Pematang Siantar, Medan, Dairi, Deli Serdang, and the surrounding areas – 3,000,000
Singapore 
Malaysia 
European Union 
United States – 1,100+