Narative text

The Legend of Toba Lake

Once upon a time, there was a fisherman lived in a North Sumatra. Don’t ask me the year, all I know it was a very long time before you were born. When he was fishing in a river, a big fish was nailed. This fish had gold color all over its body. It was beautiful. The fisherman was very excited. He imagined a delicious dinner in his head. He put the fish in his basket and went home happily.

When he got home, he put the fish in a sink. He grabbed a knife to kill the fish. But when he almost killed it, he saw the fish eyes and felt pity. He took the knife away and put the fish in washbasin and added water in it. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t kill you” the fisherman said.

The fisherman went fishing again. But this time he couldn’t get any fish. He went home with nothing in his hand. His stomach started to sing. He walked home slouching. He was surprised when he saw smoke came out from his kitchen.

“Who cooked in my kitchen?” he confused.

He took a peep and surprised when he saw a beautiful girl cooked in his house. “Why there’s a girl in my kitchen?” he confused.

The fisherman entered the room. “Who are you?” he asked the girl.

“I’m the fish.” The girl said.  

The fisherman looked the washbasin and saw nothing in it. “The fish?” he asked incredulous.

“Yes. You didn’t kill me and I’m very thankful. I will return your kindness.” The girl said.

“That’s ok. I didn’t ask any return” the fisherman said.

“But I have to.”The girl insisted.

“Well, I lived alone. I don’t have family. If you want to be my wife, I will be very happy.” The fisherman asked the girl.

The girl smiled and said “I’d love to but you have to promise me that if we have kid you can’t tell him about me.”

And so, the fisherman and the fish girl were married. And then they had a child called Samo. Samo was very naughty. He couldn’t be advisable. He always played and never helped his parents.

One day Samo was asked to deliver lunch to his father. On his way, he met his friends and forgot to deliver his father’s lunch. Samo played with his friends. When he was tired and hungry, he was resting under a tree and ate his father lunch. Meanwhile his father waited him in starve and tired. His father went home and saw Samo played. “Where is my lunch?” he asked.

“Mmm…mm.. I ate it” Samo said afraid.

“Why you ate it?” his father asked.

“Mmm..mm.. I was hungry after playing with my friend” Samo said.

“You were told to deliver my lunch but you didn’t listen.” his father was very furious. “I can’t handle you anymore. You are very naughty. Go away from me. Don’t come home anymore.” His father yelled and evicted Samo from his house.

And this what happened if you can’t control your mouth when you angry. His father said the words that he wouldn’t suppose to say. “You… fish’s son.”

Suddenly, the sky was getting dark. The storm was breaking the ears. The rain felt from the sky like giant hose sprayed water all over the place. And then the water came out from the land and getting harder.

Sumo’s mother was very sad. “I told you don’t tell him about me” she said to her husband. “Now I’m going back to be fish again. Good by” the mother was transformed magically to be gold fish again and disappear through the water. The water was getting higher and drown the village and formed a lake.

Meanwhile, sumo run to the hill and stayed there. The hill then was surrounded by the lake.

Now the lake was known as Toba Lake. Toba came from Tuba word means no mercy. And the hill in the middle called Samosir Island. Samosir means ‘Samo di usir’ or in English : Samo have been evicted.

This is just a legend, there were so many versions of the name’s story. You can’t tell which one is really true. But I heard this version since I was a little girl.

Terjemah :

Legenda Danau Toba
Sekali waktu, ada seorang nelayan tinggal di Sumatera Utara.Jangan tanya saya tahun, semua yang saya tahu itu adalah waktu yang sangat lama sebelum Anda lahir. Ketika ia sedang memancing di sungai, ikan besar dipaku. Ikan ini memiliki warna emas di seluruh tubuhnya. Sangat indah. Sang nelayan sangat senang. Dia membayangkan makan malam lezat di kepalanya. Dia menyimpan ikan di keranjang dan pulang dengan gembira.
Ketika ia pulang, ia menempatkan ikan di wastafel. Dia mengambil pisau untuk membunuh ikan. Tetapi ketika ia hampir membunuhnya, ia melihat mata ikan dan merasa kasihan. Dia mengambil pisau itu dan menyimpan ikan di wastafel dan menambahkan air di dalamnya. "Jangan khawatir, aku tidak akan membunuhmu" kata nelayan.
Sang nelayan pergi memancing lagi. Tapi kali ini ia tidak bisa mendapatkan ikan. Dia pulang dengan apa-apa di tangannya.Perutnya mulai menyanyi. Dia berjalan pulang membungkuk. Dia terkejut ketika melihat asap keluar dari dapurnya.
"Siapa yang dimasak di dapur saya?" Bingung dia.
Dia mengambil mengintip dan terkejut ketika melihat seorang gadis cantik dimasak di rumahnya. "Mengapa ada seorang gadis di dapur saya?" Bingung dia.
Nelayan memasuki ruangan. "Siapa kau?" Ia bertanya gadis itu.
"Saya ikan." Kata Gadis.
Nelayan ini melihat wastafel dan melihat apa-apa di dalamnya."Ikan?" Tanyanya tak percaya.
"Ya. Anda tidak membunuh saya dan saya sangat bersyukur. Aku akan kembali kebaikan Anda. "Kata Gadis.
"Itu ok. Aku tidak meminta imbalan apapun "kata nelayan.
"Tapi aku harus." Gadis itu bersikeras.
"Yah, aku tinggal sendirian. Saya tidak punya keluarga. Jika Anda ingin menjadi istri saya, saya akan sangat senang "nelayan bertanya gadis itu..
Gadis itu tersenyum dan berkata "Aku ingin tetapi Anda harus berjanji bahwa jika kita memiliki anak Anda tidak bisa memberitahunya tentang saya."
Jadi, nelayan dan gadis ikan menikah. Dan kemudian mereka memiliki anak disebut Samo. Samo sangat nakal. Dia tidak bisa dianjurkan. Dia selalu bermain dan tidak pernah membantu orang tuanya.
Suatu hari Samo diminta untuk memberikan makan siang kepada ayahnya. Dalam perjalanan, ia bertemu teman-temannya dan lupa memberikan makan siang ayahnya. Samo bermain dengan teman-temannya. Ketika dia lelah dan lapar, ia beristirahat di bawah pohon dan makan siang ayahnya. Sementara itu ayahnya menunggu dia dalam kelaparan dan lelah. Ayahnya pulang ke rumah dan melihat Samo dimainkan. "Di mana makan siang?" Tanyanya.
"Mmm ... mm .. Saya memakannya "kata Samo takut.
"Mengapa Anda memakannya?" Tanya ayahnya.
"Mmm .. mm .. Aku lapar setelah bermain dengan teman saya "kata Samo.
"Anda disuruh memberikan makan siang saya, tetapi Anda tidak mendengarkan." Ayahnya sangat marah. "Saya tidak dapat menangani Anda lagi. Anda sangat nakal. Pergilah dari padaku.Jangan pulang lagi "Ayahnya berteriak dan diusir Samo dari rumahnya..
Dan ini apa yang terjadi jika Anda tidak dapat mengontrol mulut Anda ketika Anda marah. Ayahnya mengatakan kata-kata bahwa ia tidak akan kira untuk mengatakan. "Anak Anda ... ikan."
Tiba-tiba, langit mulai gelap. Badai melanggar telinga. Hujan terasa dari langit seperti selang raksasa disemprot air di semua tempat.Dan kemudian air keluar dari tanah dan semakin sulit.
Ibu Sumo adalah sangat sedih. "Saya bilang Anda tidak bercerita tentang saya" katanya kepada suaminya. "Sekarang Aku akan kembali menjadi ikan lagi. Baik oleh "ibu berubah secara ajaib menjadi ikan emas lagi dan menghilang melalui air. Air itu semakin tinggi dan menenggelamkan desa dan membentuk sebuah danau.
Sementara itu, jalankan sumo ke bukit dan tinggal di sana. Bukit kemudian dikelilingi oleh danau.
Sekarang danau dikenal sebagai Danau Toba. Toba berasal dari kata Tuba berarti belas kasihan. Dan bukit di tengah disebut Pulau Samosir. Samosir berarti 'Samo di usir' atau dalam bahasa Inggris: Samo telah digusur.
Ini hanya sebuah legenda, ada begitu banyak versi dari cerita nama itu. Anda tidak bisa mengatakan mana yang benar-benar benar.Tapi aku mendengar versi ini sejak saya masih kecil.