Scenic: The front view of TB Silalahi Center'€™s Batak Museum in Balige, North Sumatra.

Lake Toba is well known for its stunning scenery, but the town of Balige, North Sumatra, on the lake'€™s southern shores, offers visitors something more '€“ the TB Silalahi Center.

A five-minute drive from the center of town into the surrounding hills, the center consists of two museums: The Footprints of TB Silalahi Museum and the Batak Museum. The former is dedicated to telling the life story of TB Silalahi, the latter is a treasure trove of ancient artifacts from the Batak, several closely related ethnic groups predominately from North Sumatra.

Located in the same complex, the center and museum are the brainchild of TB Silalahi. The center tells of how he rose from being a factory worker to an Army general, United Nations peacekeeper, Cabinet minister and presidential envoy.

'€œWith the center, Pak TB is trying to inspire the young generation of today,'€ says Batak Museum director Duma Yanti Silalahi. '€œHe'€™s trying to show '€” especially to children from the Batak region '€” how even a child from a poor background like his can rise to be a general or minister.'€

The center tells the retired general'€™s life story via large information boards that are mainly in Indonesian, although an English guide is on hand to walk foreign visitors through the center.

Ancestors: Exhibit showing Batak family names linking back to Batak king.
Exhibits include TB Silalahi'€™s Army helicopter, a tank, his ministerial car, a replica of a UN jeep he used while peacekeeping in Egypt, and numerous Army uniforms, insignias, medals and firearms that he used throughout his Army career.

Visitors are also treated to a mock-up of his ministerial office, which shows the chairs, desks and ornaments (including a stuffed tiger) '€” used by TB Silalahi when he served in Soeharto'€™s Cabinet from 1993-1998.

Those with a thirst for knowledge can delve into the retired general'€™s personal library, which covers the entire wall adjacent to the mock-up office and contains sections on economy, religion, law, military, politics and ideology. Visitors can read these books in the museum, but they cannot be borrowed.

Both museums '€” which in total house around 1,850 exhibits '€” were opened to the public in 2008 and were originally based in one building. But in 2011 '€” due to a lot of interest '€” the Batak Museum was housed in a new, bigger building designed by TB Silalahi.

The museum has a modern, aluminum design and rests on pillars decorated with Batak motives. It was inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

'€œIt'€™s a combination of the traditional and the modern,'€ said Duma. '€œIt carries the message that Bataks can go around the world and live modern lives, but they must always be rooted in traditional Batak culture, like the pillars of the building.'€

Entering the museum, visitors walk a slightly elevated path to the exhibits. Inside, the museum is bright, airy and '€” perched upon a hillside '€” delivers stunning views of Lake Toba.

Exhibits from sub-ethnic Batak groups, such as Toba, Mandailing, Angkola, Karo, Pakpak and Simalungun, are on show.

Visitors can see jewelry from the hands of Batak craftsmen, hombung (a wooden bench with intricate carvings that serves the dual function of a place to store treasure and a place to sleep), paintings depicting battles between the Bataks and the Dutch during the colonial era, Batak hand-woven fabric known as ulos and a collection of Batak weapons, musical instruments and wooden calendars. There'€™s even a book detailing the Batak alphabet on show.

All the exhibits have been either donated by Batak communities or bought by the museum.

Information boards on the geological history of Lake Toba can also be found. All exhibits are helpfully explained in both Indonesian and English.

Duma said around 12,000 people visited the museum annually, with visitors coming from as far as Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands.

But as she explains, the museum is also aimed at Indonesians '€” and even Bataks.

'€œWe want to tell people from other countries and other regions of Indonesia about Batak culture, but many Bataks have lost touch with their cultural roots, so if they'€™re willing to learn, we'€™d love to see them visit too,'€ she said.

The museum also benefits from being well laid out and is spacious.

Artifact: An old script (right) showing Batak alphabet.
'€œWe tried to put ourselves in the shoes of visitors when we designed the interior,'€ added Duma, who along with the Education and Culture Ministry, laid out the museum having been influenced by her visits to the Musée du Louvre in Paris, the Peranakan Museum in Singapore and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in the US.

A traditional Batak village is also housed in the complex, with houses from the Toba and Karo subethnic groups, as well from the Toraja ethnic group from South Sulawesi, so visitors can compare and contrast designs. TB Silalahi'€™s old house is even on show.

The museum preserves the houses and visitors can enter if they wish. The houses consist of two types '€” ruma (for living in) and sopo (for storing supplies like rice).

'€œThe designs are from long ago,'€ explained Duma. '€œThey consist of wooden blocks that fix into place and are tightened by tree roots, so there'€™s no nails required.'€

The houses were also built to withstand earthquakes, with the floors 2 meters off the ground because inhabitants wanted to avoid unpleasant encounters with roaming tigers.

Entry to the whole complex costs Rp 50,000 for foreigners and Rp 10,000 for Indonesians, but getting there can be a test of stamina. The road to Balige is a six-hour car ride from Medan, full of potholes and motorists taking unnecessary risks on narrow roads. But things become more pleasant once you near the town of Parapat and follow the winding road alongside Lake Toba.

At this point, your destination is under two hours away, and with countless picturesque views of the lake and its surrounding mountains from here on, visitors will be only further rewarded at their final destination by two of Indonesia'€™s best museums.

'€” Photos by Mark Wilson