Toba Batak and Tapanuli

Land of Bakara is one of the Toba Batak tribe inhabitan.  Toba Batak is a sub tribe of Batak.  In addition to the Toba Batak, a sub tribe of Batak is Simalungun, Karo-Dairi and Mandailing Pakpak-Angkola.  Each sub-tribes inhabit certain areas, have customs, traditions, language, literacy and religion believe with its own characteristics, although there are similarities among each other.

Toba Batak have much in common in the indigenous culture and language with the Batak Simalungun. Between the Toba Batak and Batak Mandailing-Angkola have many similarities in the language.  What stood out the differences between the sub-tribe is a Batak Karo and the Batak Pakpak.

Toba Batak also sometimes called "Tapanuli", based on the geographical area where he lived, but now it's been rarely used. Especially with the expansion Tapanuli district into several districts with no name "Tapanuli" like Tobasa District (Toba Samosir), Humbahas (Humbang Hasundutan) causes the habit slowly fading.

Tapanuli derived from the word "tapian" and "nauli".  "Tapian" means water and "nauli" means a exquisite, beautiful, beautiful.  Tapanuli is the region around Lake Toba, has many springs, rivers and lakes. In the middle of Lake Toba Samosir Island and there in the middle there Samosir Island lake, named Lake Sidihoni.

Furthermore, if said Batak, it is identical to the Toba Batak. Today sub-tribe of Batak other more commonly referred to as the "person" or "tribe" Simalungun, Karo-Dairi or Mandailing Pakpak-Angkola because of the uniqueness and peculiarities of each. But when they are being away from his tribe some of whom identify as the Batak, citing tribal Batak Karo-Dairi Batak Pakpak or Batak Mandailing-Angkola to other parties.

Land of Bakara is one region that plays an important role and major in history, customs and traditions of Toba Batak.  Though the Batak mythology tells that the origin of Batak was Pusuk Buhit Mount,  Samosir, in which the first is a Batak village Sianjur Mulamula, “mula ni uhum, mula ni bangso Batak (the beginning of rules, the origin of the Batak ethnic group)," but there is a tight linkage between them.