The Sigale-gale puppet
A life-size dancing wooden puppet.
Bibazi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dan Lundberg — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Ziegler175 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Ziegler175 — CC BY-SA 4.0
A museum in an old royal Batak house, once the seat of a local chief, at the northern tip of Samosir Island, showing the life of the Toba Batak people: household and farming tools, weapons, textiles, musical instruments, and a long wooden boat of the kind villages once used on the lake. The main draw is the Sigale-gale puppet show: a life-size wooden puppet that dances to traditional Batak music, linked to old funeral rites and the tale of a king who lost his only son. It is performed with traditional tor-tor dances in morning sessions. Entry is roughly twenty to thirty thousand rupiah, rising to about fifty thousand with the show. The museum opens daily from eight to five, with performances usually between half past ten and noon. Plan a morning visit to catch the show, the best part of the place. It is about an hour by scooter or car from Tuktuk, and combines with Huta Siallagan on the way.
A life-size dancing wooden puppet.
An old Batak chief's seat.
Traditional dances with the show.
Simanindo, the northern tip of Samosir Island
Shows are usually between half past ten and noon, so arrive before half past ten, and check the times on the day as they can change.