1621 Antique Large Batak Shaman Guru Pustaha Manuscript

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This is the second MONUMENTAL treasure  – a large shaman’s pustaka / pustaha manuscript – from the Batak culture.

A magic book used by the Guru or Datu of theToba Batak people of North Sumatra, Indonesia.

 Used by the Batak peoples, from north central Sumatra,this is not a calendar but rather an instrument used for divination and the identification of auspicious days.

Traditionally the Batak script was

It is written in Batak script, only used by datu (priests) to write magical texts and calendars. 

It may be derived from the Brahmi script of ancient India and related to other scripts of the archipelago such as Old Kawi. Or it might be a descendent of a hypothetical Proto-Sumatran script, with Pallava influences.

The cover is made of carved tropicalwood and the accordion-style pages are made of bark. The calendar’s size allows for portability and suggests it was intended for daily use by a diviner or community spiritual leader.

A language that is almost extinct – with few living people practicing or transmitting the knowledge of this script, it is mostly found in scriptures stored away in museums.

47 leaves

13 illustrations ( inlcuding illustrations and 3 charts)

LARGE: 22 x 15 cm

Acquired from the Netherlands.

Museum: Similar example may be seen in the State Museum of Ethnology, Leiden, Netherlands

VERY RARE PIECE

 

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This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.

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