Batak Pustaha : c 20th Century [ Magical Grimoire Manuscript ]
$950
In stock
Description
Original Batak Magical Grimoire Manuscript or Pustaha
[Anonymous]. Batak Divination and Magical Manuscript [Pustaha]. Indonesia. Likely early 20th century.
An original, likely early 20th century Sumatran Batak magical manuscript or pustaha containing traditional instructions for divination and other practices. An oracle as well as an object of personal power, the pustaha is one of the three essential tools of the traditional shaman or datu of the Toba Batak people of northern Sumatra, in addition to their magical staff and medicine horn. The content of each pustaha manuscript is unique, but they typically contain instructions for divination, determining auspicious days for ceremonies, and conducting rituals for healing, communicating with spirits, predicting and mitigating weather, and the creation of various magical potions.
Written in the traditional and largely unreadable syllabic Batak script (likely derived from ancient Indian Brahmi) on pages made from softened tree bark (laklak) and bound with a tree sap glue, this example also bears the characteristic gecko carving on its top wood cover, representing the traditional Batak earth deity Boraspati ni Tano, associated with fertility, whose image also adorns other Batak ritual and power objects.
Although undated, the relative simplicity of this example’s design and text, including a limited number of simple symbolic illustrations in only black ink, suggest it is of earlier origin than the more elaborate examples created for the tourist trade utilizing multiple color pigments and greater detail.
[34]pp, double-sided, accordion bound. 8cm x 6cm x 3.5cm closed. Hand carved wooden boards with top lizard motif. Some small pinholes to board edges, possibly from binding or carving. Bottom board scratched. Bark pages with tree sap binding glue. General toning and stiffness. Crack to pg. [22]. Some in line illustrations and figures. Good.
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