| Item-Number: | 781202 |
| Item-Description: | Batak Karo bamboo script tube or Pagar |
| Medium: | Smoked bamboo |
| Origin: | North Sumatra - Batak Karo |
| Dimensions: | Length 25 cm, diameter 5.2 cm |
| Age: | 18th century |
| Provenance: | Field collected North Sumatra 1978 |
| Condition: | Good, carries both a glossy and encrusted patina |
| Notes: | Batak script is one of the few examples of indigenous written languages that have been documented in SE Asia. The language is believed to have originated from Southern Indian Hindu scripts of the first millennium AD. The Batak produced bark books (Pustaha) but also wrote on bamboo tubes, strips and stalks and on animal bones. Most writing was religious in nature, but also recorded spells and laments and both calendar and divination instruction. For an excellent collection of Batak texts on bone and bamboo see: The Bartlett Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology (UMMA). This is a very old (18th century or earlier) but well preserved example of a Batak Karo bamboo script tube amulet or Pagar which would have been hung inside the house to protect against evil spirits or a person intending harm to the occupants. It is pierced at one end so the tube can be hung. It also carries both an encrusted and glossy patina indicating its age. The dark colour indicates that the tube was smoked during the final stages of production. |
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