Instrument, Lute

Description:

Indonesia, North Sumatra or Nias, Batak culture possibly Ono Niha, 19th/early 20th ct.
L. 63 cm
Brown, medium-hard wood; top plate of the body made of lighter-coloured wood, fluted back with an almost keyhole-like opening (slightly bumped, edge broken off), strings and tensioner missing. The shape of the lute largely corresponds to the hasapi of the Batak. However, stylistic elements, such as the animal creatures and above all the shape of the base with the stylised mouth, possibly point to Nias. The lute is crowned at the end of the fingerboard by a figure with rigid features, which is flanked by two cat-like animals (probably lions). This element is atypical and owes much to European influences. The ancestor Sikanda (Alexander the Great) is rarely depicted with lions. A stylised open mouth is depicted at the base of the elongated, slender sounding body, the mouth of the dragon creature lasara, which symbolically corresponds to the singa of the Batak and from whose maw a cat-like animal emerges or is being devoured by it. The ‘devouring’ is to be understood metaphorically and symbolises ‘rites de passage’ (according to Van Gennep), in which life force can be purified and rededicated and through which full membership of the ancestral community is achieved. Essentially, this motif epitomises initiation.
From an important private collection in southern Germany, collected from 1975 onwards
As with all Metal Age Austronesians, the Batak and Ono Niha also had a distinct musical culture. Like the neighbouring Batak on Sumatra, the Niaser in Indonesia are also regarded as dedicated singers and musicians. There is even a modern style of music known as Batak rock (which has its own labels). It is interesting to note that even in the early states in Southeast Asia (Funan Empire), the natives of Southeast Asia were recognised by Chinese diplomats and traders as having an exceptional musical culture, which even received imperial patronage. Among the missionaries, on the other hand, music was sometimes demonised and banned. Adepts were sometimes called upon to destroy instruments - especially the gendang drums, which could induce a trance effect