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Lot 715
Priest's staff "tongkat malehat"
Estimated Value:
2.000 € - 3.000 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Indonesia, Sumatra North, Batak (Karo), 19th cent.L. 177 cm (inkl. Federn)
Wood, hair (human), feathers. An old staff attachment with strong patina, belonging to the staff of a high-ranking priest and shaman (datu). The fully carved attachment depicts a rider sitting on a horse-like singa. The attachment belongs to a tongkat malehat, which differs from the fully carved tunggal panaluan staffs in that the shaft of the staff is smooth and only the upper part is sculpted, but - as in the present, excellent example - sometimes very opulent and expressive. The tongkat is probably the older type of staff, which is already depicted in an astonishingly similar way on bronze representations from the presumed area of origin of the Batak, Yunnan at the foot of the Himalayas, which are over 2000 years old. At the feet of the singa or singa-like horse, a series of ancestor figures can be seen all around, which the rider magically strengthens. The disproportionately large head is adorned with plaited human hair and feathers. The main figure's stern, almost mask-like facial expression is intentional; his motionlessness and detachment from the world express his closeness to the sphere beyond. The singa itself, showing a long outstretched tongue (a concise apotropaic gesture), stands on a group of small human figures. From its open mouth hangs the tongue extended into an abstract ornament in an ominous gesture; a gesture that is widespread and probably best known today from the New Zealand Maori.The top has a strong organic patina and appears to have been used for a long time.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
The staffs are among the internationally renowned ceremonial tools of the Batak priests. Like the sacred ancestral effigies and the magic horns, they had to be animated with a mysterious organic substance (pupuk), which was supposedly made from the head and other human body parts, before they could develop their magical powers. The magic and oracle book (pustaha) and the magic calendar (porhalaan) were just as important to the Batak priests as the magic wand, helping them to interpret the complicated astrological connections and determine the right days for important ceremonies. However, staffs as insignia of rank and metaphysical power are not specifically “batak”. For example, staffs are also commonly used by Dayak as insignia of rank. They are also worn by Iban-Dayak, who according to their own tradition came from Sumatra, as status insignia by older men and bards as well as shamans. At this point, reference can be made to other aspects of the staffs or the equestrian figure depicted. The story of a saint or warrior riding on the shoulders of an anthropomorphic demon and man-eater (mythical half-lion, but possibly originally a different entity) may also have originally played a role in the Batak staffs. The Buddha-Sutasoma story describing this constellation was very common on Java, Sumatra, Bali etc. in pre-Muslim times
