Indonesian Illustrated Manuscript "pustaha" In Batak Language Sumatra Circa 1950

Anonymous - Indonesian "Pustaha" manuscript.

Manuscript made up of 10 sheets of beaten agalloche bark (precious wood from Eastern India and Southeast Asia), folded accordion-style and written on both sides, under two plates made from the scapula bone of a Sumatran cow, the upper plate is engraved with a lizard in relief (96 x 85 mm).

Very good condition.

This collection is written in the Batak language; the Batak culture developed in Indonesia on the shores of Lake Toba in northern Sumatra. It serves as a memory aid for Datus (priest, sorcerer, doctor, diviner, astrologer) and their disciples.

It contains formulas for the practices of magical rituals, recipes, remedies, spells, all illustrated with drawings [in black, bistre and red].

This is most likely a tourist object from the 1950s.