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R. Teygeler Pustaha; a Study Into the Production Process of the Batak Book

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R. Teygeler Pustaha; a Study Into the Production Process of the Batak Book R. Teygeler Pustaha; A study into the production process of the Batak book In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, Manuscripts of Indonesia 149 (1993), no: 3, Leiden, 593-611 This PDF-file was downloaded from http://www.kitlv-journals.nl Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 03:20:44AM via free access RENÉ TEYGELER PUSTAHA. A STUDYINTO THE PRODUCTION PROCESS OF THE B ATAK BOOK 1. Introduction The Batak divination book, the so-called pustalut,1 has been known to the western world for at least two hundred years. lts contents were first subject- ed to systematic study when Van der Tuuk entered the Batak region in 1851. However, we still do not know much about the way these books were produced. This article represents an attempt to reconstruct this process of produc- tion on the basis of a study of the literature; some of the writing materials and writing implements involved are also discussed. The Batak are usually divided into six different groups; they are not considered a homogeneous people. One might assume then that the Batak would differ in their way of producing a pustaha. So far not enough evi- dence has been found to confirm this. Thus in this article I assume a uni- form production process, despite the different ethnic backgrounds of the Batak people. 2. What is a pustaha? There are at least one thousand pustaha in public and private collections.2 The earliest dated pustaha is found in the British Library (Add. 4726); it was donated in 1764 by Alexander Hall.1 1 Throughout this article I will use the Toba-Batak word pustaha (Warneck 1977:194) when referring to the Batak divination book. The Karo-Batak call their book pustaka (Joustra 1907) or pustaka laklak (Saragih and Dalimunte [n.d.]). The latter means 'book made of tree bark' (see also Warneck 1977:135). In the Pakpak region the book is also referred to as lapihin (Fischer 1914:133). It has also been called lopijan (Fischer 1914:136 and Winkler 1925:76). The word pustaka comes from the Sanskrit meaning 'book' (Gonda 1973: 128). However, the word pustaka does not merely denote 'book'; it especially refers to the physical form of the palm-leaf manuscript (Losty 1982:8). RENÉ TEYGELER is a bookbinder and restorer by profession, with a special interest in writing materials of Asia. He is currently engaged in research on dluwang. The author can be contacted at Zilverstraat 12, 3511 VB Utrecht, the Netherlands. Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 03:20:44AM via free access 594 René Teygeler Most manuscripts in other Indonesian traditions are of a legal, historical, or literary nature. The pustaha however mainly deal with magie, divination and medicine. Only a few of the books are about historical affairs or leg- ends, and most frequently one recognizes a European in the background of such texts (Voorhoeve 1977:300). Pustaha are compiled by datu (medicine men/priests), who use them mainly as reference works. But they can also serve as books of instruction, copied out by aspiring datu to complement their oral instruction (Braasem 1951:48). That is why the pustaha consist of so many short notes elucidated by magical illustrations and divination tables (porhalaan). Except for rare copies on paper from the second half of the last century, all pustaha are written on tree bark. The bark is folded concertina fashion and sometimes furnished with boards. What distinguishes the pustaha from other book forms in Asia is that it is written on folded tree bark and that it is extensively illustrated.'1 The Batak language encompasses several dialects, but the language of the pustaha is, in general, uniform though local differences never disappear completely. This language of instruction, or magical language of education, is called poda (Kozok 1990a: 103). The obscure character of this language makes it extremely difficult to transcribe and translate these manuscripts. From the chain of datu who handed down the text, and who are often mentioned at the beginning of the book, one sometimes can deduce the time the manuscript was made. At times it is possible to identify the regional origin of the manuscript from the use of local styles of writing and dialect words. Another way of dating is of course the acquisition history, which gives us a certain terminus ante quem. Usually, though, dating the manu- scripts is very difficult. 2 This rough estimate was made by H..I.P. Promés. He counted the pustaha of al] the catalogues known to him and included the pustaha he knew existed in private collections (Promés, personal communication, 1992). 3 Voorhoeve 1950:290. See the illustration in Gallop and Arps 1991:115. The first pustaha that entered a Dutch public collection can be dated hefore 1750 (Leiden University Library: Bruikleencollectie Koninklijke Nederlandse Aka- demie van Wetenschappen no. 247). It was acquired at an auction by the Konin- klijk Instituut (the Royal Institute) in 1781 and came from the estate of a mer- chant from Zeeland (Voorhoeve 1977:223). A Malay manuscript in Lampung script, Hikayal Nur Muhainmad (Story of the mystic light of Muhammad), was donated to the Bodleian Library in 1630 (manuscript Jav. e.2). Like the pustaha it was written on tree bark and was con- structed as a folding book (Gallop and Arps 1991:71). 4 The rare folding books made of tree bark from Lampung and the Rejang area are hardly ever illustrated and never so extensively as the examples from the Batak lands. Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 03:20:44AM via free access Pustaha. The production process of the Batak book 595 2.1 Process of production: attempt at a reconstruction The following reconstruction is based mainly on data gathered from the available literature.5 Scrutinizing part of the pustaha collection of the Lei- den University Library also produced valuable information. Besides, I had the opportunity to watch a pustaha being made for tourists.6 Today the Batak still produce their books for the tourist industry. Whether or not the modern production of the Batak book is the same as the manufacture by the datu in the 'old days', we do not know. Nevertheless it might give us more insight or clues. 1. Af ter the inner bark of the alim tree (Aquilaria)7 has been harvested and dried for some time, the datu or one of his pupils selects a sheet of suitable length and width. If he does not find a piece of the right length he might consider putting one or more pieces together, either by means of sewing or glueing. The size of the bark can vary greatly. The smallest pustaha I have seen measures 5 x 6 cm (length x width) (24 ff.) and the biggest one 28.5 x 42.5 cm (56 ff.); both are in the private collection of H.J.A. Promés. The length of the bark sheet of the latter pustaha measures almost 16 metres. 2. First he will cut both ends straight. The surface will then be evened out with a knife, then further smoothened and polished with rough leaves, for example the leaves of the Ficus Ampelas burm. or the leaves of another Ficus (Heyne 1927:567). 3. If some repairs on the bark are needed because the surface is split or torn, it has to be done in this phase of production. From what I have seen, the defects are mended with a simple tack (LOr 3432). 4. Folding the bark is not done very precisely. The sheets never align well. In one manuscript from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB/Papierhistorische Collectie IA4) one sheet is folded to half the size of the book format; the maker probably made a mistake in the order. The bark is first folded by 5 In Winkler 1925 we find the most information on the production of the pusta- ha, especially pages 16-11. The earliest reference on this subject is 'Beschrij- ving' 1778, which contains valuable information. See also Fischer 1914:129- 37, Joustra 1926:13 and 155, and Agthe 1979:88-92. For descriptions of Batak manuscripts see among others the catalogues of Voorhoeve 1961, Manik 1973, Voorhoeve 1975, Voorhoeve 1977, Ricklefs and Voorhoeve 1977, Pigeaud and Voorhoeve 1985. • In 1990 I visited a family at Siharbangan (Samosir Island, Sumatra) where father and son were making pustaha for the tourist industry. They did not make the boards: those were made by the wood-cutter of the next village. The produc- tion process was documented, both in words and pictures. 1 Till now the alim tree was presumed to be the Aquilaria malaccensis (e.g. Ko- zok 1990a: 103). However, the Rijksherbarium Hortus Botanicus at Leiden, identifying a sample from a pustaha from the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (KB/Pa- pierhistorische Collectie AI4) in 1992, could not confïrm this data. Their results showed a positive identification on the Aquilaria family. but they were not able to identify the sort 'malaccensis'. Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 03:20:44AM via free access Fig. 1. Ultra-violet reflectography photo clearly showing blind lines on a sheet from a pustaha (KB/Papierhistorische Collectie: IA4). Downloaded from Brill.com10/10/2021 03:20:44AM via free access Pustaha. The production process of the Batak book 597 band, after which the folds are set with a mallet. By this last action the sur- face of the bark is broken along the folds. 5. Sometimes the sides of the folds are cut evenly; most of the manuscripts I have seen, however, show irregular sides. 6. Both the front and the back of the bark are finished with rice water or rice starch to improve the adhesion of the ink to the surface.8 Today the bark of the tourist pustaha is stained with a stuff called Parmagam, a chemi- cal bought at the local drugstore.
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