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2 Van Der Tuuk's Collection of Batak Manuscripts in Leiden University Library 2 Van der Tuuk’s collection of Batak manuscripts in Leiden University Library The nineteenth-century linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk col- lected a large number of manuscripts in various Batak languages during his stay on the west coast of Sumatra, first in Sibolga, then in Barus, from 1851 until mid-1857.1 Since 1896 this collection has been kept as his legacy in Leiden University Library. The contents of the collection reflect, besides Van der Tuuk’s own interests, the interest of the Dutch Bible Society that employed him. As his main task was to prepare a translation of ‘the Bible’ and to make a description of ‘the Batak language’2 for the instruction of Protestant mis- sionaries, (Groeneboer 2002:5-10), many manuscripts in the collection deal with Batak religious beliefs and practices. They contain amongst others instructions for divination, magical devices, medical treatment as well as myths and stories with a religious meaning, such as creation myths. However, Van der Tuuk was not a missionary but a scholar with a passion for languages and linguistic problems, and his interest extended well beyond religious matters.3 Therefore he collected much general information on various aspects of Batak languages and cultures that proved useful not only for Christian missionaries but also for Dutch colo- nial administrators as well as for scholars of literature and of ‘adat-law’. 1 This chapter is based on a paper presented at the 9th International Symposium of the Masyarakat Pernaskahan Nusantara from 5-8 August 2005 at Bau-Bau, Buton, Indonesia. A revised version of the paper appeared in SARI 25, 2007:9-21. 2 There are two main groups of Batak languages: the Northern group contains the related Karo and Pakpak-Dairi and the Alas dialect, the Southern group includes Simalungun, Toba, and Angkola- Mandailing (Voorhoeve 1955:9; Kozok 1999:14). Viner (1979:91) distinguishes eight languages, based on the distinction between a Northern and a Southern group, with Pardembanan and Simalungun as ‘mediary’ languages. 3 For information on Van der Tuuk’s interests, see Groeneboer 2000, 2002. | Dairi stories and Pakpak storytelling Van der Tuuk’s linguistic studies resulted in a Tobasche spraakkunst (Grammar of Toba Batak), a Bataksch-Nederduitsch woordenboek (Toba Batak-Dutch dictionary), and a Bataksch leesboek (Batak reader) with pieces in Toba, Dairi and Mandailing. The manuscripts he collected served as a basis for these publications. He also translated parts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament into Toba and other Batak languages: the books Genesis and Exodus, the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. During the last few decades, the collection of Batak manuscripts in Leiden University Library has hardly been touched, as the number of scholars in the field of Batak languages is on the decline. It is possible that the contents of these manuscripts will soon be inaccessible because there will be nobody left who can read them. The relevance of Van der Tuuk’s unique collection is beyond all doubt. In the context of this book, the focus will be on Dairi manuscripts in the collection that have received very little scholarly attention until now. In the Introduction to his Guide for the collection of Batak manu- scripts in Leiden University Library (Codices Batacici), Voorhoeve (1977:4) writes that Van der Tuuk’s collection of Batak manuscripts is outstand- ing because it is: ‘the only large collection that has been assembled with full knowledge of the facts’. Van der Tuuk’s collection contains different types of manuscripts: A. 152 tree-bark books (pustaha) made from strips of tree-bark folded like an accordion, with writing in Batak characters;4 B. bamboo pieces or tubes inscribed with Batak characters; C. European paper manuscripts using Batak or Latin characters. pustaha Since approximately the eighteenth century, pustaha have been purchased and transported to Western countries by collectors. These tree-bark books, presently kept in European libraries and museums, were appreci- ated not so much for their contents, which were not usually understood by the buyers, but were considered a curiosity or a specimen of tribal art. 4 As described in Kozok’s Warisan leluhur (1999), the variants of Batak script (s) roughly correspond to the main Batak language groups. 38.
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