Sumatran Batak Pustaha Divination Book. One Batak Pustaha Bone Book - a Divination Book. It is made from carved bovine cow bone and tree bark, and coloured in black and red.
A little blurb from the Yale Collection write up below - it says it rather better than I can....... The priest (datu) traditionally had a powerful role in Batak society. He used three essential ritual objects: a magic staff, his medicinal horn, and a bark divination book (pustaha).
The text runs parallel to the folds in the bark and is read horizontally from left to right. The books also contain black and red drawings. Batak books use a script that is related to southern Brahmi of India and ancient Javanese writing systems. Like Sanskrit, it is syllabic in nature, and it is widely believed to derive from Sanskrit.The texts deal with divination, magic, and medicine. They could be used to determine auspicious days for ceremonies or new endeavors, or for reference when casting spells, influencing the weather, finding lost objects, diagnosing illness, or prescribing medicine. In addition to appearing in books, writing is found on other ritual objects.
I'm not sure how old this one is, it was found in one of the many many storage boxes in the attics........ So part of the family collection. The carving is naive in style, as are the illustrations, but the colours have held up well. The box, closed, measures 9cm x 7.5cm x 5.5cm.
Opened up, it is about 90cm in length. A lovely piece, definitely one for the collector. So there will be some fabulous stuff, and a bit of old tat, for sale over the next few weeks.Will be carefully packed to foil the postmen. Most customers are great, even when things go wrong, as they sometimes will. Our Feedback is good, especially considering that most of the things we sell are delicate breakable vintage items. I post daily, unless the car breaks down or we're flooded, or the mice running this computer escape from their little wheel, or I have a terrible hangover from celebrating with Krug Champagne our latest e bay sale, or something. All our prices are in Pounds Sterling, the currency used on our small island.
NOT dollars, Moon Tokens or little Glass Beads. We live in a house heated by log fires.......... Yes, I know that sounds stroppy, but its either make this clear at the beginning or lose the will to live........... If you don't, and the item goes missing, I'll send you the proof of posting so that you can make a claim from the post office.But don't rely on this. We will only post to ITALY on an INTERNATIONAL SIGNED FOR service - far to much goes missing otherwise. The post office will not insure delicate items...........
It is your responsibility to read the listing properly. Will, funnily enough, probably not look as if they were made yesterday. Our Vintage and Antique items will have age related wear. We will detail any damage, or serious wear - we will also let you know if the item is, in fact, in mint condition. We would like paying for items you have bought, this is the usual arrangement between buyers and sellers...........If you can't do that for any good reason, let us know....... Please, we don't bite, much. Tell you it is Gold when it is Brass, Get the maker wrong i.
E Wedgewood instead of Marks and Spencers or something similar. Post Office Exorbitant Price Hike........... Whilst you might think that four out of five on the dsr ratings if you bother to fill them in.........
I never do I must admit is good, e bay don't think the same way. Only 5/5 is ok with them. We do our best to be fair, but we really can't help the post office charges. We can control when we post items, but once in the hands of the post office, there isn't much we can do......... The item "Batak Pustaha Divination Book Sumatra, Indonesia Rare Item Cow Bone & Bark" is in sale since Friday, September 17, 2021.
This item is in the category "Antiques\Ethnographic Antiques\Other Ethnographic Antiques". The seller is "phileasfox1" and is located in builth wells, Powys. This item can be shipped worldwide.