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Batak Document Carrier

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 10,000.00 USD
Batak Document Carrier
Used for toting letters and important papers, document carriers are made from bamboo and sealed with a wooden stopper. This document carrier is a reproduction of a hundred year old piece held by a collector here in the United States. The bamboo section of the carrier is elaborately inscribed with the Ritual Batak Calendar and fitted with bone collars top and bottom. The top is sealed with a ornate wooden stopper caved from plantation hardwoods with a beautiful spicy aroma. The stopper featues a traditional squatting figure. This piece, approx. 7.5" tall with a center diameter of 2.5" (carved stopper 3.25" diameter) is in excellant condition. The Batak homeland is the island of Sumatra at the western end of the modern Republic of Indonesia. It's the fifth largest island in the world and many other tribes live there. Batak peoples live in the remote areas of the mountainous highlands and the eastern and western coastal regions. One thousand meters above sea level, the highlands steep valleys and thick forests made the Batak region inaccessible and impenetrable during the period of scientific, missionary and colonial development. Long known to Europe, the Batak have only relatively recently come to the attention of the West. The Batak consist of six ethenic groups, diverse in dialect and historical experience. Although Islam and Christianity have been strong influences, many of the Batak population still follow religious ideas and practices of their ancestors. The Batak are one of the few cannibalistic peoples know to have a sophistacated calendar, written language, and with their gold trade, also a system of numbers. The carvers of the Batak peoples are considered some of the best primitive carvers in the world. The quality of their workmanship and the beauty of their peices bear witness to the talent of the people that produce them.