A Batak Pustaha Looted from the Last Singamangaraja

Abstract In June 1907, the last Singamangaraja1 of the Batak was killed in a skirmish with Dutch colonial forces. Reports at the time noted that the loot seized by the Dutch included various ‘valuables’. Captain Christoffel, who led the Dutch troops, later sold his collection to the City of Antwerp, where it is now housed at the Museum aan de Stroom. It includes two Batak manuscripts previously unknown to scholars and the general public. Given their provenance, it is highly probable that the two manuscripts once belonged to the Singamangaraja himself. Manuscript AE .1922.0001.1007 contains a text detailing the use of magical practices in warfare. It also features an oracle based on the 19 characters of the Batak script, intended to protect and guide warriors in battle. This study compares the oracle in this manuscript with two other renowned Batak bark books that preserve similar divination methods.