Perminangken (container for magical substances)

The carved wooden stopper of this container depicts a human figure mounted on a horse-like creature—the mythical singa which figures prominently in Toba Batak art. Unlike other stoppers in the collection, the figure does not sit upright but rather leans backward, as if his mount is moving swiftly forward. The creature’s tail curves upward and attaches to the middle of the figure's back, and there are geometrical patterns incised onto the rider’s waist. The bottom of the stopper is decorated with deeply cut ridges and the stopper is attached to the ceramic base with fiber cordage. The blue and white glazed ceramic vessel is of Chinese origin and would have been obtained through the expansive trade network between Indonesia and China since the seventh century. The vessel was used to hold pukpuk, a powerful substance made from ritually prepared human and animal remains. To enliven sacred objects such as ritual staffs and human figures, pukpuk was applied to the surface or inserted into holes in the object that were later plugged, sealing the power within.


The Toba Batak, one of six groups among the Batak peoples of northern Sumatra, live in the mountainous highlands surrounding Lake Toba (the birthplace of the Batak, according to oral histories and myths). The Batak maintained trade relations with their Malay neighbors living on the coast but otherwise remained relatively isolated until the 18th and 19th centuries when Dutch and British traders, along with German missionaries, established operations in Sumatra. Although nearly all Batak today are Christian or Muslim, they formerly recognized diverse supernatural beings, including deities, ancestors, and malevolent spirits. The primary religious figures in Batak society were male ritual specialists, called datu by the Toba Batak, who acted as intermediaries between the human and spiritual worlds. Much of Toba Batak sacred art centered on the creation and adornment of objects that would be used by the datu for divination, curing ceremonies, malevolent magic, and other rituals. Among the most important were ceremonial staffs, books of ritual knowledge, and a variety of containers used to hold magical substances, such as this perminangken.


　

References


Florina H. Capistrano-Baker, Art of Island Southeast Asia. The Fred and Rita Richman Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994, pp. 47-54


Sibeth, Achim. The Batak. London: Thames and Hudson, 1991