Treasures of Indonesia’s cultural heritage: Van der Tuuk’s collection of Batak manuscripts in Leiden University Library
A large number of manuscripts in various Batak languages, collected by Herman Neubronner Van der Tuuk during his stay in North Sumatra (1851 until mid- 1857) is kept in Leiden University Library. The contents of the collection reflect not only Van der Tuuk’s own interests, but also the interest o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2007
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1097/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1097/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/1097/1/Treasures_of_Indonesia%27s_Cultural_Heritage.pdf |
| Summary: | A large number of manuscripts in various Batak languages, collected by Herman
Neubronner Van der Tuuk during his stay in North Sumatra (1851 until mid-
1857) is kept in Leiden University Library. The contents of the collection
reflect not only Van der Tuuk’s own interests, but also the interest of Dutch
Bible Society who employed him. His main task was to provide materials for
the instruction of Batak languages to protestant Christian missionaries.
Therefore, many manuscripts in the collection are connected with Batak
religious practices and contain myths and stories with a religious meaning. As
Van der Tuuk’s personal interest went far beyond religious matters, he also
collected more general information on Batak culture and explanations of local customs that were useful to scholars of literature and of “adat-law” as
well as to administrators. Following the death of the few scholars of Batak
languages, Van der Tuuk’s collection of Batak manuscript has long been left
unattended. This paper discusses the relevance of this unique manuscript
collection for researchers in Indonesia and in the world at large. Special
attention is paid to manuscripts in the presently endangered Dairi language |
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