{"product_id":"batak-figure-from-sumatra","title":"Batak figure from Sumatra","description":"\u003ch1 style=\"text-align: center;\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: #cccccc;\"\u003eA SYMBOL OF POWER AND SPIRITUALITY\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"p1\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThis striking wooden statue was hand carved by Batak artisans on North Sumatra, made in a special wood that symbolizes the tree of life and a flowing ponytail of horse hair. It was originally made as the decorative top of of a ritual staff.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe Batak are one of the largest indigenous groups in Indonesia, located in the mountainous highlands of northern Sumatra. Their culture is incredibly rich with a history reaching back to antiquity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eThe most powerful members of a Batak community are ritual specialists, known as \u003cem\u003edatu\u003c\/em\u003e. They are experts in religion, and are most often members of the village’s founding family. These specialists, who are exclusively male, are able to cure the sick, contact the spirits of the dead, and predict auspicious days for particular events. A datu‘s most important possession is his ritual staff. Each datu is required to create his own, so they vary widely in their style and shape. The type of ritual staff this statue was made for is called, \u003cem\u003etungkot malehat\u003c\/em\u003e, which traditionally have a single wooden or metal figure at the top.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p2\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions: 29 x 7 x 6cm with the metal support\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"text-align: center;\" class=\"p1\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe statue comes complete with the blackened metal stand and its story printed out for you inside a beautiful envelope.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"column\"\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe ship worldwide. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIf your country is not listed in the checkout please\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"mailto:info@kirschon.com\" target=\"_blank\"\u003econtact us\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/a\u003efor a shipping quote.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"kirschon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40401077370922,"sku":"22FIWO1","price":280.0,"currency_code":"CHF","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0023\/8390\/4804\/files\/Tail1.jpg?v=1685721713","url":"https:\/\/kirschon.com\/en-ch\/products\/batak-figure-from-sumatra","provider":"Kirschon","version":"1.0","type":"link"}