The Porhalaan is a traditional lunisolar calendar of the Batak people in North Sumatra, consisting of 12 months divided into 30 days with an extra month for protection, based on the Batak magic book.

 

Since ancient time’s they’ve been used by farmers to get good crops, decorated with lizards symbolising the earth deity responsible for the fertility of the fields.

The Batak people didn’t use the porhalaan for telling time, but for divination and only the chief ritualist called the Datu could interpret it to determine which day was good to hold a certain ritual. The Datu would often select a day that promised happiness in two months time. Every New Year in the calendar begins on the New Moon in May, when the constellation Orion vanishes in the west and the constellation Scorpius rises in the east.

 

Being handmade each piece is slightly different.

 

Dimensions range between ca 30 x 40 x 6cm - 28 x 54 x 6cm with the stands