Author: BRAASEM, W.A.
Title: Proza en Poëzie om het heilige meer der Bataks. De Bataks en hun volksletterkunde. Pref. by J. Gonda. [Eerste enige druk; First and only edition].
Description: Djakarta-Amsterdam-Surabaia, De Moderne Boekhandel Indonesia/C.P.J. van der Peet, 1951. Small 8°., Original cloth, gilded title on spine with large gilded decorative vignette after traditional Batak art motif. Dustjacket. 286pp. Monochrome vignettes by J.H. Maronier, after traditional Toba-Batak art motifs, full-page sketchmap with legenda featuring Toba-Batak district, supplementary notes, list of primary literature consulted, table of contents. Dutch language comprehensive survey of Toba-Batak traditional literature and poetry (Pantun), collected and assessed after first ever written and oral sources: Batak language and literature, mythology, riddles and sayings, love poantuns, laments and prayers, collective wisdom, including 3 stories translated into dutch. One of the few, of any other, publications on the topic. Very good copy, WITH DUSTJACKET.

Keywords: tobabatak laketoba sumatra literture poetry pantun collectivism wisdom oralsources tales elegy litany religion adat sumatra indonesia southeastasia assessment culture heritage legacy