In the North of Sumatra

the Batak
19 February 11 May 2008
Special theme Exhibition East Suspended Gallery
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In the North of the Island of Sumatra, around the Toba Lake and on the Samosir peninsula lives a population which has remained isolated from the Western world for a long time: the Batak. Steeped in ancestral customs which are linked to mythology and to the presence of ancestors or natural forces, they have produced numerous objects relating to their ritual practices. Made by the Toba, the Pakpak-Dari, the Karo, the Simalungung, the Mandailing or the Angkola, groups of peoples which form this great Batak family, these tangled or superimposed wooden sculptures invite us to gaze very carefully at each object. Although the artists are mainly concerned with detail in the case of small objects, they show a keen sense of ornamentation in the monumental works. This exhibition of 115 objects, displayed at the muse du quai Branly, invites the visitor to go in search of the Batak peoples through their art. The approach to household objects includes architectural items presented on the facades of noble houses, ruma gorga. On all these sculptures, we observe variations of the singa, a protective monster with features of the buffalo, the serpent naga and the dragon. The exhibition displays textiles of important ritual and magic value, woven by Batak women, as well as musical instruments including the hasapi lutes used during rituals by the gondang orchestra. The exhibition also enables the visitor to observe the Batak as skilful warriors through a selection of arms and other related objects: knives, bullet-holders and powder horns; the Batak are also clever sculptors of stone. The urns, protective statues or effigies of ancestors which punctuate the Batak landscape, are testaments to the ancient custom of lithic sculpture. The outfit of the Datu, a magician-priest and central figure in Batak beliefs, as well as the masks and effigies used during funeral rituals in memory of the deceased, all demonstrate the important place held by beliefs in the daily lives of the Batak people.

Selection of works
The majority of the works come from the former collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva; this is where the muse du quai Branly acquired the Insulinde collection in 2001. A th selection of 19 century objects from the collections of the Muse de lHomme complete this collection. The emphasis is on the formal, plastic quality of modelling of the works as well as on their exceptional dynamics and powerful energy. The exhibition also displays the extraordinarily complex and elaborate world behind this creation, through the shapes and details of the objects which are mostly from Toba but also Karo or other Batak groups.

The place of photography in the exhibition

Whether from the beginning of the 20 century or from more contemporary times, photography takes central stage in this exhibition. One room is devoted to the photographs of Tassilo Adam (1878-1955). Adam was German, but decided to settle in Medan when he was 21 years old. He worked on a tobacco plantation, began to make collections of objects and became passionately interested in the Karo people. He befriended the Kabanjahe village chief who allowed him to take photographs of the daily life and rituals of his village. In 1919, Adam exhibited in Medan 700 objects and 150 photographs carefully printed and stuck on cardboard. This was the first Batak exhibition in Sumatra. Now, a century later, the muse du quai Branly is exhibiting 12 of his original photographs. At the same time, a series of photographs taken by Peter Horree provides a contemporary vision of the Batak people as they are today. Wishing to reintroduce the group as a player in the economic life of Sumatra, the museum chooses to place the Batak people in the reality of the present-day and shows that it still exists. These photographs punctuate the space and separate the various themes broached by the exhibition; at the same time, they are fully integrated in the exhibitions scenography.
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A GLANCE AT SOME OF THE WORKS

Door of a rice loft Caption: Door of a rice loft with a stylized lizard sculpted in high relief. The body of the lizard is fully carved. Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Bruno Descoings

Top of a magicians wand Caption: The top of the wand represents a turbaned figure astride a singa. Facing him, another small figure, with his hands clasped together, is emerging from the head of the singa. Karo population Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Bruno Descoings

Book of divination Caption: Book of divination with magic formula. The cover of this book is decorated with a lizard holding a sword. The pages are covered in Batak writing and stylized drawings. Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Valrie Torre

Figurine Caption: Statuette of an ancestor with knees bent, foliated ears and arachnidan hands. This could be a deified ancestor, debata idup. Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Gries/Bruno Descoings

Lute Caption: A two-stringed Lute made of two pegged parts, resembling a boat. The peghead is a sculpture representing a crouched figure clasping his knees. Behind him, the head of a singa in front of which is an animal-like figure. Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Bruno Descoings

Small knife Caption: The wooden sheath is encircled with seven brass rings. A sitting figure, wearing a skullcap and two bracelets is carved onto the hilt facing the knife handle. The upper part of the sheath displays a floral decoration which blends in with the figures legs. Copyright: muse du quai Branly, photo Patrick Gries/Valrie Torre

PRACTICAL INFORMATION Exhibition organizer: Pieter Ter Keurs, curator of the Insular Southeast Asia at the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands Assistant organizer: Constance de Monbrison, head of the Insulinde collections at the muse du
quai Branly The exhibition catalogue In the North of Sumatra, The Batak, by Pieter Ter Keurs, with contributions from Constance de Monbrison and Sandra Niessen. Co-edition muse du quai Branly/5 continents, 96 pages, approximately 26 Opening hours Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Group admission: Daily from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (except Sundays) Closed on Mondays Information Telephone: 01 56 61 70 00 E-Mail: contact@quaibranly.fr Website: www.quaibranly.fr

Location The exhibition file is displayed on the East Suspended Gallery. Admission charges Muse du quai Branly (Main Collections, anthropology and special theme exhibitions): Adults: 8.50 Concessions: 6 (students)

A day at the Museum tickets (museum + Garden Gallery)

Adults: 13 Concessions: 9.50 (students) Free access to permanent collections and temporary exhibitions for the under 18s, the unemployed, receivers of minimum welfare (RMI), severely disabled ex-servicemen and the seriously handicapped, and muse du quai Branly passholders. Audio guides tariffs: Individual tariff: 5 Tariff duo: 7 Family tariff: 2.5 /pers. Group tariff (from 20 people): 2/pers. On foot: Museum entrances are located at 206 and 218 rue de lUniversit or at 27, 37, or 51 quai Branly, Paris 7th arrondissement.

Press contact
Pierre LAPORTE Communication tel: 33 (0)1 45 23 14 14 / info@pierre-laporte.com

Contacts at the muse du quai Branly

Nathalie MERCIER, Communications Director tel : 33 (0)1 56 61 70 20 / nathalie.mercier@quaibranly.fr Anne-Sylvie CAPITANI Deputy director of communications tel : 33 (0)1 56 61 52 64 / anne-sylvie.capitani@quaibranly.fr