From Groningen to Lake Toba... Lake Toba, looking South southwest, North Sumatra, Indonesia
What could Groningen and Lake Toba possibly have in common? It may come as a bit of a surprise that the first European to set eyes on Lake Toba in North Sumatra was the famous polyglot and linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk, who for a time studied at the University of Groningen. Born in Malacca, then a Dutch possession, in 1824 of mixed European (Dutch and German) and 'Eastern' parentage (his mother was half Javanese), Van der Tuuk was sent from the Indies to Groningen to study law (1840). But he was more interested in languages and transferred to Leiden in 1845. Van der Tuuk became a formidable linguist and theoretician of language. He was fluent in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Malay and a whole list of Indonesian languages among which Balinese, Kawi, and perhaps most importantly (Toba) Batak. He translated parts of the Bible into that language (1859) and also produced a dictionary (1861). To study the Batak language he became an explorer, visiting the Toba region in 1852-1853. In the course of his studies he even stayed with the mortal enemy of the Dutch colonisers, the priest-king Si Singa Mangaraja of the valley of Bakkara.
Franz Wilhem Junghuhn (1809-1864) - a hero of mine, as readers of this photo-chronicle may recall - had earlier explored what he called the 'Batalands', but he thought stories of a great lake in the interior of Sumatra to be spurious, and did not investigate further. Quite understandable given the harsh geography and the difficult to penetrate jungles even with today's transport and good health!
But he and Van der Tuuk did see eye-to-eye on the intellectual development of the Toba Batak. Far from being illitterate, they had developed their own script and most people were able to read. This script was not used for the codification of law - maybe it was just as well that Van der Tuuk did not become a legal scholar - nor for administrative purposes. From several sources it is clear that writing was primarily used for love-letters. Junghuhn writes that a typical love-letter measures 1.5 by 12 inches, writen on palm leaf. In these letters a young man starting from age 14 will write eloquently of the beauty of his love; and she will return his compliments. Visiting this area today, you will be asked to buy harmonica-style pieces of Batak writing.
This photo was taken in the direction of the way another early Dutch explorer ( J.A.M. van Cats, baron de Raet (1868)) crossed Lake Toba from the north to the southwest. To the right is Samosir 'island'. It's a magnificent sight and site, and if I were able I would write an Ode to it in Toba Batak!
Ah! Yes! What of Van der Tuuk? he settled on Bali, continuing his linguistic work but also becoming something of an excentric. Illitterate Europeans considered him laughable for he had - they said - 'gone native'.
From Groningen to Lake Toba... Lake Toba, looking South southwest, North Sumatra, Indonesia
What could Groningen and Lake Toba possibly have in common? It may come as a bit of a surprise that the first European to set eyes on Lake Toba in North Sumatra was the famous polyglot and linguist Herman Neubronner van der Tuuk, who for a time studied at the University of Groningen. Born in Malacca, then a Dutch possession, in 1824 of mixed European (Dutch and German) and 'Eastern' parentage (his mother was half Javanese), Van der Tuuk was sent from the Indies to Groningen to study law (1840). But he was more interested in languages and transferred to Leiden in 1845. Van der Tuuk became a formidable linguist and theoretician of language. He was fluent in Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Malay and a whole list of Indonesian languages among which Balinese, Kawi, and perhaps most importantly (Toba) Batak. He translated parts of the Bible into that language (1859) and also produced a dictionary (1861). To study the Batak language he became an explorer, visiting the Toba region in 1852-1853. In the course of his studies he even stayed with the mortal enemy of the Dutch colonisers, the priest-king Si Singa Mangaraja of the valley of Bakkara.
Franz Wilhem Junghuhn (1809-1864) - a hero of mine, as readers of this photo-chronicle may recall - had earlier explored what he called the 'Batalands', but he thought stories of a great lake in the interior of Sumatra to be spurious, and did not investigate further. Quite understandable given the harsh geography and the difficult to penetrate jungles even with today's transport and good health!
But he and Van der Tuuk did see eye-to-eye on the intellectual development of the Toba Batak. Far from being illitterate, they had developed their own script and most people were able to read. This script was not used for the codification of law - maybe it was just as well that Van der Tuuk did not become a legal scholar - nor for administrative purposes. From several sources it is clear that writing was primarily used for love-letters. Junghuhn writes that a typical love-letter measures 1.5 by 12 inches, writen on palm leaf. In these letters a young man starting from age 14 will write eloquently of the beauty of his love; and she will return his compliments. Visiting this area today, you will be asked to buy harmonica-style pieces of Batak writing.
This photo was taken in the direction of the way another early Dutch explorer ( J.A.M. van Cats, baron de Raet (1868)) crossed Lake Toba from the north to the southwest. To the right is Samosir 'island'. It's a magnificent sight and site, and if I were able I would write an Ode to it in Toba Batak!
Ah! Yes! What of Van der Tuuk? he settled on Bali, continuing his linguistic work but also becoming something of an excentric. Illitterate Europeans considered him laughable for he had - they said - 'gone native'.