Carved Figures (possibly Debata Ribu-Ribu)

Positive identification of some objects is sometimes impossible, partly because island and coastal Southeast Asia has been so cosmopolitan for so many centuries. Techniques, forms, and materials have been shared and traded for hundreds of years, and particularly in the case of relatively simple objects used for common purposes it would be misleading to claim certainty as to precise provenance or intended use.

In such cases, we look to general clues of composition and probable use to narrow the possibilities - in the case of these figures, the stopper-like shape, the slightly bent knees, the roughly carved faces, and the topknots suggest a Batak aesthetic rather than, for example, the more intricate and curvilinear Dayak style. Their size is consistent with a number of possible objects, from medicine bottle stoppers to ritual lime reamers. Given that this seems to be a set loosely bound together with cloth, that the figures are of closed contours, their heads showing stylized facial features and their hands in the same unusual attitude, however, suggests that they are actual or reproduction debata riburibu, another tool in the mystical arsenal of the Batak datu or shaman.

Such figures were used in manipulative magic, collected into bundles by Toba Batak datu and reckoned as powerful magical objects. They are used in the physical and spiritual healing as well as in the deployment and avoidance of curses.

Wood, bristle thread; (R) 48 x 28 x 4cm, (L) 42 x 28 x 4 cm.