Shaman’s staff

Museum number:
18-1212
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21180001212
Accession number:
Acc.3598
Description:
Staff; shaman’s staff, encrusted wood; at very top is animal with head wrapped in red cloth with thongs around it (”pukpuk” bundle*); horsehair plume, feathers extend from bundle; below are two anthropomorphic figures, the top one with flexed knees around head of figure below which has animal on back; strip of animal hair near base; bottom of staff missing; modern painted wood base. Height not including base or plume 94 cm. *If real would be from brains of sacrificed child from enemy village (fide Professor Jerome Feldman, University of Hawaii, June 1981).
Donor:
Gerard Harpin
Collection place:
Sumatra, Indonesia
Culture or time period:
Batak
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.2 Magic: Objects Associated with Practices reflecting confidence in the ability to manipulate supernatural agencies
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Shaman’s staff, accession number 18-1212, described as Staff; shaman’s staff, encrusted wood; at very top is animal with head wrapped in red cloth with thongs around it (”pukpuk” bundle*); horsehair plume, feathers extend from bundle; below are two anthropomorphic figures, the top one with flexed knees around head of figure below which has animal on back; strip of animal hair near base; bottom of staff missing; modern painted wood base. Height not including base or plume 94 cm. *If real would be from brains of sacrificed child from enemy village (fide Professor Jerome Feldman, University of Hawaii, June 1981).

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