I'm running out of quips on Sumatra so this is my last puerile attempt. As this is the fourth installment I'm going to keep it shortish. This is the result of a day around the island mostly visiting Batak stuff and what's left of the volcanic activity. I have lost the plot on this so I will do some photos and hope you haven't seen this stuff before. In the mean time have a great New Year and I hope you had a fantastic Christmas. So we hired a car sans driver and weaved our way around the cultural high spots of the island.
Introducing the Batak Ex factor contestants the shuffling Samosir dancers. These guys in a very hot arena shuffled around clapping their little hands together in a not all together enthusiastic manner. And who can blame them dressed like that in 30 plus degrees on white sand. Apparently there were several related stories but the steps were still shuffled and the tiny hands were still clapped. The building is apparently authentic and a work of art in itself.
The final act introduces a rather reticent puppet and the obligatory tourist participation. The young fella on the left had a bit of trouble as the legs of the prop got stuck, the prop represents the last king apparently but more of this later. So after a few judicial wallops with feet and hands the limbs became free and the show continued. The final act was to come round with the hat to collect a bit of shuffle money and to be honest they deserved every sweaty bit.
I may be wrong here but if I heard the driver right this is the last resting place of the last king of the Batak and some of his wives. The way people treat their dead is quite fascinating on Samosir they have family tombs and they seem to be scattered at random around the place. Presumably the more ornate and large ones are of the karked weathy and the more modest are the not so. Interesting is the christian symbols mixed up with animistic and other symbols.
So we dropped in on the drivers Granny where she was working her fingers to the bone making stuff for tourists and the shuffle dancers. The foot belongs to a leg that is attached to one of the many cousins of the driver, he was either dead or totally fast asleep while granny made the money. It was quite interesting watching an artisan at work.
We tried to walk to this place but going by car was much easier. This is another kings palace without the shufflemeisters. It has a bit of an air of decrepitude about it but that's probably because it needs a bit of maintenance and TLC. You certainly wouldn't want to come home from the pub nine sheets to the wind and then climb the rickety stair to nod land. You might even slip through the cracks in the floor, or bash the old melon on the low beams. Mind you it could produce an interesting bruise if you catch one of the carvings just right.