INSCRIPTIONS
103
FIG. 15 (below):
Portrait of a young
Mentawaian by C. B.
Nieuwenhuis, 1895.
Tropenmuseum Amsterdam,
inv. TM-10005477.
There is perhaps no other
photograph that so well illustrates
the romantic topos of the “amiable
savage.”
FIG. 16 (right): Dagger, pattei.
Berisigep, northern Siberut.
Early 20th century.
Collected in 1969.
Wood, iron, red-colored rattan, chicken
feathers, bone, blackened incising.
L: 45 cm.
Private collection.
The scrolled handle (mageibeg) is dyed
red with kalumanang fruit juice. The
sheath is composed of two parts held
together by ornamental bindings of red
rattan and an endpiece of bone. Clusters
of chicken feathers held in place by the
rattan bindings on one side reveal that the
dagger was made for a left-handed owner.
FIG. 17 (right):
During Schefold’s fi rst
stay with the Sakuddei
in 1967, Amanuisa, the
second son of the master
of ceremonies (rimata),
was recognized as the most
artistically talented member
of the uma, admired for
his dancing and singing as
well as for his carving skills.
Under his guidance, the
Sakuddei built their large
new uma in the late 1990s.