Who we are
This course was developed by Dr. Uli Kozok, professor in Indonesian at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Giuseppina Monaco, Nelson Lumbantoruan, and Manguji Nababan assisted in the project.
The main course is bilingual in Indonesian and English, and does not only cater to those who want to learn the Batak script, but especially to those with an interest in Southeast Asian palaeography or the study of scripts in general.
Short courses for those who are interested only in one of the five variants of the Batak scripts are also available, but only in the Indonesian language.
Honolulu, March 2020
Some cultural-historical implications
- Ultimate Indian Provenance of all Island Southeast Asian scripts
- Strong evidence of an Old Malay and/or Old Javanese influence.
- “Surat” is the common denominator among nearly all Indonesian and Philippine scripts
- Very little evidence of a direct influence from either the Kerinci or the Surat Ulu script from Bengkulu and South Sumatra
- South-North development points to Angkola-Mandailing as point of origin
