Batak door with lizard image

The Batak people call such doors, with peg hinges, ‘pintu jambur’. They are commonly found at the entrances to rice granaries, known as ‘sapo’. This one bears an image of a lizard, a creature which was believed to protect the contents of the granary. In Batak myth and religion, several deities are depicted in the form of a lizard, including Boraspati Ni Ruma, the guardian of the house, a fertility symbol, and Boraspati Ni Tano, the god of agriculture.Doors with images of lizards are found across much of island Southeast Asia and are probably inspired by the common house lizard. They are are usually associated with protection as well as the earth.

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