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Aceh Art and Culture. By HOLLY S. SMITH. Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1997. xii, 75 pp. $18.95.
This small book is one of a series published by Oxford University Press entitled "Images of Asia." The purpose of the series in the publisher's words is to combine "an introductory text, written for the non-specialist reader by an authority on the subject, with extensive illustrations in both colour and black and white." That is exactly what this book accomplishes. The author provides background on the history and culture of Aceh followed by chapters on the art and architecture, literature, and the performing arts, as well a chapter on the "present and future" of the area. A concise bibliography covers most of the important sources in English and Indonesian languages.
The book presents a very sympathetic portrayal of Aceh, emphasizing the accomplishments of this most intensely Muslim area of Southeast Asia. The historical section begins with indigenous legends concerning the origins of the Acehnese followed by a brief summary of the archeology of the pre-Islamic period. The earliest written accounts start with the...