INDONESIA

INDONESIA.

Musical instruments.
Sumatra (Sumatera) Map and kultjapi.
Fourth stamp in a set of 16, issued on 01.02.1967.
Face value: 1.50 Indonesian rupiah.
Printing: Photogravure.
Size: 25 x 32 mm.

Catalogs
- Michel No. 565.
- Scott No. 708.
- StampWorld No. 607.
- Stanley Gibbons No. 1143.
- Yvert et Tellier No. 501.
- Zonnebloem No. 566.

Sumatra (Indonesian: Sumatera) is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island in the Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km² (182,812 sq mi). The Indian Ocean borders the west, northwest, and southwest coasts of Sumatra, with the island chain of Simeulue, Nias, Mentawai, and Enggano off the western coast. In the northeast, the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula. In the southeast, the Sunda Strait, containing the Krakatoa Archipelago, separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of island borders the Andaman Islands, while off the southeastern coast lie the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait and the Java Sea. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which contain several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeastern area contains large plains and lowlands with swamps, mangrove forest and complex river systems. The equator crosses the island at its centre in West Sumatra and Riau provinces. The population of Sumatra, in 2020, was 58,557,211 inhabitants.

The kultjapi (kulkapi or kacapi, better known as hasapi) is a two-stringed lute from the Batak people in Sumatra. Formerly it was used in religious rituals, but more recently it has been incorporated into musical ensembles and. especially to the traveling Opera Batak. The instrument is made from a single piece of wood and its body is slim, pear-shaped.