• Home
  • About

ArtPlantae Today

Connecting artists, naturalists, and educators

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The American Society of Botanical Artists Unveils New Website
Botanist Dedicated to Botany Education for Botanical Artists »

Inside ‘The Ambonese Herbal’

April 27, 2012 by Tania Marien

Georgius Everhardus Rumphius (1627-1702), soldier and naturalist, has many “firsts” to his name. His “firsts” are outlined in the introduction to The Ambonese Herbal. They include being the first to write about epiphytes, the first to describe how orchids reproduce from seed, and the first to write detailed descriptions of coral (Beekman, 2011). And, of course, he was the first to describe the plants of eastern Indonesia.

Rumphius’ Ambonese Herbal is a significant botanical work for more than the fact it contains the medicinal uses of 1,300 plants. His herbal is an important piece of botanical literature because it is a documented history of eastern Indonesia, its dialects, its culture, and its beliefs (Beekman, 2011). It is a snapshot of what life was like in a part of the world not easily accessible by the average person.

What also makes The Ambonese Herbal an impressive resource is the fact it was published in spite of several unfortunate events. Events such as Rumphius losing his eyesight. Up until he lost his eyesight to glaucoma in 1670, Rumphius was writing the herbal in Latin. After he lost his sight, he had to start over. He started over not because there was anything wrong with his work. He had to start over so he could continue his work. This meant dictating the herbal’s contents in the only language his assistants understood — Dutch. Switching to Dutch also meant his herbal could be read by a larger European audience (Beekman, 2011).

A draft of the herbal’s 12 books was completed by 1687 (Beekman, 2011). This draft included half of the herbal’s illustrations which Rumphius drew himself. An accomplishment to say the least!

Continued forward movement would not come easily for Rumphius, however. In 1674, his wife and daughter were killed in a major earthquake that struck the island of Ambon. A neighborhood fire in 1687 destroyed all of his original illustrations (his manuscript was saved). In 1692, the first six books of the herbal, including the redrawn illustrations, were lost at sea. Fortunately, the then governor-general of Batavia was a naturalist and one of Rumphius’ biggest supporters. Before the original manuscript was shipped to Amsterdam, he had Rumphius’ manuscript copied. Now that the governor-general’s copy was the only one in existence, he ordered that a second copy be made, as well as two sets of illustrations (Beekman, 2011).

Adding to Rumphius’ misfortunes was the theft of completed drawings stolen from his office in 1695 (Beekman, 2011).

In spite of these setbacks, the completed herbal and the appendix were safely in the hands of the Dutch East Indies Company by 1701. There was only one problem, though. The Dutch East Indies Company did not want to publish the herbal because they felt it contained proprietary information; they were especially concerned about Rumphius’ notes about cloves and nutmeg (Beekman, 2011). The Company eventually changed its mind about publishing the herbal, but with the condition that they be allowed to review passages that “could be judged detrimental to the Company” (Beekman, 2011). This change-of-heart came too late for Rumphius, however. He died three months earlier.

You would think the Dutch East Indies Company’s change-of-heart would clear the way for the herbal to be published for public consumption as Rumphius had planned. But this did not happen. It would be another 34 years before the Dutch East Indies Company would release the manuscript. The manuscript was eventually received by Johannes Burman, a Dutch botanist and expert in tropical biology. The year was 1736. A mere seventy-nine years after Rumphius began the field work for his herbal upon transferring to the civil service branch of the Dutch East Indies Company.

The herbal was printed twice before the current English translation. The first edition was printed in 1741 (view it here) and the second edition was printed in 1750.

For convenience sake, Rumphius’ original twelve books are grouped into six volumes in the English translation. These volumes are arranged as follows:

  • Volume 1 (Book 1): Trees Bearing Fruit That Are Husbanded by People
  • Volume 2 (Books 2-4): Aromatic Trees; Trees Producing Resin, Notable Flowers or Hurtful Milk; Trees That Provide Timber
  • Volume 3 (Books 4-7): Wild Trees in No Particular Order; Shrubs – Domesticated & Wild; Forest Ropes & Creeping Shrubs
  • Volume 4 (Books 8-9): Potherbs Used for Food, Medicine and Sport; Bindweeds, Twining Plants and Creeping Plants
  • Volume 5 (Books 10-12): Random Wild Plants; Remaining Wild Plants; Sea Trees and Stony Sea Growths Which Resemble Plants
  • Volume 6: Index of Common and Scientific Names

The Ambonese Herbal is an amazing reference. Get two sentences into any page and Rumphius’ life opens up before your eyes.

Beekman’s English translation of the herbal matches the original Dutch version as closely as possible. He does not use modern-day terminology to replace or change descriptions written in Rumphius’ 17th-century Dutch. On occasion he explains why he chose to use some of the English words that he uses. Sometimes his choice of words are based on the fact that the modern word we would use and recognize today did not exist during Rumphius’ time. A thorough explanation about the translation of The Ambonese Herbal is included in Beekman’s introduction.

In this new edition, Beekman speaks to readers through incredibly detailed annotations located in the margins of the text. Their placement in the margin (both on the sides and on the bottom of the page) are a huge help to readers. There are many footnotes in the English edition and flipping back and forth to the back of the book would have been troublesome.

Reading the herbal is truly an engaging experience and for this we need to thank E.M. Beekman. Unfortunately Dr. Beekman, like Rumphius, did not see his masterpiece as a finished product. Dr. Beekman passed away in 2008.

Dr. Beekman spent many years of his life bringing Rumphius and his achievements to a larger audience. He wanted to bring attention to the plant world, especially the plants in The Ambonese Herbal that have gone extinct or are about to go extinct (Beekman, 2011). In a world where the current focus on the molecular study of plants separates plants from their native habitat, Dr. Beekman felt it important to emphasize the value of the descriptive texts written by early naturalists. He says texts written by Rumphius and others make “readers see, sense, and taste the reality they were trying to communicate” (Beekman, 2011).

As he brings his introduction to The Ambonese Herbal to a close, Dr. Beekman leaves readers with the following quote by 19th-century physician, William Osler:

We miss more by not seeing, than by not knowing.

What do you think?



Literature Cited

    Rumphius, Georgius Everhardus. 1999. The Ambonese Curiosity Cabinet. Translated, annotated, and with an introduction by E.M. Beekman. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Rumphius, Georgius Everhardus. 2011. The Ambonese Herbal. Translated, annotated, and with an introduction by E.M. Beekman. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

These books and Rumphius’ Orchids, also translated by E.M. Beekman, are available at ArtPlantae Books by special order.



Related Topic

Botany Superstars Become Rare Specimens

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in teaching & learning, Teaching & Learning |

  • I’m curious about…

  • What Readers Are Reading Now

    • California
    • Earn a Professional Certificate in Natural Science Illustration at the University of Washington
    • Scientific Illustration in the Elementary School Classroom
    • Today's Botanical Artists On Using Photographs
    • Dry Brush Technique for Botanical Artists
  • Plants & You

  • Featured Guests

    Wendy Hollender (interview)

    Wendy Hollender

    Gilly Shaeffer

    Today’s Botanical Artists

    Society of Botanical Artists

    Billy Showell (interview)

    Billy Showell

    Sarah Simblet (webinar)

    Robin Brickman

    Mark Granlund

    Wendy Hollender (webinar)

    Diane Cardaci

    Katie Lee (webinar)

    Bruce L. Cunningham (webinar)

    Jane LaFazio (interview)

    Jane LaFazio

    Mally Francis (interview)

    Kandis Elliot

    Anne-Marie Evans

    Margaret Best

    Elaine Searle

    Mindy Lighthipe

    Niki Simpson

    Anna (Knights) Mason

    Helen Allen

    Birmingham Society of
    Botanical Artists

    Hazel West-Sherring

    John Muir Laws

    Martin J. Allen

    Institute for Analytical Plant Illustration

    Mairi Gillies

    Georgius Everhardus Rumphius

    Liz Leech

    Valerie Littlewood

    Heeyoung Kim

    Anna Laurent

    Linda Ann Vorobik

    Shawn Sheehy

    Gary Hoyle

    Katie Zimmerman

    Mariella Baldwin

    Anita Walsmit Sachs

    Ruth Ava Lyons

    Katie Zimmerman

    Kellie Cox-Brady

    Jennifer Landin

    Laurence Hill

    Gretchen Kai Halpert

    Susan Leopold

    Tina Scopa

  • Global Impact

    Botanists and illustrators strive to document conifers around the world.

  • Nature Near You

    Global Directory of Botanical Gardens
    Botanic Gardens Conservation International
    Search for a Garden

    National Park Service
    Search for national parks at the National Park Service website.www.nps.gov

    National Environmental Education Foundation's Nature Center Guide.
    Find Your Nature Center

    Rails-to-Trails
    Find a trail for hiking, walking, cycling or inline skating. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and its volunteers work to convert unused railroads into trails for healthful outdoor activities.
    Search their national TrailLink database to locate a trail near you.

    Sierra Club Trails
    Locate trails for hiking, cycling, climbing, and many other outdoor activities.
    Search Sierra Club Trails

  • © 2007-2022 by Tania Marien. All rights reserved.
    Contact Tania

    Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Artists retain the copyright to their work.

    The ArtPlantae® logo is a registered trademark.

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • ArtPlantae Today
    • Join 1,788 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • ArtPlantae Today
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
%d bloggers like this: