Roland:
It is not uncommon to see a marked etched pattern on barung. And I think Rick is correct when he says that the edge is actually an inserted piece of hardened steel between layers of softer steel/iron. I think Robert Cato, in his book Moro Swords, describes this method of pattern welding.
Here is one of my barung that shows an active pattern similar to your example, with what appear to be several different metals making up the layers of the blade.
Ian.
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