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Originally Posted by Amuk Murugul
Hullo David,
I try to avoid mentioning it; but since you asked:
The hilt faces the 'rear' as a reminder to djatisoenda to 'watch one's back'. Harks back to 1357 when treachery perpetrated by the 'Mahapatih wong-wetan', resulted in the massacre of the Soenda royal wedding-party.
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As an urang Sunda I enjoy this for the sake of this pseudo grudge
Though I can't say I'm about to reverse my hilts to honour the sentiment. I too much enjoy the neatness and aesthetic of it being the right way around.
This isn't something I've observed in Sunda either in public viewings or private collections, pusaka and non-pusaka alike. I think that it might be impossible to determine the chain of transmission but I do wonder where and who this convention (if it even is a convention) came from.