Very strange. I am leaning toward the idea this is an Indonesian sword, probably made for the domestic market. The domestic market would of course include internal tourism, but also martial artists who appreciate a good blade. It would not be unusual for an Indonesian to belong to both of those categories.
The cheap Chinese made stuff rarely has that level of etching, while such is quite common on 20th c. Indonesian blades. There is also the feeling of talismanic properties to the characters and other etching which would go with an Indonesian provenance.
Josh
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