[kai]

Hello Erik,

I recently added two Kalasans to my small collection of weapons from North Sumatra.
Based on the descriptions in Zonneveld I think they are Karo Batak pieces with hulu Sukul Jering. Nicely decorated with silver and suassa.

Thanks for sharing these nice Karo examples!

Now the questions is how where they used. The also had the rencong which is smaller and the podang which is much larger.

Was the kalasan a fighting weapon, a tool weapon or a cermonial weapon?

AFAIK, these were EDC blades and necessary part of the male attire (obviously also displaying status of the owner). They were primarily meant for personal protection and the size range of the blades seems pretty consistent with personal weapons throughout the SEA archipelago. Weapons primarily aimed for war rather than occasional skirmishes tended to be longer. However, spears, projectiles (bow/crossbow/blowpipe/etc.), and traps were the common strategies when you preferred to keep some distance...

Regards,
Kai