Bolo for commentary

milandro · 4th March 2023, 08:58 AM

I have recently acquired this Bolo , or at least I suppose it is. I don't know if it can be called a Luzon weapon.

This weapon has been brought to the Netherlands in 1949 from a Dutch soldier, the father of the seller, acquired it while serving in Indonesia during the independence war.

I don't know how this travelled from the Philippines to Indonesia but this is the record I have. I have bought another two blades from him one from Yogyakarta and the other one from Madura and as far as I know, he was stationed on Java.

The Item looks a bit older in real than it looks in the pictures, the blade has a very think spine, 8mm and the blade measures 36,5cm from tip to ferrule. The blade is very nicely and ornately chiseled.

The sheath is very well made albeit very light and going through the many pictures of bolos that I have watched I didn't find any like this. It was certainly specifically made for this blade .

I would like people to comment on which tribe may have been this made by and if this would fall under the Luzon weaponry or not.

Gavin Nugent · 4th March 2023, 09:23 AM

A nice and very dangerous looking weapon.
I can't offer much more than that weaving on the scabbard is very Borneo like even though the blade looks very northern Philippines like... the pommel too has a Borneo flavour... detail of the blade decorations may reveal more?
Nice looker and very practical.

milandro · 4th March 2023, 09:29 AM

cheers, it may certainly have been going through Borneo-Sarawak and then reaching some other Islands.

I though it was an interesting piece, the scabbard shows a very ornate weave which is what made me think that this couldn't have been the middle of the road soldier souvenir which we often see.

The closest blades that I found ( but not the same) were certain Malay Parang Bolos but they were missing this type of scabbard and the chiselled blade , also the hilt, while similar was rather different

kai · 4th March 2023, 10:52 PM

Hello André,

A pic of the full scabbard from both sides might be good. One would possibly need to get a real close look into it to check whether this really was made for this sword or is a later marriage with just a really nice fit.

From the pics, the scabbard is more recent Borneo - it certainly seems post-war. The carving is quite rough and the rattan braiding is typical for many Dayak groups and seen on even later examples.

The sword is from the central Sumatran highlands: possibly Mandailing (the area got devastated during the Padri turmoil and received lots of Minang influence during the 19th century; the later pieces originate from one of the main Sumatran blade manufacturing sites). Hilt and general style of this piece also seem to be post-WW2. Not a common type but some of these do crop up, especially in the Netherlands. (Not all of these have a cross guard. An older example is published in Steel and Magic: #13)

Regards,
Kai

Ian · 4th March 2023, 11:24 PM

Hi milandro,

Handsome looking item. I agree with kai, this is central Sumatran in origin and post-WWII in manufacture. Two questions, an observation, and another question.

Is the edge chisel-ground or V-ground, and is part of the back edge sharpened?

The down-turned quillion on the guard appears to reflect a Chinese influence. Kai, do we know whether Chinese settlers or merchants ventured as far inland as the central highlands of Sumatra?

Gavin Nugent · 4th March 2023, 11:29 PM

One of the guardless sub types from Sumatra, the others that utilize this guard are not on this PC, will see if I can find some examples.

A personally feel this entire piece of yours is a WWII + period weapon from Murat Sabah... guard a personal thing... the same elegant guard style can be seen on some of the rarer Sumatra Silat weapons and also in Vietnam... but they are typically attached to the pommel too, although examples can be found with the floating guard.

https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle...machete-making

kai · 5th March 2023, 02:45 AM

Hello Ian,

Quote:

Is the edge chisel-ground or V-ground, and is part of the back edge sharpened?

All examples I saw have symmetrical bevels (V grind). The back edge has a steep bevel that doesn't lend itself to sharpening, especially with the longer blades.

Quote:

The down-turned quillion on the guard appears to reflect a Chinese influence. Kai, do we know whether Chinese settlers or merchants ventured as far inland as the central highlands of Sumatra?

I can't recall any historic references. There has been enough and longstanding influence in the area for ideas to spread, anyway.

I'd assume that the trade to the coastal ports on both sides of Sumatra was done by the Minang though. At least the pre-colonial production seems to be by local artisans IMHO.

Regards,
Kai

milandro · 5th March 2023, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kai

Hello André,

A pic of the full scabbard from both sides might be good. One would possibly need to get a real close look into it to check whether this really was made for this sword or is a later marriage with just a really nice fit.

From the pics, the scabbard is more recent Borneo - it certainly seems post-war. The carving is quite rough and the rattan braiding is typical for many Dayak groups and seen on even later examples.

The sword is from the central Sumatran highlands: possibly Mandailing (the area got devastated during the Padri turmoil and received lots of Minang influence during the 19th century; the later pieces originate from one of the main Sumatran blade manufacturing sites). Hilt and general style of this piece also seem to be post-WW2. Not a common type but some of these do crop up, especially in the Netherlands. (Not all of these have a cross guard. An older example is published in Steel and Magic: #13)

Regards,
Kai

Thanks Kai! your information gave me the possibility to search Mandailing Swords and I found another thread with almost identical swords (albeit even finer in quality than mine) no scabbard there.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=5089

Searching further using this term I came across the term Piso Sanalenggam which looks different in terms of hilt and doesn't show engravings on the blade but the shape of the blade looks the same.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6928

Sajen · 6th March 2023, 10:44 PM

Hello André,

Nice old to vintage so called Mandailing klewang found its way in your collection and will look much nicer after a little bit of TLC.
Not much to add to what Kai already has said, scabbard doesn't belong to the sword and the blade shape resembles the piso sanalenggam you have pointed out seemingly already. No great surprise that the blade shape is similar since the Mandailing belong to the Batak ethnos.

Regards,
Detlef

4th March 2023, 09:29 AM	#3
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 446	cheers, it may certainly have been going through Borneo-Sarawak and then reaching some other Islands. I though it was an interesting piece, the scabbard shows a very ornate weave which is what made me think that this couldn't have been the middle of the road soldier souvenir which we often see. The closest blades that I found ( but not the same) were certain Malay Parang Bolos but they were missing this type of scabbard and the chiselled blade , also the hilt, while similar was rather different Attached Images

4th March 2023, 10:52 PM	#4
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,249	Definitely not Filipino Hello André, A pic of the full scabbard from both sides might be good. One would possibly need to get a real close look into it to check whether this really was made for this sword or is a later marriage with just a really nice fit. From the pics, the scabbard is more recent Borneo - it certainly seems post-war. The carving is quite rough and the rattan braiding is typical for many Dayak groups and seen on even later examples. The sword is from the central Sumatran highlands: possibly Mandailing (the area got devastated during the Padri turmoil and received lots of Minang influence during the 19th century; the later pieces originate from one of the main Sumatran blade manufacturing sites). Hilt and general style of this piece also seem to be post-WW2. Not a common type but some of these do crop up, especially in the Netherlands. (Not all of these have a cross guard. An older example is published in Steel and Magic: #13) Regards, Kai

4th March 2023, 11:29 PM	#6
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	One of the guardless sub types from Sumatra, the others that utilize this guard are not on this PC, will see if I can find some examples. A personally feel this entire piece of yours is a WWII + period weapon from Murat Sabah... guard a personal thing... the same elegant guard style can be seen on some of the rarer Sumatra Silat weapons and also in Vietnam... but they are typically attached to the pommel too, although examples can be found with the floating guard. https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle...machete-making Attached Images Last edited by Gavin Nugent; 4th March 2023 at 11:49 PM. Reason: images

4th March 2023, 08:58 AM	#1
milandro Member Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Netherlands Posts: 446	Bolo for commentary I have recently acquired this Bolo , or at least I suppose it is. I don't know if it can be called a Luzon weapon. This weapon has been brought to the Netherlands in 1949 from a Dutch soldier, the father of the seller, acquired it while serving in Indonesia during the independence war. I don't know how this travelled from the Philippines to Indonesia but this is the record I have. I have bought another two blades from him one from Yogyakarta and the other one from Madura and as far as I know, he was stationed on Java. The Item looks a bit older in real than it looks in the pictures, the blade has a very think spine, 8mm and the blade measures 36,5cm from tip to ferrule. The blade is very nicely and ornately chiseled. The sheath is very well made albeit very light and going through the many pictures of bolos that I have watched I didn't find any like this. It was certainly specifically made for this blade . I would like people to comment on which tribe may have been this made by and if this would fall under the Luzon weaponry or not. Attached Images

4th March 2023, 09:23 AM	#2
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	A nice and very dangerous looking weapon. I can't offer much more than that weaving on the scabbard is very Borneo like even though the blade looks very northern Philippines like... the pommel too has a Borneo flavour... detail of the blade decorations may reveal more? Nice looker and very practical.

4th March 2023, 11:24 PM	#5
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,137	Hi milandro, Handsome looking item. I agree with kai, this is central Sumatran in origin and post-WWII in manufacture. Two questions, an observation, and another question. Is the edge chisel-ground or V-ground, and is part of the back edge sharpened? The down-turned quillion on the guard appears to reflect a Chinese influence. Kai, do we know whether Chinese settlers or merchants ventured as far inland as the central highlands of Sumatra?

6th March 2023, 10:44 PM	#9
Sajen Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Germany, Dortmund Posts: 8,711	Hello André, Nice old to vintage so called Mandailing klewang found its way in your collection and will look much nicer after a little bit of TLC. Not much to add to what Kai already has said, scabbard doesn't belong to the sword and the blade shape resembles the piso sanalenggam you have pointed out seemingly already. No great surprise that the blade shape is similar since the Mandailing belong to the Batak ethnos. Regards, Detlef