Blades from Sarawak, Malaysia

[Amuk Murugul]

Originally Posted by Dinggat

I can at least confirm that the Iban sometimes prefer to use a Piso Podang (PP) for their traditional dances and performances instead of a real Iban weapon. Possibly an antique PP is a more prestigious thing to own for the individual Iban than a mere "normal" parang that everyone has.

But one more thing I'm curious about: Unfortunately the blade of my PP is pretty rusted, but still I seem to remember that a smith's signature on the blade was visible. The funny thing is: The signature was made from European/Latin letters. What meaning could this have in regards to the "realness" of the weapon?

Hullo Dingdat,

I wouldn't worry about the 'realness' of the implement (of course this depends on how strict/purist you are). It's quite common to use non-local blades (be it from other regions or other countries) with local hilts/dress . As a matter of fact, in the 17th-18th centuries, VOC trade blades (manufactured by its foundaries in India and elsewhere in the East Indies) were commonly used throughout the Archipelago.

As for whether it's a 'pedang' or 'podang' (or even 'peudeueng'). I wouldn't worry about it too much. This is just a variation in the local language, similar to 'sword', 'zwaard' and 'schwert'. Basically the same.
In Brunei, the Malay spoken has always been the closest to Bahasa Indonesia, in essence, the Archipelago trade lingua franca. In Sabah, there is a strong Batak influence, particularly among some tribes, such as the Tawau (where they speak Malay with a Batak flavour).

Hope this helps.

Best,