Mandau pommel representation?

[migueldiaz]

hello all!

i've just finished reading sellato's hornbill and dragon (courtesy of a friend). there's a lot of pics of the mandau in there but the book didn't say what the pommel figure represents.

i've just browsed the articles in this forum but i didn't come across any info as to what the pommel is supposed to depict.

was there a consensus already among experts on the mandau as to what it is, and if yes, what would it be? (e.g., would it be the dragon dog, aso, for instance).

thanks in advance for any answer

the pic below is from oriental-arms of course ...