rencong hilt question

[kai]

Hello Battara,

I'm with Willem on this.

However, I have to note that hulu puntung and hulu dandan are also very nice to hold/use. Despite their neverending variations, traditional hilts on SE Asian blades seem to be primarily designed for ergonomic function and only secondarily for display purposes...

I have heard that the rencong hilts that ends in an "L" shape is for ceremonial purposes and the others are for battle. Is there any truth to this?

There are quite a few very basic rencong with hulu meuccange which would speak against this notion: those who only could afford a single blade would certainly make no compromises as to function.

If I recall correctly, the Dutch outlawed rencong and many hulu meuccange got shortened into hulu puntung to make it more easily concealable. Still need to verify this story though...

Regards,
Kai