Borneo Parang Ihlang

kai · 5th February 2023, 05:04 PM

Thanks, Joe, now I get what you're comparing it to!

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if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction, and if you look at only half.

Actually, these sometimes appear as single rather than as a paired feature, indeed.

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if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

Since pangolins are also eaten, we can probably assume that their skulls are known to these peoples, too. However, combining a bare skull with the tongue might be a bit of a stretch...

The indigenous Moro interpretation refers to elephants (the traditional view already in place with the keris as ancestral blade) or eagles. While extant birds have no teeth, also elephants (except for their tusks, if any) appear to be kinda toothless as living animals.

While it can be fun to play with such ideas, I'd suggest to be very cautious with any interpretations that are apparently not shared by the originating culture.

Regards,
Kai

Jim McDougall · 5th February 2023, 07:35 PM

Joe, you have a remarkably astute eye in examining symbolism and its potential inspirations and representations! While I have been fascinated by these things as long as I can remember, it seems there are always so many possibilities that its really hard to consider which is more viable or likely.

In the cases of the weaponry of these regions, the nature of these representations are not only culturally traditional but deeply religiously oriented. This is probably one of the most daunting aspects in understanding these motifs especially is, like terms and language, variations and interpretation vary, as one noted authority said, 'almost village to village' (of course exaggerated but the point is made).

Probably one of the reasons I have typically been reticent to go into deep study of these weapons is being apprehensive about transgressing into delicate matters in trying to better understand such symbolism, not to mention the deep metaphysical properties inherent.

I like the way you strive to remain objective in speculations, and as Kai importantly suggests, in caution. Absolutely fascinating weapons, well deserving the respect they are afforded.

5th February 2023, 07:35 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,477	Joe, you have a remarkably astute eye in examining symbolism and its potential inspirations and representations! While I have been fascinated by these things as long as I can remember, it seems there are always so many possibilities that its really hard to consider which is more viable or likely. In the cases of the weaponry of these regions, the nature of these representations are not only culturally traditional but deeply religiously oriented. This is probably one of the most daunting aspects in understanding these motifs especially is, like terms and language, variations and interpretation vary, as one noted authority said, 'almost village to village' (of course exaggerated but the point is made). Probably one of the reasons I have typically been reticent to go into deep study of these weapons is being apprehensive about transgressing into delicate matters in trying to better understand such symbolism, not to mention the deep metaphysical properties inherent. I like the way you strive to remain objective in speculations, and as Kai importantly suggests, in caution. Absolutely fascinating weapons, well deserving the respect they are afforded.