Sharing another SE Asian tribal crossbow

[wildwolberine]

Sharing this new addition to my tribal crossbow collection. Likely Vietnam highlands, midcentury. Very dark, dense hardwood. The bow is D shaped in cross section (almost triangular, with a nearly flat belly) with tips slightly narrowed. Bow is held in place with multiple small bamboo wedges. Rattan bindings on one limb. Stock is made from the same hardwood. Based on the patina and solid construction I believe this was tribally used.

Interesting trigger mechanism - there is no slot carved into the underside of the stock. The trigger is an H shaped piece of buffalo horn. I believe it was operated by using the index finger along the right side of stock to pull the trigger. The cavity behind the trigger has been filled in with wax (I don’t know if this was done by the maker or a later owner, or what the purpose would be other than preventing the trigger from falling out).

I like it - string is missing but the fragile and often-lost trigger is intact. Not a lot of information out there about these interesting projectile weapons.

Width 110 cm
Length 52 cm
Bow is about 5 cm wide & 2 cm thick

[DaveF]

That looks like a nice, solid example of a montagnard crossbow.
I've attached some photos of my example, a smaller, younger sibling of yours as it's span is only 59cm. My assumption about my crossbow is that it was made as a tourist item. It looks like it could easily be taken apart and reassembled. It has a string (actually a strip of bamboo), but the main body has cracked at the front. I think it just wasn't substantial enough to cope with the forces released when the crossbow was fired, hence the string has survived? Although it may be a tourist item, it seems to have been made in the traditional way with the arrows having fletching made from a leaf folded into a diamond shape and with a trigger that seems to be carved from the same wood as the main body of the crossbow.

[wildwolberine]

Originally Posted by DaveF

That looks like a nice, solid example of a montagnard crossbow.
I've attached some photos of my example, a smaller, younger sibling of yours as it's span is only 59cm.

Thanks for sharing! That’s a nice example, and it shows how the string and trigger mechanism are constructed.

[Ren Ren]

Your crossbow is similar to the crossbows of the Sedang people of Central Vietnam. The photos were taken by me mainly from the collection of the Musée du quai Branly in Paris, France.