Nias sword with brass handle for sharing and discussion

[Sajen]

Today I have received the shown sword from a German auction house and which was wrong described as "Moro klewang"!
It's a Nias sword with a seldom seen brass handle. When I returned from work we didn't have daylight anymore so here is the picture from the auction house. In hand it looks much better, the wood from the scabbard shows a glossy patina, the bands could be from aluminium but could be from mamas also, I am unsure for the moment. 57,5 cm inside scabbard, 55,5 cm without, blade alone 44 cm and 5 mm thick at the spine behind the handle. Blade is laminated and still very sharp.
Better pics will follow soon as I can take them.

[Battara]

Very nice and congratulations. Bands do look aluminum to me too. I may have seen only one other years ago. I think they are rare.

I agree - not Moro at all.

[Jim McDougall]

This is an extremely attractive sword, and though I have VERY limited knowledge in this field of collecting, I wanted to seize the opportunity to learn a bit from you guys. I did a little looking online, and found that NIAS is an island which is among the archipelago off W. Sumatra by that name in the Indonesian complex.

It seems the term BALATO might be the term used from what I found on Wiki, but unclear whether that is the proper term, or perhaps a tribal group.
Other swords of this general form such as the Golok of Java and the Chunderik/CoJang of the Aceh seem to also use the term 'klewang' in sort of a collective manner.

Obviously nothing to do with Moro's (of Phillipines) but does seem to fall into the 'klewang' scope, the examples of these Nias associated seem to be invariably classed as 'rare'.

It was noted that on this island (Nias) during WWII, a number of escaped German prisoners occupied the island, but not sure the duration of that situation. Is it possible this might be from that period or later from possibly further German presence?

What is there in particular that distinguishes one of these from other klewang types to Nias?

[Sajen]

I am very pleased with my new toy! An overall beautiful patina. I am still not sure that the scabbard bands are from aluminium, they polish up very fast, very unusual for aluminium, who have done it before will know what I mean. And when polished very shiny, again unusual for aluminium. And I know that mamas, when tarnished, look like aluminium.

Here some new pictures from the balato.

[kino]

Great catch Sajen. A handsome sword.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Battara

Very nice and congratulations. Bands do look aluminum to me too. I may have seen only one other years ago. I think they are rare.

I agree - not Moro at all.

Thank you Jose! Like said, I am not 100% sure that the bands are from aluminium, I will polish one band to get sure.

The other one you will have seen will be this one: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=nias

The definition "Moro klewang" was used from the auction house, they have offered two other swords, a Batak kalasan and an Aceh sikin panjang, also these both are offered as "Moro klewangs"!

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

This is an extremely attractive sword, and though I have VERY limited knowledge in this field of collecting, I wanted to seize the opportunity to learn a bit from you guys. I did a little looking online, and found that NIAS is an island which is among the archipelago off W. Sumatra by that name in the Indonesian complex.

It seems the term BALATO might be the term used from what I found on Wiki, but unclear whether that is the proper term, or perhaps a tribal group.
Other swords of this general form such as the Golok of Java and the Chunderik/CoJang of the Aceh seem to also use the term 'klewang' in sort of a collective manner.

Obviously nothing to do with Moro's (of Phillipines) but does seem to fall into the 'klewang' scope, the examples of these Nias associated seem to be invariably classed as 'rare'.

It was noted that on this island (Nias) during WWII, a number of escaped German prisoners occupied the island, but not sure the duration of that situation. Is it possible this might be from that period or later from possibly further German presence?

What is there in particular that distinguishes one of these from other klewang types to Nias?

Thank you Jim! I am not an expert on these swords but here is the little bit I know. Balato is the name of the sword but there are a lot of other names, they will differ from village to village. You can distinguish between North and South Nias swords, mainly by the handle style. And, but this is my own assumption, there are the head hunting swords which are very imposant with their lasara handles and the charm balls at the scabbard and the plain daily use swords like my one. But like said, take it with a grain of salt, it's my assumption.
From the occupation from German prisoners I never had heard but will research about it.
I guess that my sword is from the WWII period.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kino

Great catch Sajen. A handsome sword.

Thank you Albert!

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Thank you Jim! I am not an expert on these swords but here is the little bit I know. Balato is the name of the sword but there are a lot of other names, they will differ from village to village. You can distinguish between North and South Nias swords, mainly by the handle style. And, but this is my own assumption, there are the head hunting swords which are very imposant with their lasara handles and the charm balls at the scabbard and the plain daily use swords like my one. But like said, take it with a grain of salt, it's my assumption.
From the occupation from German prisoners I never had heard but will research about it.
I guess that my sword is from the WWII period.

Regards,
Detlef

Thank you for the response! and while as I note, these areas of collecting and study are not typically in my usual field. These are highly specialized and extremely complex areas and pretty daunting to those of us who do not regularly frequent them.
However some examples just command attention, and I could not resist this one!
Its funny, as you note, terms for a sword form can virtually be different from village to village..........I recall Alan Maisey using those exact words in one of our conversations many years back While that seems impossible, when you are dealing with tribal peoples in rugged terrain and thick jungle it is not unusual that direct contact is often not possible nor sought between these people. ...especially with contrasts in their cultural demeanor.

Though possibly of WWII vintage, in ethnographic weapons, age is relatively unimportant as many weapons are simply more recent examples of forms long in use, and represent the culture itself.
Your observations seem to me soundly placed plausibilities than assumptions, thank you for adding them.

Outstanding example!!!!!!

[Sajen]

Thank you again Jim! And I agree with you, it's not important how old such a sword is when it's still worked in a traditional manner.

Regards,
Detlef

[Peter B.]

Hello Detlef,

you have bought a very nice and interesting sword. The metal handle is a rarity.

But what kind of metal is "mamas"? I tried to translate it into German, the result was "Mamas".
Hope you can help me.

Best regards from Berlin
Peter

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Peter B.

you have bought a very nice and interesting sword. The metal handle is a rarity.

But what kind of metal is "mamas"? I tried to translate it into German, the result was "Mamas".
Hope you can help me.

Hello Peter, thank you. Mamas is nickel based white metal similar to German silver, very common in Indonesia.

Regards,
Detlef

[Ian]

Sajen,

I'll add my voice to those who congratulated you on a very fine sword. There is a lot of "rustic" character in the sword itself. I particularly like the brass hilt, which seems to have some age judging from how the designs have worn from handling over the years. The blade similarly looks old and you noted a nice patina. Just from these pictures, the sword looks to be at least 19th C. in manufacture, although the scabbard might well be later. Very nice.

Ian.

[kai]

Congrats, Detlef, a very nice sword!

The hilt does look legit: While age is often easier to fake with metal pieces, this looks good to me; I'd estimate it and the blade as being antique, indeed. Scabbard is a later replacement (post WWII) as shown by carving quality and materials.

These more slender swords were either worn as EDC single blade/tool or as a secondary sword behind the main/heavier sword (akin to samurai usage). For all Nias blades, their stylistic details including names and local attribution need much more research as already indicated.

BTW, most extant Nias swords with balls originate from the post-headhunting days. Dutch and German missionaries were very active on Nias in eradicating old traditions during the 19th century (first in the North, later in the South); most Nias blades on the market are from the second half of the 20th century; older examples usually originate from the late colonial period (roughly turn of the century up to WWII). As with all Indonesian blades, most older pieces do originate from Dutch or British colonial sources and hardly anything can be inferred from the current owners place of living.

Regards,
Kai

[Bob A]

A fascinating sword, for sure. Congratulations on an interesting, even exotic, find.

I don't recall any other examples of swords from the area with brass hilts . . . if others here have links to such swords, I'd be delighted to see and learn more about the subject.

[kai]

Hello Bob,

I don't recall any other examples of swords from the area with brass hilts

Brass hilts are much more common with the smaller Nias blades, especially the Si Euli. Detlef's piece has a fairly slender hilt.

Larger hilts get really heavy and result in non-functional swords. I'd guess that the one in the linked thread is too heavy and messes up the sword's balance.

Regards,
Kai

[Bob A]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Bob,


Brass hilts are much more common with the smaller Nias blades, especially the Si Euli. Detlef's piece has a fairly slender hilt.

Larger hilts get really heavy and result in non-functional swords. I'd guess that the one in the linked thread is too heavy and messes up the sword's balance.

Regards,
Kai

Thank you!

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

I'll add my voice to those who congratulated you on a very fine sword. There is a lot of "rustic" character in the sword itself. I particularly like the brass hilt, which seems to have some age judging from how the designs have worn from handling over the years. The blade similarly looks old and you noted a nice patina. Just from these pictures, the sword looks to be at least 19th C. in manufacture, although the scabbard might well be later. Very nice.

Thank you Ian! Sorry for my late reply, I was and still am a little bit ill, I've catched a bad cold.
I agree with your age estimation, the sword is much older as the scabbard which will be a later replacement.

Regards,
Detlef

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kai

Congrats, Detlef, a very nice sword!

The hilt does look legit: While age is often easier to fake with metal pieces, this looks good to me; I'd estimate it and the blade as being antique, indeed. Scabbard is a later replacement (post WWII) as shown by carving quality and materials.

These more slender swords were either worn as EDC single blade/tool or as a secondary sword behind the main/heavier sword (akin to samurai usage). For all Nias blades, their stylistic details including names and local attribution need much more research as already indicated.

Hello Kai,

Thank you! I agree with your age estimation. I have attached a picture which shows how these slender swords are worn.

Regards,
Detlef