Islamic Text Found in a swordhandle
 

Can anyone tell me if a name from the owner is on the paper

on the scabbard

No one any idee ?????

what kind of sword did this come from?
was the paper inside the sword handle?

Hi it is a peduang from sumatra that has enter the Netherlands in 1850
the papers was hidden in a bag made from cloth that was
put inside the handprotector

the story about this sword is that it was used bij a high placed men that was very close to the sultan off Atjeh between 1650 and 1700

Dajak:

I can't help you with the Arabic translation, but I'm looking at that scabbard and it appears to be a late 19th C or early 20th C piece, perhaps modeled on the Dutch military klewang scabbard of that period. Certainly not original to the sword, if the sword is 17-18th C. in origin.

I'm also skeptical about the paper and writing being as old as the sword is purported to be. Given the way it was stored, its appearance is remarkably pristine and well preserved. An analysis of the paper and ink could reveal a recent origin.

Nonetheless, a very nice hilt. Any chance we could see the blade?

Ian.

Hi this is an copy from the original

the original is very thin


The scabbard was on it when it entered the Netherlands in 1850

Talismanic Papers
 

The text is a bit small but from what I can see, I'm assuming the papers are actually what is known in the Malay archipelago cultures as Tangkal, a form of talisman. Maybe if you can enlarge the scans a little bit, or perhaps just one of them we can read a bit more.

Raja Muda is right about the papers being a form of talisman, also known as azimat or zimat. I see a familiar pattern or two and such azimats are common with some of the Bugis I know.

here a pics from the original papers you can see how big it was in the little cloth bag

Original paper

Hi here are pics off the blade

I'm not an expert on Indonesia, but i cant' help mayself: "T-THAT IS G-G-GORGEUS" :eek:

John Crosby posted this article
http://home.comcast.net/~jtcrosby/Aceh.html
about Acehnese swords and thanked me for the contribution (similarity between Hulu Meu Apet and Gulabhati handles).
I have published some papers in my life and have been cited quite a lot, but I was never as proud as when I saw John's acknowledgement!!!!!
My wife said I wore a silly grin on my face for a week.

That article of John's is great (even with Ariel's contributions ;) ). :)

dajak,
nice sword! was this a recent acquisition? in all accounts, it's still a nice looking sword.

The stars portion...
 

This is indeed a talisman, (tangkal or azimat/zimat or jimat). This type of talisman, once opened, the "strength" is gone. The azimat is 'void'.

The portion between the 2 stars is known as "Khatimus Sulaiman". It's purpose is to protect it's wearer against "black magic" and evil spirits (god's willing).

It is a combination of a number of azimats mainly for protection against supernatural elements. ;)

Hi this sword I did get the 5 off march this year the paper was openend in 1941 so the power gone for a long time



Nice to read this Ian that makes that the scabbard is the way it has to be
and not influenze off the dutch :D :D

The scabbards for the peudeueng peusangan with a hulu meu apet are usually wood covered with leather. Some are adorned with silver banding . Scabbards for a peudeueng peusangan with a hulu tumpang beunteung and the peudeueng panjang are of wood and can be found both ornate and plain

Dajak that is a wonderful example of a peudeueng peusangan with a hulu meu apet. I have never seen a better one and only 2 as nice. I know of 2 of these for sale now ( at least they were available the other week ) but both are priced beyond a firefighters salary. One that is also a royal sword is listed as Indian and I cannnot convince the seller otherwise. Congratulations and thanks for sharing. May I use a picture of it and the talisman in the article on these swords you saw referenced.

Raja Muda,Alam Shah and John I did not know that there were talismans in these swords ( Tangkal, azimat or zimat). Are these similar to anting in Philippine swords ? If you have any other information please let me know to add it to the article. Thanks in advance

Ariel and Andrew thanks for the kind words on the article. But in truth it is mostly information pulled together from members here. With a little thrown in from other texts. So Ariel you and the others here really deserve more credit for it than I do. I will try to have it updated with this information before I go to Timonium

Hi John no problem to use it if you need better pics or anything just ask

Is the artical from you

I know the grand daugther from genaral van Daalen she was on Sumatra visiting the museum overthere and get a map with copys from the museum overthere pic enclosed


The sword comes from an very old collection from a famous collector that is not more with us but is known over the world

here some other Atjeh weapons

Yes I pulled together the information on the article. I must say the pictures here and the ones you e-mailed me show an impressive collection of aceh( atjeh) swords and shields. They are fairly uncommon in the US so difficult to find. I have been told by dealers in England that they also do not see many of the peudeueng peusangan with either handle style.

I was re-reading this thread and noitced this part. Ian may well still be correct on the influence in the scabbard. The Dutch were in that area long before the Dutch-Atjeh war. At least as early as the 17th century and many say before that though Portugal was the power in that area before then if I have it right( Portugal became a power in that area in the beginning of the 16th century). So, although the swords are seen with this type of scabbard in Atjeh it may well still be due to a Dutch or Portuguese influence. It could also be due to the Indian influence that effected the hilt. I truely do not know. I have yet to find anyone that has handled an indian sword with a gulabhati handle. The sheath may stem from those swords. I wish it was easier to get information from the museums in Atjeh, India or even the KIT. But like most museums thier funding and therefore thier staff to do such research is limited.

Hi John a portugese influence or dutch would not only on the scabbard but also on the sword
the dutch klewang was made after the dutch soldiers have to get in touch with the pedeuang .

A very nice book is Marchaussee in Atjeh to read about the war overthere

Dutch scabbards (From that period) are mostly from metal not from leather and wood like some Indian weapons

The real war starting in atjeh is probably the that they killed dutch people in september 1811 and gouverment overthere
The Dutch used this as an excuse to send an expedition to Palembang ( Raffles luitenatant-gouveneur van Java bij this time April 1812)
to get Banka in his hands

In 19 aug 1816 the british Flag was changed to the Dutch and we get on may
22 1819 Padang in our hands

The expediton against Palembang did start in 1821

Contents of Azimat
 

Hi Dajak,

Thanks for the enlarged pictures of the tangkal azimat. I believe it contains snatches from Quranic verses. But what I find most interesting is the second piece from the top, as the inscription below the two stars are the names of the Seven Sleepers, whom I believe figures in the Quranic chapter Surah Al-Kahfi, as well as Byzantinian Christian traditions.

As the story goes, they were a group of young men who were persecuted for their early Christian? beliefs and escaped to a cave. They fell asleep and awoke a few hundred years later, though they thought they've just spent a night in the cave. One of the members went to the nearest town to purchase food and amazed the locals since the money he carried was stamped with the face of a long dead monarch, who persecuted the monotheist believers a few hundred years ago.

I'm not sure what the magical/spiritual significance the story holds for the sword. Maybe someone can make the connections.

Hi Raja Muda

Thanks for this interesting information

I have a Dutch Translation with it but not al is translated

and there must be 2 persons have made this Talis man

I am looking for the meaning for the not arabic writing on it

It is translated qur ang parts from J.H. Kramers De Koran Amsterdam 1956

I like to know what is between the stars

Here a some they can t trans late

There are also 3 dates on the silver bands 1690

1739

1752

Hi Raj Muda kan you read those strange words

I found out that this Pedeuang did belong to a panglima

Does anyone knows where pics from Atjeh 1650 can be found

I do not have any from that early. If you have any contacts there your best bet might be the Museum of Ethnography in Leiden, the Netherlands, now “RMV Leiden”. I am sure they have paintings/ drawings from that time period. Actual pictures of course would not be available ( The first known successful picture was produced in June/July 1827 by Niépce, using material that hardened on exposure to light. This picture required an exposure of eight hours. Though there is rumor of experiments with it as far back as da Vinci) Also any information you can share on the provenance of this sword would be helpful. I knew peudeueng went back as far as the 17th century but I thought the hulu meu apet was a later form. It seems now this form of the sword may be older than I thought.

Thanks

Hi with all the papers I did get there is some information that this sword date back to 1650

there are a few date s on the back off the silver one off them is 1690

Let me know if you need a better pic for your web site