Mystery spear

[Albert]

I recently added a remarkable spear to my collection.

Total length: 239 cm
Length spearhead: 20 cm
Length shaft: 219 cm
Length sleeve: 33 cm
The shaft is plain over the whole length.

Does anyone more about this type?
My guess would be a kind of ceremonial spear from Java.
Who can tell anything more?

[Gustav]

It is is a shape called Nenggala. Ones made of iron were used as weapons at Raffles time. They can be found in Central Java and Pasisir, and I have seen one like yours, Besi Kuning, collected in Borneo.

[Albert]

Originally Posted by Gustav

It is Dhapur Nenggala. Ones made of iron were used as weapons at Raffles time. They can be found in Centrak Java and Pasisir, and I have seen one like yours, Besi Kuning, collected in Borneo.

Thank you very much!
I am very curious if anyone else has a similar one is his collection.

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Gustav

Ones made of iron were used as weapons at Raffles time.

Terrifying. Graceful in design but absolutely brutal in function.

[Ian]

Albert, are parts of the blade gilded. If so, that suggests a ceremonial role to me. The blade reminds me a little bit of an African throwing knife.

[A. G. Maisey]

Nenggala is, I believe, North Coast Jawa terminology for this blade form, in Central Jawa it is known as a "Cis" (pron. : "chis"). The Javanese word "cis" means "angkus" or "elephant goad".

In East Jawa it is known as "pancing buaya" = "crocodile fish hook", for the very good reason that it was used as a crocodile spear.

In parts of East Jawa these were still being made & used as crocodile spears up until about 1950.

Interestingly, the word "nenggala" means "plough" in some dialects & in Balinese, it does not take much imagination to understand the similarity in form of this blade shape to the shape of a Javanese/Balinese plough blade.

Gustav

Do we know where in Raffles that this word "nenggala" appears, & if it is connected to a picture of the implement under discussion?

Amongst the plates following P296, Vol.1 there is picture of a spear that has a "forked" head, both double & single examples, that is very vaguely similar to the nenggala, but it is identified as a "tumpuling".

This name might indicate it is some sort of hunting spear : "tumpu/numpu" means to hunt , I think specifically to hunt deer --- these are guesses, but informed guesses.

[Gustav]

Alan,

I couldn't find the name Nenggala in Raffles' book.

Regarding Tumpuling, there is a similar spear in Radya Pustaka Museum, in it's description it is called Cempuling. Wiktionary says, Cempuling is a variation of Tempuling (https://id.wiktionary.org/wiki/cempuling), and Tempuling is given as tombak pendek untuk menangkap ikan besar, short spear for catching big fish.

[Albert]

Originally Posted by Ian

Albert, are parts of the blade gilded. If so, that suggests a ceremonial role to me. The blade reminds me a little bit of an African throwing knife.

Hello Ian, there are no guided parts.
The whole is entirely of brass.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Albert

Hello Ian, there are no guided parts.
The whole is entirely of brass.

Being made of brass might fit for a blade used for fishing. No corrosion in salt water.