Bugis Chieftain's Keris: does it exist?

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Originally Posted by Alam Shah

A very good question. I believe they do exist. However, it is not from Sulawesi, but rather a Bugis evolution elsewhere..

Alam is right.. Having been shown egs of these and speaking to him and others on these I too share the opinion that it does exist... however, what we have to be clear about is the fact that a Bugis Chieftain pc is not necessarily one that originates from their Sulawesi homeland. There may not be anything there that resembles this at all. I have yet to see on from Sulawesi...

But the Buginese were noted seatarers and political medllers extraordinaire in south east asia.. The history of south east asia in the Malay peninsula, Riau Islands & southern Sumatra are rplete of their influence and intervention, often militarily in support of succession disputes of the various royal haouses there. As a result, variation of the Bugus theme exist... The Bugis Riau, Bugis Palambang & Bugis Trengganu forms are all distinctive...

The Bugis Chieftain form is likely to have been the product of areas within south east asia that lies within these specific geographical expanse.. ie Riau Islands, Southern Sumatra or the Malay peninsula... a mix of Bugis root forms and the extrapolations of the indigenous Malays of these areas on that basic form...