Sumatran, Borneo or Moro???

[VVV]

Interesting new track,

Why do you think of Leyte for the hilt?

Michael

[VVV]

I recieved an e-mail from another collector that he think this is a Moro Shandigan Barung with a variation of the Naga hilt (see Cato).
I find this info very probable.

Michael

[Rick]

Originally Posted by VVV

I recieved an e-mail from another collector that he think this is a Moro Shandigan Barung with a variation of the Naga hilt (see Cato).
I find this info very probable.

Michael

I can see why he would think so but the barring on the blade and the way it is cut down to a neck at the hilt seems very un-Moro to me .
I (like Shelley) wonder if it has not been modified by another culture .
Is this blade chisel edged (flat on the other side) Michael ?

Can we have some more pictures ?
I'd like to see the detailing on the punto and the other side of the blade .

[VVV]

Rick, LabanTayo and others,

Here are a couple of additional pictures.
The blade looks identical on both sides.
Please note the peculiar small hook close to the hilt?
Look forward to your comments.

Michael

[Rick]

I've got to admit to being stumped .

The decoration on the punto does not strike me as quite traditional okir patterns . The blade seems a bit thin for a barung but I have never handled a shandigan so I may well be off on this observation .

What is the material between the ivory and the punto ?

The filework at the forte of the blade is pretty puzzling as it does not quite look like the work seen on tenegre/sansibar/binangon blades .
Maybe we should be looking toward Borneo ....

[VVV]

Rick,

It's a horn ring.
I have seen a resembling decoration as on the silver on two of my Melanau
(NW Borneo) parang - a Sadap and a Parang Pedang.
Enclosed pictures for you to compare.
Otherwise usually the Melanau parang have heavy and thick blades.
I just noticed that there are 3 dots in a (female) triangle at the bottom
of the scabbard which is usually attributed to Sumatra?

Michael

[Rick]

Originally Posted by VVV

Rick,

It's a horn ring.
I have seen a resembling decoration as on the silver on two of my Melanau
(NW Borneo) parang - a Sadap and a Parang Pedang.
Enclosed pictures for you to compare.
Otherwise usually the Melanau parang have heavy and thick blades.
I just noticed that there are 3 dots in a (female) triangle at the bottom
of the scabbard which is usually attributed to Sumatra?

Michael

Interesting stuff Michael ; I must admit to being ignorant about the three dot = female Sumatran style motif you mention .

There is a traced Moro Sumatran connection in history of the S. Philippines .
If I recall correctly Saleeby mentions it in *The History of Sulu*.

Re the scabbard :
I would like to comment on the resemblance to a Dyak scabbard in that this one has a neck like the mandau scabbards .