Borneo Parang Ihlang

[Jim McDougall]

Kai, thank you so much for all this detailed information and the encouraging comment on its being authentic. I have had this for so long I had forgotten about it, years ago when I was trying to get an understanding of the forms on these regions. I ended up in other fields, and had forgotten how fascinating these areas are.

One of the most confusing matters seems to be the terminology, which is understandable as there are so many languages and dialects involved. I am presuming the Iban (Sea Dayaks)were situated in North/West Borneo and into Malaysia.

I think your suggestion for separate threads for some of these specifics makes sense, as the complexity of each is enough to warrant singular attention.

I have never followed the difference...mandau....parang ihlang??
Now tilang kamarau?

Thank you again Kai, your knowledge is remarkable and your comments very much appreciated.
Best regards,
Jim

[JoeCanada42]

I don't have it in me to start a whole thread, it was this sword that inspired me...
under the direction to keep going.. I think I did have just one more photo to share

[kai]

Joe, I'm afraid that I don't see what you're getting at with the last pic.

[JoeCanada42]

I guess I could have photo shopped and flipped around the sword in the last pick.. but I think it makes the small observation well enough.

the pangolin carries its baby just like the sword carries a smaller one

the pangolin claws look like "leeches" ., on the handle of Jim's sword you can see these carvings

the skull has an open jaw like the moro sword, the moro sword also seems to have the tongue from the nose of the figurative head, the same with some parang handles it looks like the hair comes from the nose.

well I find when you look at the skull you could make the interpretation that's where the tongue goes.

[kai]

Thanks for the explanations, Joe!

Seems I'm thick today: I'm still not getting the skull & Moro/Dayak connection?

Regards,
Kai

[JoeCanada42]

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction,
and if you look at only half.
( such as on the top of the Dayak blade with the gold stars- photo with the moro sword)
if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

[kai]

Thanks, Joe, now I get what you're comparing it to!

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction, and if you look at only half.

Actually, these sometimes appear as single rather than as a paired feature, indeed.

if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

Since pangolins are also eaten, we can probably assume that their skulls are known to these peoples, too. However, combining a bare skull with the tongue might be a bit of a stretch...

The indigenous Moro interpretation refers to elephants (the traditional view already in place with the keris as ancestral blade) or eagles. While extant birds have no teeth, also elephants (except for their tusks, if any) appear to be kinda toothless as living animals.

While it can be fun to play with such ideas, I'd suggest to be very cautious with any interpretations that are apparently not shared by the originating culture.

Regards,
Kai

[David]

Originally Posted by JoeCanada42

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction,
and if you look at only half.
( such as on the top of the Dayak blade with the gold stars- photo with the moro sword)
if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

While i don't really know enough about Dayak cultures and their weapons to form any strong opinions about your pangolin reference in regards to their motifs i can say with some confidence that i don't believe such a reference applies to the Moro kris.

[kai]

Hello Jim,

You're welcome! I'm one of the smaller fishes in the huge Borneo lake...

One has to realise that the early indigenous groups on Borneo are just lumped under the Dayak catch-all name. Many of the lineages are likely to be pretty old; thus, we see a lot of diversity - much more than among the late comers, especially the Malay/Moro/Bugis along the coasts. Aside from long-standing contacts with neighbouring groups (trade/raiding), there also have been small & large scale migrations into "new" territories to evade pressure by more aggressive neighbours as well as famine or epidemics (small pox, cholera, etc.) continuing into modern times.

One of the most confusing matters seems to be the terminology, which is understandable as there are so many languages and dialects involved. I am presuming the Iban (Sea Dayaks)were situated in North/West Borneo and into Malaysia.

The Iban dominated pretty much the lowlands along the whole coast of Sarawak while other groups inhabited the northern/central headwaters (some coastal areas have been inhabited by other groups, especially in what is now Brunei). In addition, there are Iban groups extending well into Sabah, into the middle Mahakam river basin (Kalimantan Timur), and, especially, into Kalimantan Barat (mainly Kapuas tributaries). Sarawak and Sabah belong to Malaysia while Brunei is ruled by an independent Malay Sultanate. The 5 provinces of Kalimantan belong to Indonesia.

I have never followed the difference...mandau....parang ihlang??
Now tilang kamarau?

Mandau, Malat, Parang Ilang are just the most well known/published names for the most common and widespread Borneo blade. The defining feature is a blade with a kinda spoon-shaped cross-section: For a right-hander, the right side would be convex (curved to the outside) and the left side (flat to) concave (a shallow hollow grind, rarely a fuller, or an almost flat surface. There also are left-handed examples. Thus, pretty much shaped like wings of an airplane/bird. One of the theories, that are tough to disprove, is that this shape may facilitate head-taking with the sword being less likely to dig into the body of the victim...

Obviously, this lumps swords from pretty much all over Borneo with significant local differences. Thus, it might be highly preferable to assign local names rather than extending usage of mandau as an East Borneo name for blades from all other ethnic groups. There is also another variant, called Bayu, which has a double-edged blade with a flat side and a "convex" side (and, thus, similar functional cross-section).

All other Borneo swords - exhibiting much greater diversity (shape, function, etc.) - feature flat, symmetric sides and usually saber-grind bevels (slightly convex on both sides along the edge). These are by no means rare - however extant numbers of genuine antiques for some types may be pretty low.

Regards,
Kai