Nias sword with brass handle for sharing and discussion

[Jim McDougall]

This is an extremely attractive sword, and though I have VERY limited knowledge in this field of collecting, I wanted to seize the opportunity to learn a bit from you guys. I did a little looking online, and found that NIAS is an island which is among the archipelago off W. Sumatra by that name in the Indonesian complex.

It seems the term BALATO might be the term used from what I found on Wiki, but unclear whether that is the proper term, or perhaps a tribal group.
Other swords of this general form such as the Golok of Java and the Chunderik/CoJang of the Aceh seem to also use the term 'klewang' in sort of a collective manner.

Obviously nothing to do with Moro's (of Phillipines) but does seem to fall into the 'klewang' scope, the examples of these Nias associated seem to be invariably classed as 'rare'.

It was noted that on this island (Nias) during WWII, a number of escaped German prisoners occupied the island, but not sure the duration of that situation. Is it possible this might be from that period or later from possibly further German presence?

What is there in particular that distinguishes one of these from other klewang types to Nias?

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

This is an extremely attractive sword, and though I have VERY limited knowledge in this field of collecting, I wanted to seize the opportunity to learn a bit from you guys. I did a little looking online, and found that NIAS is an island which is among the archipelago off W. Sumatra by that name in the Indonesian complex.

It seems the term BALATO might be the term used from what I found on Wiki, but unclear whether that is the proper term, or perhaps a tribal group.
Other swords of this general form such as the Golok of Java and the Chunderik/CoJang of the Aceh seem to also use the term 'klewang' in sort of a collective manner.

Obviously nothing to do with Moro's (of Phillipines) but does seem to fall into the 'klewang' scope, the examples of these Nias associated seem to be invariably classed as 'rare'.

It was noted that on this island (Nias) during WWII, a number of escaped German prisoners occupied the island, but not sure the duration of that situation. Is it possible this might be from that period or later from possibly further German presence?

What is there in particular that distinguishes one of these from other klewang types to Nias?

Thank you Jim! I am not an expert on these swords but here is the little bit I know. Balato is the name of the sword but there are a lot of other names, they will differ from village to village. You can distinguish between North and South Nias swords, mainly by the handle style. And, but this is my own assumption, there are the head hunting swords which are very imposant with their lasara handles and the charm balls at the scabbard and the plain daily use swords like my one. But like said, take it with a grain of salt, it's my assumption.
From the occupation from German prisoners I never had heard but will research about it.
I guess that my sword is from the WWII period.

Regards,
Detlef

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Sajen

Thank you Jim! I am not an expert on these swords but here is the little bit I know. Balato is the name of the sword but there are a lot of other names, they will differ from village to village. You can distinguish between North and South Nias swords, mainly by the handle style. And, but this is my own assumption, there are the head hunting swords which are very imposant with their lasara handles and the charm balls at the scabbard and the plain daily use swords like my one. But like said, take it with a grain of salt, it's my assumption.
From the occupation from German prisoners I never had heard but will research about it.
I guess that my sword is from the WWII period.

Regards,
Detlef

Thank you for the response! and while as I note, these areas of collecting and study are not typically in my usual field. These are highly specialized and extremely complex areas and pretty daunting to those of us who do not regularly frequent them.
However some examples just command attention, and I could not resist this one!
Its funny, as you note, terms for a sword form can virtually be different from village to village..........I recall Alan Maisey using those exact words in one of our conversations many years back While that seems impossible, when you are dealing with tribal peoples in rugged terrain and thick jungle it is not unusual that direct contact is often not possible nor sought between these people. ...especially with contrasts in their cultural demeanor.

Though possibly of WWII vintage, in ethnographic weapons, age is relatively unimportant as many weapons are simply more recent examples of forms long in use, and represent the culture itself.
Your observations seem to me soundly placed plausibilities than assumptions, thank you for adding them.

Outstanding example!!!!!!

[Sajen]

Thank you again Jim! And I agree with you, it's not important how old such a sword is when it's still worked in a traditional manner.

Regards,
Detlef

[Peter B.]

Hello Detlef,

you have bought a very nice and interesting sword. The metal handle is a rarity.

But what kind of metal is "mamas"? I tried to translate it into German, the result was "Mamas".
Hope you can help me.

Best regards from Berlin
Peter

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Peter B.

you have bought a very nice and interesting sword. The metal handle is a rarity.

But what kind of metal is "mamas"? I tried to translate it into German, the result was "Mamas".
Hope you can help me.

Hello Peter, thank you. Mamas is nickel based white metal similar to German silver, very common in Indonesia.

Regards,
Detlef

[Ian]

Sajen,

I'll add my voice to those who congratulated you on a very fine sword. There is a lot of "rustic" character in the sword itself. I particularly like the brass hilt, which seems to have some age judging from how the designs have worn from handling over the years. The blade similarly looks old and you noted a nice patina. Just from these pictures, the sword looks to be at least 19th C. in manufacture, although the scabbard might well be later. Very nice.

Ian.