Parang from Indonesia??

[carlos]

This is my last adquisition.
It was bought in an antique market, the seller sold parang and some photos of spanish military in philippines.
I think is indonesian, but is possible this parang was used in philippines too?
Thanks in advance
Carlos

[carlos]

Some pictures more ...

[David]

From what little i can see of it Carlos it is not really possible to be sure what it is. Can you show some images of the entire piece?

[CharlesS]

Looks to be a classic Sumatran 'parang Palembang'...and a nice one! It may go by other names as well. Please see:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13812&highlight=parang+palembang

[kai]

Hello Carlos,

This is a pedang variant that is known from the Palembang hinterlands, the Rawas region in the upper Musi river system.

I've seen the names Penai and Pelitei used for this type - both certainly need some more research though!

Regards,
Kai

[carlos]

Thank you very much!!!!
Best regards
Carlos

[Sajen]

Agree with Charles and Kai. Very rare sword you get there, congrats!

Regards,
Detlef

[Spunjer]

wow!
pommel has a strong resemblance with the swords coming out of Panay

[kai]

Hello Ron,

Yes, the pommel with long nose (albeit based on a makara's jaw and very stylized) and disk guard (from brass rather than horn) are very reminiscent of an Aklaon sanduko, indeed! The semblance of these "hill tribe" swords must be coming out of thin air... ;) :cool: :rolleyes: :D

The really weird thing with this Sumatran sword is that it's blade is almost always coming with a native blade with a "japanesque" tip. Very likely, the tsuba-like crosspiece is also based on this influence (some examples even exhibit a habaki-like collar, too) while the grip/pommel makes this sword distinctly non-Japanese!

Regards,
Kai