Lajatang ?
 

Greetings,

Recently I heard of a weapon called a "lajatang". It's supposed to be some kind of pole weapon with a crescent-shaped blade at each end, sharp points facing outward:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...e/Lajatang.jpg

When I google this, most of the search results are for fantasy rpg games, which leads me to believe that:
a) it's a fantasy weapon which didn't exist,
or
b) perhaps it does/did exist, but the pinyin spelling may be different

I have seen plenty of monk's spades before, which are half-lajatang:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...Monk-Spade.jpg, so the notion of replacing the spade at one end with another crescent blade doesn't seem that far-fetched.

Has anyone seen or heard of a lajatang before? They seem like very interesting and intimidating weapons.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XQbBxIHbHQ

1:35 ;)

Slightly different take on the monk's spade there, with a bludgeon on one end and a spade on the other.

I've been meaning to download the Star Trek fight music as my phone ringtune, by the way. :)

The only place I've seen the lajatang mentioned was Draeger's The Weapons and Fighting Arts of Indonesia, in the section of Kuntao (Chinese) weapons from Java and Madura (p. 83).

It made it's way to Dungeons and Dragons, where I first saw it. My guess is it's something like a monk's spade, but I'm not sure.

Draeger's illustrations on p.82 and 83 are so bad that it would be great if people could post illustrations of the real items, if they have the book. Has anyone seen a "siangkiam" for example? Is that one of those chiangjian that no one ever shows pictures of either?

Best,

F

Interestingly, I have found several websites where Monk's Spades are sold.

The lajatang's origins and veracity elude me, however. :(