Borneo sword with heavy blade
 

Just picked this one up yesterday.

Hilt is finely carved bone ( I think ) The three holes go all the way through.

Blade is very heavy and thick. The shape is more like a Sumatran Cojang than a Borneo sword.

Scabbard is light but quite well made. Probably a later addition.

What are we going to call this one ?

All opinions welcome.

Regards
Roy

love that blade, and the bone grip. blade is kinda wharncliffe-ginunting-ish.

Parang negara.

And a nice one too :)

Ps. linky : http://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread...=parang+negara

You have added a beautiful parang Negara to your collection Roy.
The antler hilt with floral motifs are in very good condition, just as the scabbard, which seems to have no losses.

A half year ago I bought also an interesting parang Negara, but not in such good condition as yours. But it had some very interesting features why I couldn't let it go.
Unfortunately the brass ferrule is missing from my hilt, and the scabbard has some damages.

Kind regards,
Maurice

That's a neat one, Maurice! Does the blade have a symmetric grind?

BTW, what is the script - LAN-PAS?


A brass ferrule as in Roy's example would be very difficult to loose without removing the blade; I'd guess that your example may have had a resin ferrule and/or possibly braided wire/rattan.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=3489

Regards,
Kai

Congrats, Roy!

Very nice Negara scabbard and blade; I love how the floral carving takes over the traditional Dayak hilt...

Regards,
Kai

Thanks everyone

Obvious, isn't it ?

I really must pay more attention to Banks' article in future.

Regards
Roy

Maurice

What do you think is the significance of the pentagram ?

Regards
Roy

Thanks Kai. Yes it has a symmetric grind.

The script is LAND-PAS, but the "D" is unsure if it is a "D".

I don't think this one had a ressin ferrule. It probably had a small brass or maybe horn (?) ferrule. Horn would me more likely the case maybe, as that can be split by age and therefore gone.
You can see the size of the ferrule at the patina on the hilt. Pretty small.

I think you didn't find the answer in Bank's article.
Bank's article is about Sarawak blades. And yours is from South Borneo.

Rg,
Maurice

Don't know Roy. I might put it in a seperate thread, as I don't want to "contaminate" your thread. Maybe others here on the forum can tell us more about the significations of the carvings at the back of the hilt.
I posted the photos because it would look nice to compare with your very nice parang Negara, as they both come from the same area. You can see both have those similar pierced holes and floral motifs (on the hilt as well as the scabbard).

Rg,
Maurice

The brass ferrule also could be a very plain one, just as this one in another South Borneo mandau.

Rg,
Maurice