That is an interesting suggestion Amuk, but does it apply to the languages spoken in Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah?
I do not doubt your knowledge of these languages, its just that I do not know.
If this "tilang kamerau" were Javanese usage, we could understand it in two different ways:- "tilang" is a variant pronunciation of "hilang" = "lost", "disappeared", "vanished"; "kamerau" is a variant pronunciation of "kemarau" = "dry season" ( can also mean the dry bottom of a boat after bailing), "tilang" also has the colloquial meaning of any sort of police ticket, like a traffic infringement ticket or similar.
So, "tilang kamerau" could be understood as "a dry season speeding ticket" --- pretty unlikely for a weapon name, or "the dry season has disappeared" --- possibly quite appropriate for a weapon name.
But this would be Javanese usage, not North Borneo.
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