While on the subject of
kakatua hilts, it occurred to me to think about the word
barong (or
barung as it is pronounced in the Tausug dialect) and what it might derive from. I have found no discussion of this subject written in English.
Apart from the familiar leaf-shaped chopper favored by the peoples of the Sulu Archipelago, there is also the barong Tagalog (a man's shirt), and
barong-barong, a Tagalog word meaning a temporary shelter or hut. The latter is interesting because it may be a transliteration of the Indonesian word
burung-burung, which also means a shelter or hut.
So, we have an interesting similarity between the word
barong (pronounced
barung by the Tausug) and
burung in Indonesian. One could posit a slight transformation of the word
burung -->
barung -->
barong. And what does
burung mean in Indonesian? It means "bird."
Is it possible that the whole sword is named "bird" because it resembles a bird, with the blade being the main part of the body, the handle being the neck, and the pommel the crest and beak?
In Indonesian the term for cockatoo is
barung kakatua. Are we looking at a sword that depicts the cockatoo? Perhaps the pictures below help. Or maybe I'm just full of too much Christmas and New Year good cheer.
Ian.