Nice film Maurice!
Aleksey, on the brass/gold some say decoration only, some say metaphysical reasons...
Charles, make a forum search on Iban Pedang for more examples and comments on the Borneo variation.
Itīs not that easy with the hilts but here are some hints, not "laws", that mostly seems to work for ID:
- Usually the one with motifs like yours are Borneo.
- The open cup-pommels usually are Batak.
- The closed cup-pommels could be both but seems to be most often Borneo.
- The ones with "crusader-like" cross-pieces are probably Batak.
But some of the ones that fit the Borneo description above could also be Peninsular Malay.
Like everything else itīs a safer guess when you find several hints on the same sword.
Michael
|