Fearn:
Reading Forbes the last couple of days has given me quite a different picture of the Timorese. They have a wide mix of ancestry that goes far beyond Polynesian/Melanesian roots. Indeed their collective culture appears to have been one of interbreeding among all groups that settled the island.
The man's appearance is not typical of a Malay, Chinese, Polynesian, Melanesian, or any other racial group I have encountered in the region. So he probably is mestizo, which makes it very difficult to place where he might be from. The fact that mixed racial breeding appears to have been quite common on Timor enhances my view of an origin there, but it is far from firm evidence.
Fearn is correct that the bolo in question bears no resemblance to the traditional weapons described as coming from Timor. I think it may be an "unconventional" weapon from that island. Just as the man may be of mixed heritage, I also think the bolo he holds is of mixed origins. That may explain why nobody seems to have a clear idea of where it comes from or what it resembles. The blade looks looks like a machete. I don't know what the hilt resembles.
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