Well, if we are taking a poll my vote falls squarely on "mistake". Dave made a comment in the posting of the kris that brought about this thread and again here about "form following function", but as others have already responded, the hilt on backwards in this manner does not make any sense from a practical martial standpoint. I think we see this happen in the same way we sometimes see Javanese planar hilts often turned around backwards on keris, because uninformed western collectors and/or dealers incorrectly believe that is the way they are supposed to be. Of course, it's much easier to simply turn them around to the proper orientation.
