Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Sword from the lesser Sunda islands (Timor?)

Albert · 1st April 2011, 09:52 PM

I asked Karel Sirag for comment about this sword, for he has much more expertise on this type of weapons than I have. Here it is:

This sword really is quite megalomaniac! Such a big one I have never seen in my life!, the largest ever came to my attention. The normal size for this kind of weapon is 70/75 cm, with blades from 40 to 50 cm, so this one is outstanding large.
I agree with Kai this could be a status piece. With a blade of 70 cm it is usable and you can fight with it. The status mostly comes from the length of the scabbard.

This sword comes from the island of Alor, situated North of the island Timor. About the age of this piece I cannot say a word, it is very difficult to judge this from photographs. For such things you have to handle the piece itself, hold it in your fingers, smell it, even bite in it...

The handle is from the common type: Type A (1), the one on the picture has a slooped side, this type is slightly more frequent than the straight sided ones: Type B (1).
The decoration on the handle is traditional and quite similar with others I know. Although there are handles without any carving, with only a single 'eye' in the centre.
The carving on the picture is, compared with the ones I am familiar with, a bit more crude.
As Kai states, the ferrule on the lower side of the handle should be completed with a tightly fitted ring of horn, this to prevent splitting.
Often these handles are adorned with bundles of goatshair, as we see in the picture. But this is not a standard feature. I have seen several handles without any hole to put the hair into.

About the blade: I do not know what Sajen means with 'Mono steal'. Most of the 'normal' blades we found on Alor or the surrounding islands came there by trade. As far as I know, they were not made locally. The bunch of these blades, and especially the more older ones, were made on Solor by the thousands and traded everywhere (a.o. by the VOC). That is why you find on these islands always so many swords with blades in the same shape. (3)
Although you also find on Alorswords shortened European swords and even altered machetes.
The blade on the photograph looks similiar to the 'common' ones, but a bit longer. As stated before, I cannot say anything about the age of it.

The scabbard, with the exception of its length, also looks very traditional, with only two deviations: the mouthpiece and the foot.
First, the mouthpiece on the picture is broader than its height: rectangular, while we normally see, with no exception, that this piece is square.

The typical decoration on the mouthpiece, compared with decoration on bamboocontainers from this aera (3), indicates that this weapon originates from the centre of the island.
Although there should be more of course, I only know two other Alorswords with a decoration like this one. One in a private collection in England and another one from the Vatter-collection, collected in situ, 1928/29.
The latter one is shown in his book "Ata Kiwan" (4) and also in Ruth Barnes (3) ill. 684, page 270.

Second, the foot: This is the first one I see with a rounded foot. I do not think this is original.
Traditionally there should be a foot in the shape of something that looks somewhat like a 'fat comma' (has anybody a better description?) (see 1, page 138, ill. 582, 583, 584) projecting to the edgeside.
Perhaps the foot on the sword of Sajen is a restauration or replacement?

The sheaths of all the older swords from Alor I know, are made in a special way. Two flat pieces of wood bound together with a rattan winding is normal on swords, but on Alor there is a small difference. The special way they differ from a 'normal' sheath is the foot: this is óne single piece. The backside of the scabbard is shorter than the piece of wood in the front. In this way the foot is stronger.
On the sides of the foot mostly there is a hint of carving and sometimes you find a small hole for attaching some goatshair.

The difference of the last two mentioned deviations does not say this weapon is not genuine. It only says that it differs from what we see as 'normal'.

About the name: For this type of weapon are several names in circulation. Like OPI, but Baessler (5) states this is the name for the sword on the island of Wetar. Foy (6) uses the name MOSO and RUGI for almost two identical swords. Also I read somewhere the name SONDI.
I prefer the name HAR. This name is given to this type of sword (3, pag 270) by the forenamed Vatter. He was, in contrast with lots of closet scholars in those days, a person who travelled himself. And every piece he collected was noted with a small drawing, names, measurements etc.
I think, but this is personal, this name HAR is the closest we can get to what concerns the namegiving of swords from the island of Alor.

K.S.
April 2011.

(1) See: A.G.van Zonneveld, "Trad. Weapons of the Ind. Archipelago" (2001), page 137-139.
(2) See: A de Roever, "De jacht op sandelhout" (2002), page 22, 159, 172, 290.
(3) See: Ruth Barnes, "Ostindonesien im 20. Jahrhundert: Auf den Spuren der Sammlung Ernst Vatter" (2004), page 241.
(4) See: Ernst Vatter, "Ata Kiwan - Unbekannte Bergvölker im Tropisch Holland" (1932), page 79.
(5) See: A.Baessler, "Ethnographische Beitrage zur Kennis des Ostindische Archipels" (Int. Archiv für Ethn. 1891), Tafel VII/9, page 74, no. 20.
(6) See: Foy, "Schwerter von der Celebes-See" (Dresden, 1899), Tafel VI.

1st April 2011, 09:52 PM	#6
Albert Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 191	I asked Karel Sirag for comment about this sword, for he has much more expertise on this type of weapons than I have. Here it is: This sword really is quite megalomaniac! Such a big one I have never seen in my life!, the largest ever came to my attention. The normal size for this kind of weapon is 70/75 cm, with blades from 40 to 50 cm, so this one is outstanding large. I agree with Kai this could be a status piece. With a blade of 70 cm it is usable and you can fight with it. The status mostly comes from the length of the scabbard. This sword comes from the island of Alor, situated North of the island Timor. About the age of this piece I cannot say a word, it is very difficult to judge this from photographs. For such things you have to handle the piece itself, hold it in your fingers, smell it, even bite in it... The handle is from the common type: Type A (1), the one on the picture has a slooped side, this type is slightly more frequent than the straight sided ones: Type B (1). The decoration on the handle is traditional and quite similar with others I know. Although there are handles without any carving, with only a single 'eye' in the centre. The carving on the picture is, compared with the ones I am familiar with, a bit more crude. As Kai states, the ferrule on the lower side of the handle should be completed with a tightly fitted ring of horn, this to prevent splitting. Often these handles are adorned with bundles of goatshair, as we see in the picture. But this is not a standard feature. I have seen several handles without any hole to put the hair into. About the blade: I do not know what Sajen means with 'Mono steal'. Most of the 'normal' blades we found on Alor or the surrounding islands came there by trade. As far as I know, they were not made locally. The bunch of these blades, and especially the more older ones, were made on Solor by the thousands and traded everywhere (a.o. by the VOC). That is why you find on these islands always so many swords with blades in the same shape. (3) Although you also find on Alorswords shortened European swords and even altered machetes. The blade on the photograph looks similiar to the 'common' ones, but a bit longer. As stated before, I cannot say anything about the age of it. The scabbard, with the exception of its length, also looks very traditional, with only two deviations: the mouthpiece and the foot. First, the mouthpiece on the picture is broader than its height: rectangular, while we normally see, with no exception, that this piece is square. The typical decoration on the mouthpiece, compared with decoration on bamboocontainers from this aera (3), indicates that this weapon originates from the centre of the island. Although there should be more of course, I only know two other Alorswords with a decoration like this one. One in a private collection in England and another one from the Vatter-collection, collected in situ, 1928/29. The latter one is shown in his book "Ata Kiwan" (4) and also in Ruth Barnes (3) ill. 684, page 270. Second, the foot: This is the first one I see with a rounded foot. I do not think this is original. Traditionally there should be a foot in the shape of something that looks somewhat like a 'fat comma' (has anybody a better description?) (see 1, page 138, ill. 582, 583, 584) projecting to the edgeside. Perhaps the foot on the sword of Sajen is a restauration or replacement? The sheaths of all the older swords from Alor I know, are made in a special way. Two flat pieces of wood bound together with a rattan winding is normal on swords, but on Alor there is a small difference. The special way they differ from a 'normal' sheath is the foot: this is óne single piece. The backside of the scabbard is shorter than the piece of wood in the front. In this way the foot is stronger. On the sides of the foot mostly there is a hint of carving and sometimes you find a small hole for attaching some goatshair. The difference of the last two mentioned deviations does not say this weapon is not genuine. It only says that it differs from what we see as 'normal'. About the name: For this type of weapon are several names in circulation. Like OPI, but Baessler (5) states this is the name for the sword on the island of Wetar. Foy (6) uses the name MOSO and RUGI for almost two identical swords. Also I read somewhere the name SONDI. I prefer the name HAR. This name is given to this type of sword (3, pag 270) by the forenamed Vatter. He was, in contrast with lots of closet scholars in those days, a person who travelled himself. And every piece he collected was noted with a small drawing, names, measurements etc. I think, but this is personal, this name HAR is the closest we can get to what concerns the namegiving of swords from the island of Alor. K.S. April 2011. (1) See: A.G.van Zonneveld, "Trad. Weapons of the Ind. Archipelago" (2001), page 137-139. (2) See: A de Roever, "De jacht op sandelhout" (2002), page 22, 159, 172, 290. (3) See: Ruth Barnes, "Ostindonesien im 20. Jahrhundert: Auf den Spuren der Sammlung Ernst Vatter" (2004), page 241. (4) See: Ernst Vatter, "Ata Kiwan - Unbekannte Bergvölker im Tropisch Holland" (1932), page 79. (5) See: A.Baessler, "Ethnographische Beitrage zur Kennis des Ostindische Archipels" (Int. Archiv für Ethn. 1891), Tafel VII/9, page 74, no. 20. (6) See: Foy, "Schwerter von der Celebes-See" (Dresden, 1899), Tafel VI.