When reading Albert van Zonneveld's excellent encyclopedia of Indonesian arms, I ran across a particular statement that the hilt of the
parang latok is "always made of wood."
I have had the example shown here for 20+ years and have thought it was a rather refined example of the
parang latok, with its brass ferrule and carved stag hilt. Certainly, the blade seemed above average in quality and finish: peaked spine between the hilt and bend, gradually tapering heavy blade, a fuller adjacent to the spine on each side, and a hardened edge. Now I'm not so sure it is a
parang latok from the Sea Dayak, but perhaps a similar sword from another Borneo group.
Overall length = 25 inches
Length of blade (to bend) = 18 inches
Thickness of blade in front of hilt is just under 0.5 inches
Can one of our Borneo experts tell me what I have. Is this indeed a
parang latok or something else?
Ian.
.