I am glad to see this discussion getting some traction!
So let’s start back with the idea of the bird form and then move to the Jawa Demam possibility.
In the pictures below I show the possible interpretations of the more traditional Moro hilt designs that are attributed the form of the Philippines native red-vented cockatoo. I want to remind that these are symbolic representations and likely talismanic in nature. Finding similarities in these forms and then looking toward those similarities in the form of what I am calling the Garuda Kris may be helpful in discovering or uncovering the origin of these more rare kris.
So in these pictures…(all from my collection
) what is the symbolism for the highlighted??