Mandau for review

[kai]

Originally Posted by centurion

Another mandau with fuller from Troppenmuseum:
Culture :*Dayak
Origin:*Southeast Asia: Insular*/*Indonesia*/*Kalimantan
before 1887*
approximately 67.5 x 5cm (26 9/16 x 1 15 / 16in.)*
Object number:*TM-A-2985*

The TM example seems to be a real mandau. Also Iban mandau often show a narrow fuller like your upper one on the convex side of the blade; (right-handed) mandau have a (left) concave side and a (right) convex side - basically the blade profile is a bit shaped like a spoon. Yours has a symmetrical profile on both sides though.

There are blades basically resembling a mandau but with symmetrical profile/edge all over Borneo: in northern Borneo these would probably be referred to as gayang, in some Iban areas possibly as tilan(g) kamerau/kameran (cp. this thread for a discussion on the uncertainties!), and in the SE maybe as parang Negara. Thus, there are huge areas with pretty much undocumented terminology which may not only change from ethnic (sub)group to the next but possibly even from village to village. So it's probably best not to place too much importance on the "name game"...

Of course, there are also variant names for typical mandau blades. Arguably, these may be functionally closer while the symmetrical blades may show somewhat more diversity. OTOH, maybe the symmetrical blades are just remnants of older traditions while the asymmetrical blades could represent a somewhat younger development/fashion.

Regards,
Kai