A strange sword on eBay

Jim McDougall · 6th February 2008, 04:39 AM

Parang sounds likely, in fact I completely agree with Tim, TVV, Spiral, Rsword and Vandoo with this attribution as well as Ariel.

I am inclined to doubt the 'kastane' attribution or suggested provenance, so I think our established definition of these Sinhalese swords will remain sound.
The zoomorphic hilt with the makara is most interesting, and does resemble those seen on the kastane, however the guard has no resemblance to the profusely ornate and developed form on these distinct swords. It seems that the animal image on the kastane hilt is in many cases interpreted as being a lion head, with that representation associated with the ancestral legends of the early kingdom of Sinhala (Sinha =lion), though many of the heads do look more like makara.

The hilt form noted in Stone as parang nabor have animal head pommels and varying forms of knuckleguard type hilts. While these hilts are noted as Malayan, it seems to me that the silverwork in the hilt may be Indonesian, as well as the pamor in the blade.

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6th February 2008, 04:39 AM	#11
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,356	Parang sounds likely, in fact I completely agree with Tim, TVV, Spiral, Rsword and Vandoo with this attribution as well as Ariel. I am inclined to doubt the 'kastane' attribution or suggested provenance, so I think our established definition of these Sinhalese swords will remain sound. The zoomorphic hilt with the makara is most interesting, and does resemble those seen on the kastane, however the guard has no resemblance to the profusely ornate and developed form on these distinct swords. It seems that the animal image on the kastane hilt is in many cases interpreted as being a lion head, with that representation associated with the ancestral legends of the early kingdom of Sinhala (Sinha =lion), though many of the heads do look more like makara. The hilt form noted in Stone as parang nabor have animal head pommels and varying forms of knuckleguard type hilts. While these hilts are noted as Malayan, it seems to me that the silverwork in the hilt may be Indonesian, as well as the pamor in the blade.