Moro Budiak with a bit of baling wire

[Maurice]

Nice pieces Lee!

Thank you for sharing these budiaks!
I had never seen a budiak with this kind of "baling" wire.

Maurice

[Battara]

Congrats Lee. Nice pieces. Is the other budiak with a complete shaft?

[Lee]

Originally Posted by Battara

Congrats Lee. Nice pieces. Is the other budiak with a complete shaft?

Yes - - I would never cut off a pole, except in a photo closeup.

I will get a full length picture taken and posted as the pole itself is also interesting.

Originally Posted by Maurice

I had never seen a budiak with this kind of "baling" wire.

Nor have I, except for these two examples. The tangs are surprisingly short. I am guessing this wire reinforcement may have been a 'wartime' modification to make the spear more robust, but I suppose securing the head would also be useful for hunting.

[Battara]

Actually I have seen these wire sections done more in woven or twisted brass in the past.

[Lew]

Here you go Lee

This was in my collection a few years back.

[Lee]

Very nice, Lew. Perhaps the concentric groves on some sockets may reflect this practice. I'll have to keep my eyes out for an example with woven/twisted brass...

Below is an overall picture and a close up of the shaft. At regular intervals, the circumference is reduced and then allowed to slowly expand moving towards the base. This would seem to be helpful from keeping the spear from sliding back on a thrust.

[BigG]

Originally Posted by Lee

Below is an overall picture and a close up of the shaft. At regular intervals, the circumference is reduced and then allowed to slowly expand moving towards the base. This would seem to be helpful from keeping the spear from sliding back on a thrust.

This is very similar to designs of the Peninsula Malay Lembings (javelins). There... Spear designs akin to the one shown here is generally deemed to be designed as a missile weapon ie to be thrown... the aerodynamic fetures of the blade and the grroves are carved into the stems may act as a means of giving the wielder a better grip when the weapon is thrown... ad perhaps better aerodynamic qualities?

A spear meant for thrusting... a tombak is distinctive in that the stem is does not feature this design... the spear heads are broader too..

Very nice Budiaks...