Tombak Lada for comment.

kai · 2nd December 2020, 09:33 PM

Hello Eric,

Aside from signalling status, these pieces seem to have been mainly ceremonial. The higher up in the hierarchy the less likely you are needing a blade in a pinch...

The blades tend to be of high quality though; I can easily imagine them mainly put to real use at cutting areca nuts for betel chewing in a ceremonial setting. I haven't come across any good early sources on usage though.

Regards,
Kai

2nd December 2020, 09:33 PM	#8
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Eric, Aside from signalling status, these pieces seem to have been mainly ceremonial. The higher up in the hierarchy the less likely you are needing a blade in a pinch... The blades tend to be of high quality though; I can easily imagine them mainly put to real use at cutting areca nuts for betel chewing in a ceremonial setting. I haven't come across any good early sources on usage though. Regards, Kai