Question: what type of mandau is this?

kai · 17th November 2021, 12:00 PM

Hello Alan,

I was referring to Godfried's background: Pretty much any exotic dagger tends to be referred to as kris in the Netherlands - if you find a kukri being offered at a Dutch flea market, chances are that it will be referred to as kris by any seller who has no special background in foreign cultures or exotic pointy things. Similar adoptions into general language usage can be found in other colonial/migration settings as well as through tourism/globalisation: Curry, Pizza, Sushi - take your pick!

I'd tend to refer to Borneo swords in general or, for example, Dayak or Iban swords if things can be narrowed down a bit more. The Borneo enthusiasts might want to start discussing features/details of individual pieces and come up with groupings of related pieces; the specialists could refer to those styles/substyles as, for example, A1 or C3. However, human nature (i.e. our brain) seems to prefer using "real" names - if any are available, why not use them? Sure, some may happen to be wrong/mistaken: Knowledge changes/evolves, so what?

We just have to realise that human culture and relationships tend to be complex and languages diverse. I agree that pigeon-holing material culture should possibly be not our focus - this is not stamp collecting. In my opinion it's the individual details that make these hand-made pieces so interesting.

Regards,
Kai

17th November 2021, 12:00 PM	#9
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Alan, I was referring to Godfried's background: Pretty much any exotic dagger tends to be referred to as kris in the Netherlands - if you find a kukri being offered at a Dutch flea market, chances are that it will be referred to as kris by any seller who has no special background in foreign cultures or exotic pointy things. Similar adoptions into general language usage can be found in other colonial/migration settings as well as through tourism/globalisation: Curry, Pizza, Sushi - take your pick! I'd tend to refer to Borneo swords in general or, for example, Dayak or Iban swords if things can be narrowed down a bit more. The Borneo enthusiasts might want to start discussing features/details of individual pieces and come up with groupings of related pieces; the specialists could refer to those styles/substyles as, for example, A1 or C3. However, human nature (i.e. our brain) seems to prefer using "real" names - if any are available, why not use them? Sure, some may happen to be wrong/mistaken: Knowledge changes/evolves, so what? We just have to realise that human culture and relationships tend to be complex and languages diverse. I agree that pigeon-holing material culture should possibly be not our focus - this is not stamp collecting. In my opinion it's the individual details that make these hand-made pieces so interesting. Regards, Kai