Borneo Parang Ihlang

[JoeCanada42]

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction,
and if you look at only half.
( such as on the top of the Dayak blade with the gold stars- photo with the moro sword)
if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

[kai]

Thanks, Joe, now I get what you're comparing it to!

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction, and if you look at only half.

Actually, these sometimes appear as single rather than as a paired feature, indeed.

if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

Since pangolins are also eaten, we can probably assume that their skulls are known to these peoples, too. However, combining a bare skull with the tongue might be a bit of a stretch...

The indigenous Moro interpretation refers to elephants (the traditional view already in place with the keris as ancestral blade) or eagles. While extant birds have no teeth, also elephants (except for their tusks, if any) appear to be kinda toothless as living animals.

While it can be fun to play with such ideas, I'd suggest to be very cautious with any interpretations that are apparently not shared by the originating culture.

Regards,
Kai

[Jim McDougall]

Joe, you have a remarkably astute eye in examining symbolism and its potential inspirations and representations! While I have been fascinated by these things as long as I can remember, it seems there are always so many possibilities that its really hard to consider which is more viable or likely.

In the cases of the weaponry of these regions, the nature of these representations are not only culturally traditional but deeply religiously oriented. This is probably one of the most daunting aspects in understanding these motifs especially is, like terms and language, variations and interpretation vary, as one noted authority said, 'almost village to village' (of course exaggerated but the point is made).

Probably one of the reasons I have typically been reticent to go into deep study of these weapons is being apprehensive about transgressing into delicate matters in trying to better understand such symbolism, not to mention the deep metaphysical properties inherent.

I like the way you strive to remain objective in speculations, and as Kai importantly suggests, in caution. Absolutely fascinating weapons, well deserving the respect they are afforded.

[David]

Originally Posted by JoeCanada42

if you take the krowit of the ant jaws. and if they twist the opposite direction,
and if you look at only half.
( such as on the top of the Dayak blade with the gold stars- photo with the moro sword)
if you look at only half , it looks almost like a pangolin head and tongue, more so it starts to look like on the moro, especialy if you use the skull as an example, when you look at the skull you notice the toothless jaw.

While i don't really know enough about Dayak cultures and their weapons to form any strong opinions about your pangolin reference in regards to their motifs i can say with some confidence that i don't believe such a reference applies to the Moro kris.

[JoeCanada42]

thanks Jim,
also, I can agree , probably no connection with the pangolin and the Moro keris.
Again I know very little about the cultures involved, I hoped my uneducated perhaps new look at things may be interesting. the Moro similarity I pointed out , perhaps may be just a similar technique of forging or decorating has gotten around. and although they look similar sometimes, probably are meant to represent different subjects.
The swords are vastly different I would like to imagine they pay tribute to different animal inspirations.
The elephant does seem to fit the Moro sword. the stirrup or asang asang (sorry if I called it wrong) does look like elephants tusks. also I think I saw one made with a birds beak which was cool..

[Tim Simmons]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...headhunter.jpg

[kai]

Hello Tim,

Similarity depends on your point of view. Yes, it is a typical Iban blade.

In the pic, that's a niabor/nyabor (or arguably a langgai tinggang intermediate if a resin "ferrule" is present): Note the edge curving towards the back of the blade.

Regards,
Kai