Bolo with wide blade and t-grip for identification

tom hyle · 2nd February 2005, 01:24 PM

Those marks sure are similar; without actually counting lines, awful close to identical (at least some of the single slanted lines in the spine of mine look like they were once part of an "X" than has worn partly away.). The disc guard as such is not uncommon; it's one of the two most basic kinds (disc or crossbar), and is seen in mainland SE Asia, Borneo, and the Visayan Sea (usually either in horn or wood or else, if metal. with added quillons, one of which turns down to form a sheath-grabber, the other usually coming up to form a knucklebow.), as well, of course, as Japan, China, and the Himalayas; I suspect I could go on if I thought hard. These ones are thinnish brass, and in the case of mine the hole for the tang is overly wide, and perhaps intended to be usable as a rattle, as we have heard tell of.
Gosh' they're already worth a lot of money, so I may as well say it; I don't think I ever get tired of looking at pakayuns.

RSWORD · 2nd February 2005, 10:41 PM

In looking strictly at the hilt in the two examples, they seem to me to closely resemble the Nias Gari hilt. If you look in Van Zonnevelds book on p. 47, take a close look at that hilt. It has the same shape with the only difference being that it has a long iron protrusion coming from between the open mouth of the pommel. I suspect this feature has broken or been shortened in the two examples posted. The top example seems to have its forked pommel wrapped in cloth and perhaps it once contained charms within which would be in keeping with Nias tradition. The guard and blade shape I believe are imitative of another culture, perhaps Chinese. The notches at the base of the blade are peculiar but perhaps done by the Nias for decorative or symbolic purposes. Certainly not the ace of spades but hopefully a worthwhile observation to add to the overall discussion.

Ian · 6th February 2005, 09:14 PM

Hal. Nobody seems to know exactly where these bolos come from, nor the man in the photo. I suspect we will resurrect this thread down the road when we hit upon the answer.

As promised, I am attaching pictures of two knives of the Ilongot, a noted headhunting tribe in northern Luzon. The bolo used by the Ilongot has a fairly distinctive form and the scabbard is unusual in its decoration, featuring MOP inserts and dangles.

Ian.

Ian · 12th February 2005, 09:07 PM

Having thought the last word on the inscription of the man's photograph may be "TIMOR" I have been thinking over the next to last word and I believe it is "CANAKA," which may be a corruption of "KANAKA." The word kanaka is Polynesian and means human. It was adopted by Europeans to mean anyone from Polynesia or Melanesia.

Kanakas were routinely abducted in the 19th C. from the Torres Strait Islands and Timor to work as slave labor in the sugar cane fields of northern Australia, notably in the State of Queensland. There are still descendants of these people living in northern Australia today.

I think this man is a kanaka from Timor. On further reading of Henry O. Forbes' A Naturalists Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago, I was struck by the following passage:

"What the pedigree of the Timorese is I have not sufficient evidence for forming any decided opinion; but that they are a race in which many elements comingle seems certain. I saw no one with what I can with perfect truth designate as "black skin" such as seen among the Aru islanders. Tall, well-proportioned men, with frizzly hair, and of a rich and yellowish brown or of a choclate colour, I saw in abundance, as well as short, stumpy men with straight hair and no lack of beard or moustaches."

Forbes further decribes a prominent presence of "Mongols" (Chinese) as local merchants, and even a tribal group of red-haired, fair-skinned natives who intermingled and bred freely with other local groups.

Quite an ethnic melting pot. In a previous post on this thread I rather boldly said the man in the photograph was unlike any Asian/SE Asian native that I had seen in thirty years of traveling in the region. I've never been to Timor. But it sounds as though Timor has some very unusual ethnic blends, involving Malay, Chinese, European, and Pacific Island groups. The man in the photograph may well have emerged from such a comingling.

Until someone comes up with something more conclusive, I'm going for a Timor kanaka in the picture, and his bolo as being a variation of either a local golok/parang or a European machete.

fearn · 12th February 2005, 11:40 PM

Hi Ian,

It's possible that the man is from Timor, but there's a bit of evidence against him.

As I pointed out above, the Timorese look Papuan, which means dark skin and frizzy hair. Similarly their blades apparently don't look like this specimen.

A sample handle (admittedly on a replica klewang) from the archives is shown here

So far as I can tell, this handle is the same as Draeger shows in a sketch of a timorese parang.

I like the idea of "cana" being short for Kanaka--but I don't think we're in the right part of SE Asia yet.

F

Ian · 13th February 2005, 04:52 AM

Fearn:

Reading Forbes the last couple of days has given me quite a different picture of the Timorese. They have a wide mix of ancestry that goes far beyond Polynesian/Melanesian roots. Indeed their collective culture appears to have been one of interbreeding among all groups that settled the island.

The man's appearance is not typical of a Malay, Chinese, Polynesian, Melanesian, or any other racial group I have encountered in the region. So he probably is mestizo, which makes it very difficult to place where he might be from. The fact that mixed racial breeding appears to have been quite common on Timor enhances my view of an origin there, but it is far from firm evidence.

Fearn is correct that the bolo in question bears no resemblance to the traditional weapons described as coming from Timor. I think it may be an "unconventional" weapon from that island. Just as the man may be of mixed heritage, I also think the bolo he holds is of mixed origins. That may explain why nobody seems to have a clear idea of where it comes from or what it resembles. The blade looks looks like a machete. I don't know what the hilt resembles.

Conogre · 14th February 2005, 08:45 PM

Hi Guys...so THIS is where you all went!
Tom, glad to see that someone else came up with another one so that we're finally heading towards a type, where as up until now it was the only one I'd dever seen.
And yes, by the way, I still have it....the blade is definitely hand forged and completely unlike a machete in any fashion except for the fact that it's much thinner than anything I've seen from either the Philippines or the Indonesian area.
As to Timor, I have an opi that's almost twice as thick as the "mystery sword", while much thinner side profile.
Along the spine, near the guard, it's got 7 rows of three bars, very much like some of the tourist dhas from Thailand from the Vietnam era, opening the possibilty that it could well be from one of the older hill tribes that just aren't that well researched, maybe?

6th February 2005, 09:14 PM	#3
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	The experts come up empty ... Hal. Nobody seems to know exactly where these bolos come from, nor the man in the photo. I suspect we will resurrect this thread down the road when we hit upon the answer. As promised, I am attaching pictures of two knives of the Ilongot, a noted headhunting tribe in northern Luzon. The bolo used by the Ilongot has a fairly distinctive form and the scabbard is unusual in its decoration, featuring MOP inserts and dangles. Ian. Attached Images

12th February 2005, 09:07 PM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	One last try to decipher the inscription on the photograph Having thought the last word on the inscription of the man's photograph may be "TIMOR" I have been thinking over the next to last word and I believe it is "CANAKA," which may be a corruption of "KANAKA." The word kanaka is Polynesian and means human. It was adopted by Europeans to mean anyone from Polynesia or Melanesia. Kanakas were routinely abducted in the 19th C. from the Torres Strait Islands and Timor to work as slave labor in the sugar cane fields of northern Australia, notably in the State of Queensland. There are still descendants of these people living in northern Australia today. I think this man is a kanaka from Timor. On further reading of Henry O. Forbes' A Naturalists Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago, I was struck by the following passage: "What the pedigree of the Timorese is I have not sufficient evidence for forming any decided opinion; but that they are a race in which many elements comingle seems certain. I saw no one with what I can with perfect truth designate as "black skin" such as seen among the Aru islanders. Tall, well-proportioned men, with frizzly hair, and of a rich and yellowish brown or of a choclate colour, I saw in abundance, as well as short, stumpy men with straight hair and no lack of beard or moustaches." Forbes further decribes a prominent presence of "Mongols" (Chinese) as local merchants, and even a tribal group of red-haired, fair-skinned natives who intermingled and bred freely with other local groups. Quite an ethnic melting pot. In a previous post on this thread I rather boldly said the man in the photograph was unlike any Asian/SE Asian native that I had seen in thirty years of traveling in the region. I've never been to Timor. But it sounds as though Timor has some very unusual ethnic blends, involving Malay, Chinese, European, and Pacific Island groups. The man in the photograph may well have emerged from such a comingling. Until someone comes up with something more conclusive, I'm going for a Timor kanaka in the picture, and his bolo as being a variation of either a local golok/parang or a European machete. Last edited by Ian; 13th February 2005 at 04:38 AM.

2nd February 2005, 01:24 PM	#1
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Those marks sure are similar; without actually counting lines, awful close to identical (at least some of the single slanted lines in the spine of mine look like they were once part of an "X" than has worn partly away.). The disc guard as such is not uncommon; it's one of the two most basic kinds (disc or crossbar), and is seen in mainland SE Asia, Borneo, and the Visayan Sea (usually either in horn or wood or else, if metal. with added quillons, one of which turns down to form a sheath-grabber, the other usually coming up to form a knucklebow.), as well, of course, as Japan, China, and the Himalayas; I suspect I could go on if I thought hard. These ones are thinnish brass, and in the case of mine the hole for the tang is overly wide, and perhaps intended to be usable as a rattle, as we have heard tell of. Gosh' they're already worth a lot of money, so I may as well say it; I don't think I ever get tired of looking at pakayuns.

2nd February 2005, 10:41 PM	#2
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,086	In looking strictly at the hilt in the two examples, they seem to me to closely resemble the Nias Gari hilt. If you look in Van Zonnevelds book on p. 47, take a close look at that hilt. It has the same shape with the only difference being that it has a long iron protrusion coming from between the open mouth of the pommel. I suspect this feature has broken or been shortened in the two examples posted. The top example seems to have its forked pommel wrapped in cloth and perhaps it once contained charms within which would be in keeping with Nias tradition. The guard and blade shape I believe are imitative of another culture, perhaps Chinese. The notches at the base of the blade are peculiar but perhaps done by the Nias for decorative or symbolic purposes. Certainly not the ace of spades but hopefully a worthwhile observation to add to the overall discussion.

12th February 2005, 11:40 PM	#5
fearn Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,247	Hi Ian, It's possible that the man is from Timor, but there's a bit of evidence against him. As I pointed out above, the Timorese look Papuan, which means dark skin and frizzy hair. Similarly their blades apparently don't look like this specimen. A sample handle (admittedly on a replica klewang) from the archives is shown here So far as I can tell, this handle is the same as Draeger shows in a sketch of a timorese parang. I like the idea of "cana" being short for Kanaka--but I don't think we're in the right part of SE Asia yet. F

13th February 2005, 04:52 AM	#6
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Fearn: Reading Forbes the last couple of days has given me quite a different picture of the Timorese. They have a wide mix of ancestry that goes far beyond Polynesian/Melanesian roots. Indeed their collective culture appears to have been one of interbreeding among all groups that settled the island. The man's appearance is not typical of a Malay, Chinese, Polynesian, Melanesian, or any other racial group I have encountered in the region. So he probably is mestizo, which makes it very difficult to place where he might be from. The fact that mixed racial breeding appears to have been quite common on Timor enhances my view of an origin there, but it is far from firm evidence. Fearn is correct that the bolo in question bears no resemblance to the traditional weapons described as coming from Timor. I think it may be an "unconventional" weapon from that island. Just as the man may be of mixed heritage, I also think the bolo he holds is of mixed origins. That may explain why nobody seems to have a clear idea of where it comes from or what it resembles. The blade looks looks like a machete. I don't know what the hilt resembles.

14th February 2005, 08:45 PM	#7
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	Hi Guys...so THIS is where you all went! Tom, glad to see that someone else came up with another one so that we're finally heading towards a type, where as up until now it was the only one I'd dever seen. And yes, by the way, I still have it....the blade is definitely hand forged and completely unlike a machete in any fashion except for the fact that it's much thinner than anything I've seen from either the Philippines or the Indonesian area. As to Timor, I have an opi that's almost twice as thick as the "mystery sword", while much thinner side profile. Along the spine, near the guard, it's got 7 rows of three bars, very much like some of the tourist dhas from Thailand from the Vietnam era, opening the possibilty that it could well be from one of the older hill tribes that just aren't that well researched, maybe?