A Familiar Blade in a Suprising Place!

[CharlesS]

As many of you know I am intriqued by cross cultural pieces, most especially from the Islamic world...and here is yet another one.

This Indonesian(likely Sumatran) parang carries a blade that would be much more at home on a Sudanese kaskara or Tuareg takouba. The parang is 35in. overall, with the blade being 29in. The blade has been cut down to local tastes and has become very thin and flexible. No doubt it was just that...thin and flexible...originally, but acid washings and age have contributed to its feeble condition even more. This blade was certainly never made for acid washings! Note the blade has become virtually black in what may be a combination of acid washing and patina, or acid washing alone. The impact on the thinner tip is similiar to what one might expect on an older keris.

Note the shallow fullering and half moons we have come to expect on takoubas and kaskaras...in this case heavily worn as a result of the washings and age.

Question is...was this originally a European trade blade or did in come to the archipelago via 'al-Islam' and north African trade. I doubt we can positively ever know.

The last pic here compares it to a much healthier blade which is almost certainly a European blade that found its way to becoming and Indonesian parang.

[Iain]

Hi Charles,

Very interesting piece you have there! I remember second one from a previous thread.

This latest one has the look of a European blade I think - the fullers are quite deep and well formed. The half moon stamps less easy to see due to the treatment of the blade but do look well struck.

As you say, the real question is how did these make it to Indonesia. Given that you have two there must be more, for myself, it is not hard to imagine an enterprising Arab or Indian trader bringing them over. This seems more likely than direct intended shipment from Europe? I would expect a much greater volume to turn up like in kaskara and takouba if the latter was the case.

A very nice and unusual piece. You seem to have a real talent for finding "cross over" pieces.

All the best,

Iain

[A.alnakkas]

Very interesting piece! the blade is obviously better then what you see on some kaskaras. Reckon that it got there similar to how many European blades got to Sudan and other parts of the area. A hypothesis would be that a Yemeni trader would actually sell it there as Yemeni traders reached that part of the world. Another hypothesis is that the same Europeans who sell these blades to Red Sea areas also sell them to far places like Indonesia etc. As far as I know, Europeans did well in trade there and even colonised alot of South East Asia? Muslims are evidently been trading with European nations, the European trade blade offers the best refutation to 'al Islam' trading (whatever that means)

Lotfy

[Jim McDougall]

This is truly a remarkable context in which to find these kaskara blades, and though the concept of the Arab trade routes out of the Red Sea is viable, I am wondering if a more westerly route might also be plausible. It is interesting to see two of these 'masri' type blades together in this vastly distant context, and that one appears European, while the other is of lesser quality but exactly the same configuration. We wonder if these type blades may have been produced in this configuration by industrious Solingen shops catering to North African markets, and perhaps we are seeing a 'prototype' against native copy, or perhaps the work of an apprentice.

Whatever the case, we know that these broadsword blades were not typically in demand in the East Indies, but are known to occur in India in patas and firangis in the Malabar sphere. In that case, the Red Sea route might explain this occurrence. Conversely, the western route would be via the Spanish colonies in North Africa, where these would have entered the 'Spanish Main' and could have been transported as far as the western terminus in the Philippines. While highly speculative, it should be noted that many North African type swords such as the 'Berber' sabres have close counterparts as far as Indonesian and Philippines settings via Mexican and Cuban ports. I have seen weapons identified as Mexican also identified as Algerian and other similar cases.
In these circumstances I think these blades, outside the usually favored blade types may have been collected as curiosities, and when in the Indonesian or other setting could have ended up being hilted in the local manner.

While impossible to know for certain, it is interesting to consider the possibilities, and wonder about the great adventure these blades have been part of.

Best regards,
Jim