Old Taiwanese Aboriginal Sword

yuanzhumin · 5th June 2013, 02:17 PM

Hi Rick,

Well, I do not know about the two other swords you found as I don't see them in your post.

But concerning the one shown here, I congratulate you for owning your first authentic and old Paiwan sword/knife

And be careful, because if the 2 other ones are as good as this one, you may be tempted starting a new collection... what could be very costly and frustrating for you in the sense that there are so few of these knives and they are not cheap.

What you have here is a perfect sample of a traditional Paiwan sword. I could say there are 3 types of them: the working one, the formal one and the ceremonial one. All of the men of the tribe had two or three.

This one is not a working one... nor a chief one. But it is very nice!

The classical handle in the shape of an ancestor, the good traditional blade hollowed on one side and chiseled on the other, the usual snake body and head (the tip of the scabbard!), open scabbard on one side stitched or covered with a copper plate enriched with tribal motives, mostly heads.

These heads can be interpreted as heads symbolizing protecting ancestors or heads brought back from a head hunting party - but the result is the same as once the enemy head was brought back home, the enemy was not an enemy anymore as he was becoming a protecting spirit and his soul/force was appropriated by the one that brought it back.

Please, show us the other knives! i would be happy to see 2 other good old knives.

And as Philip said (by the way, all my best greetings to you, Philip), it's worthwhile to go back to this excellent article he co-wrote with Mr Anderson. One of the only existing paper dedicated only to this subject!

I would only add it has been since proven scientifically that - further the strong linguistic and mythological similarities between tribal groups on Taiwan, Luzon, Borneo, and the mountainous parts of mainland SE Asia Philip mentioned - the Taiwan aborigines are at the origin, are the craddle of the Austronesian culture that covers most of the Pacific rim. Close to 500 millions people are speaking today Austronesian languages (Malay, Indonesian, Polynesian languages...) that are all belonging to the Formosan language family that originated in Taiwan. What the linguists have proven has also been established by DNA analysis now: most of the population of this huge area are linked ethnically (are descending from) to the ancestors of the Taiwanese aborigines.

Congratulations, Rick!

5th June 2013, 02:17 PM	#1
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Hi Rick, Well, I do not know about the two other swords you found as I don't see them in your post. But concerning the one shown here, I congratulate you for owning your first authentic and old Paiwan sword/knife And be careful, because if the 2 other ones are as good as this one, you may be tempted starting a new collection... what could be very costly and frustrating for you in the sense that there are so few of these knives and they are not cheap. What you have here is a perfect sample of a traditional Paiwan sword. I could say there are 3 types of them: the working one, the formal one and the ceremonial one. All of the men of the tribe had two or three. This one is not a working one... nor a chief one. But it is very nice! The classical handle in the shape of an ancestor, the good traditional blade hollowed on one side and chiseled on the other, the usual snake body and head (the tip of the scabbard!), open scabbard on one side stitched or covered with a copper plate enriched with tribal motives, mostly heads. These heads can be interpreted as heads symbolizing protecting ancestors or heads brought back from a head hunting party - but the result is the same as once the enemy head was brought back home, the enemy was not an enemy anymore as he was becoming a protecting spirit and his soul/force was appropriated by the one that brought it back. Please, show us the other knives! i would be happy to see 2 other good old knives. And as Philip said (by the way, all my best greetings to you, Philip), it's worthwhile to go back to this excellent article he co-wrote with Mr Anderson. One of the only existing paper dedicated only to this subject! I would only add it has been since proven scientifically that - further the strong linguistic and mythological similarities between tribal groups on Taiwan, Luzon, Borneo, and the mountainous parts of mainland SE Asia Philip mentioned - the Taiwan aborigines are at the origin, are the craddle of the Austronesian culture that covers most of the Pacific rim. Close to 500 millions people are speaking today Austronesian languages (Malay, Indonesian, Polynesian languages...) that are all belonging to the Formosan language family that originated in Taiwan. What the linguists have proven has also been established by DNA analysis now: most of the population of this huge area are linked ethnically (are descending from) to the ancestors of the Taiwanese aborigines. Congratulations, Rick!