Parang from Indonesia??

kai · 19th February 2018, 01:57 AM

Hello Ron,

Yes, the pommel with long nose (albeit based on a makara's jaw and very stylized) and disk guard (from brass rather than horn) are very reminiscent of an Aklaon sanduko, indeed! The semblance of these "hill tribe" swords must be coming out of thin air...

The really weird thing with this Sumatran sword is that it's blade is almost always coming with a native blade with a "japanesque" tip. Very likely, the tsuba-like crosspiece is also based on this influence (some examples even exhibit a habaki-like collar, too) while the grip/pommel makes this sword distinctly non-Japanese!

Regards,
Kai

19th February 2018, 01:57 AM	#1
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Ron, Yes, the pommel with long nose (albeit based on a makara's jaw and very stylized) and disk guard (from brass rather than horn) are very reminiscent of an Aklaon sanduko, indeed! The semblance of these "hill tribe" swords must be coming out of thin air... The really weird thing with this Sumatran sword is that it's blade is almost always coming with a native blade with a "japanesque" tip. Very likely, the tsuba-like crosspiece is also based on this influence (some examples even exhibit a habaki-like collar, too) while the grip/pommel makes this sword distinctly non-Japanese! Regards, Kai