Mandau (weapon)

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Mandau (weapon)
COLLECTIE TROPICAL MUSEUM Zwaard met gevest van been schede en mesje TMnr 391-119.jpg
Information
Weapon type: sword
Designations: see text
Use: military and traditional weapon, tool
Working time: until now
Region of origin /
author: 		Malaysia , Dayak people
Distribution: Malaysia
Overall length: about 70 cm
Blade length: about 55 cm
Handle: Wood, stag horn, horn, ivory
Particularities: the curved version is called jimpul
Lists on the subject

The Mandau (Malay = headhunter, also Parang Ihlang , Baieng , Duku , Kamping , Malab , Malat , Mando , Parang Ilang ) is a sword of the Dayak from Malaysia .

history

The Dayak used the sword as a machete but also for headhunting . Just like the Japanese katana , the Mandau sword was carried in the scabbard with the edge upwards .

description

The mandau has a straight, relatively short, single-edged blade. The blade has no hollow grind and no central ridge. One of the blade sides is ground concave, the other convex. At the handle (handle) the blade is almost square and then tapers out towards the place (point). In the front area, the blade is slightly curved upwards and has a wavy upper edge near the tip. The tip is slightly sloping and slightly rounded. The blades are often ornately decorated in the local area. Engravings or ring-shaped inlays made of copper or brass are often used . Besides these ring-shaped inlays, the following types of decoration can be found on the blades:

  • a). mata-joh = S-shaped figures in rolled spirals on a large area on the blade near the back of the blade.
  • b). mata-kalong = four mirror-inverted S-shaped figures near the handle.
  • c). tap-set-sien = an eight-pointed star with a point in the middle. Was only worn by the royal family.

The blade is about 55 cm long. The blades were mostly from our own production, but later the required iron was imported from Europe or China . Hardening during forging was done by quenching in cold water. There are differences in the materials used. The better crafted mandau had stainless blades, while the simple ones were made of rusting steel. The blades of some of these swords were partly colored. The blades were hammered into the roots of the capok tree and pulled through the cut. This turned the blade blue, which held that color for about six months. The pommel is always decorated with carvings, grotesque faces or other ornaments. The handle is often wrapped with flattened rattan cords or with metal wire. It is usually made from the wood of the Ensurei tree (Diptocarpus oblogifolius). The horn of the Rusa (or Sambur deer ) was also often used. The pommel is elongated and always lies on one side. He is often equipped with thick tufts of hair. A ring made of natural resin was attached to the transition to the blade and a silver coin was inserted for decoration. The scabbards are carved from wood, horn or ivory and are in two parts. They are held together with strips of bamboo that form a knot (katong evok). The dividing line is covered with a wide bamboo ribbon and hidden by the rattan wrap . The scabbards are also often decorated with tufts of hair or feathers from the hornbill or the argus phasans, and the surfaces are decorated with inlays or carvings. They have a kind of pocket or second sheath (apis) on the back to accommodate a smaller knife. This knife has a long handle and roughly the appearance of the Pisau-Raut . It was used to clean the head trophies. There is also a variant of the mandau with a curved blade. This is called " Jimpul ".

literature

  • Václav Šolc: Swords and Daggers of Indonesia. Illustrated by Werner Forman, Bedřich Forman. Artia, Prague 1958.
  • Rosemarie Zell, Petra Martin: Ancient cultures on Sumatra, Java, Borneo. Exhibition of the State Museum for Ethnology Dresden, 1985/86. State Museum of Ethnology - Research Center, Dresden 1985.
  • George Cameron Stone : A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in all Countries and in all Times. Together with some closely related subjects. With an introduction by Donald J. LaRocca. Dover Publications, Mineola NY 1999, ISBN 0-486-40726-8 .

Web links

Commons : Mandau (weapon)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Albert G. van Zonneveld: Traditional weapons of the Indonesian archipelago. C. Zwartenkot Art Books, Leiden 2001, ISBN 90-5450-004-2 , pp. 86-88.