Mandau

This is a wonderful mandau, also sometimes called a “parang ihlang”.  It is the traditional sword of the Dayak tribes of Borneo and is associated with their headhunting traditions although it is more commonly used as a machete in everyday life.  The mandau is used by many people of Kalimantan and is widespread.  The mandau is believed to have supernatural power and it is passed as an heirloom from generation to generation.

The mandau is one of the most romanticized, albeit macabre, weapons of Borneo.  The way of life of the Dayak aborigines, maintaining their ancient customs, habits and religious beliefs, has always involved the taking of heads.  They became feared as head-hunters and only in recent years has the practice been “largely” abandoned. (Officially, headhunting doesn’t exist in Borneo despite the occasional report of an isolated jungle beheading).  The swords are also “working” swords, capable of separating a branch from a jungle tree as much as a head from man.

This well-crafted blade is 50cm long, heavy and thick, and traditionally shaped with a convex obverse and concave reverse.  The reverse is also blackened has an almost sawtooth roughness to it.  The blade is chiseled details near the hilt. Five brass plugs are inset into the blade near the tip. Brass and copper are sometimes used as elements in blades where there is a desire to protect against magic.  The use here is purely speculative.  It is thought that the design of the mandau blade is such that a head can be easily taken by swinging the blade in an arc while running. The sword is 69cm in total length.

Posted by         : Cornelia Debby K

Link                    : http://atkinson-swords.com/collection-by-region/south-east-asia/the-indonesian-archipelago/kalimantan/mandau-borneo.html