Old Borneo Dayak Mandau Headhunter Sword Handle

…beautiful collection piece on stand  

Old Borneo Dayak Mandau Headhunter Sword Handle, a beautiful collection piece on display stand…

The Mandau Dayak Head-hunter’s Sword is the traditional weapon of the Dayak of Kalimantan, Indonesia. In the past, most of the native people living in the island of Kalimantan, the Dayak, were animists in belief. Perhaps the most striking is their ancient tradition of headhunting practices. And it is also precisely for this purpose that the Dayak used the Mandau. Sacred kinds of wood from specific forest trees are used for carving the hilt of the Mandau. Usually the hilt is wrapped with hairs taken from the decapitated victims. Based on the design and additional features of the hilt, one can thus determine the origin of the Mandau; for instance, there are several different characteristics of a Mandau from various different groups of Dayak people, such as the Dayak Maanyan, Dayak Mbalan, Dayak Bahau, and the Dayak Ngaju. Like the hilt, the sheath is made from wood of rare forest trees which are considered sacred, too. The sheath of an ancient Mandau is often also attributed with beads and bird’s feathers. The average length of the blade of a Mandau is approximately 70 centimetres, and it has a sharp edge. Usually the width of a Mandau is about 6.5 centimetres at the widest part of the blade, and 3.5 centimeters at the smallest part. The back of the blade is often decorated with metals other than iron, for instance or bronze, copper or brass. There can be found some variation in the shape of the blade; most Mandau have a blade tilted backward/upward (mandau langgi tinggang), but there are also mandaus with a slightly curved blade (mandau ilang), yet even rarer are the ones which have a straight blade. Interestingly enough, some mandaublades feature something which looks very similar to the kembang kacang of a keris; this kind of mandau is called a ‘mandau naibor’, or ‘mandau naibur’. A mandau of the highest quality, however, is called a mandau Batu. In this context, the word ‘batu’ refers to the stone meteorite used for forging this type of mandau. Back in the days in rural areas of Kalimantan, meteorite stones were believed to come from the ancestors of the Dayak people who reside in heaven and were therefore regarded as a divine gift for their descendants on earth. Although a mandau Batu is of a relatively light weight, it has a very solid and sharp blade. Due to its remarkable solidity and sharpness, it is possible to cut an iron nail in two pieces in a single cut, without leaving any marks on the blade. Obviously, the mandau Batu is a very sacred pusaka item handed down from one generation to the next, and thus cannot be sold or purchased.  But according to the Dayaks themselves, the most sacred and powerful mandaus are those which were made by Panglima Sempung and Panglima Bungai, who are considered to be the two highest skilled masters.

Please see detail photos which form part of the description…  LNG/COFF/TV/TBL

The measurements are 

Size: On Stand 18 cm High X 15 cm Long @ Base / Off Stand 13.5 cm High X 3 cm Thick X 8.5 cm Wide

Please email me with any questions or for a delivery quote

 …or pick up from

Miranda in Sydney South

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NOTE

 

Many of the items for sale at Jim’s International Bazaar were collected by Jim on his around the world adventures as an author, photojournalist and photographer.  They include Turkish rugs, copper and brass, and artifacts from China, New Guinea, Africa and South America.  These things are from his privet collection, none were bought for the purpose of reselling but rather to decorate his home.   Many new items will be listed as they are unpacked from storage along with a wonderful collection of photographic prints including many wildlife photos and prints of tigers photographed in China.

 

ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHER

 

James Anderson

 

is an internationally renowned photojournalist and adventurer, with two major photographic books (New Guinea & Cannibal), plus covers and major spreads in a whole host of internationally prestigious magazines from Life International to The Geographic and Argosy.

 

He's been shipwrecked in the Pacific, wrestled camels in Turkey, and scoured the New Guinea Highlands in search of missing American heir and adventurer Michael Rockefeller.  He has also lived and worked in the jungles of New Guinea for over two years while collecting material for his books and records.

 

A blue-water yachtsman, he sailed his own 60ft yacht, the "Moana Vahine", from Hong Kong to Southern Turkey, down the South China Sea, across the Indian Ocean, and up the full length of the Red Sea, via Singapore, Panang, Sri lanki, The Maldive Islands, and French Djibouti. An avid diver and spear fisherman, he mounted a series of diving expeditions in The Maldive Islands and The Red Sea.

 

In addition to several years in New Guinea, he has organized and/or participated in photographic expeditions in Kenya and Tanzania, in Brazil and Columbia, in Turkey and some of the more remote islands of the south pacific. "On board the forty-foot ketch, the "Marquesa", we were the first yacht to visit the remote island of Ua Pou, in the Marquesas in almost two years.