collections thread- mandau

exactly shavru, the dayak are raised with them, probably added a lot to the mystical aspect how a weapon could turn on a new owner I imagine ( just for the reasons you mentioned; though reading about it I could not possibly understand it like you , since you actually understand the fighting arts :D)

I think you can only cut ( swing properly, not sure but the slab style of the blade with a concave side makes it particular )with a mandau in one direction, I will try to dig up some of the accounts of people watching the dayaks fight, its very cool-- they are definitely not as all round as a center edge blade

also I am pretty sure the book said he cut his shins in half now, not cut his legs off ( the guy misusing a mandau)
 
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Read a bit more about them and how they are formed.... aside from now having a burning desire to get one made from asteroid metal (they are NEVER sold just passed down family lines) I learned quite a bit about them. All it did was enhance my already significant respect for these blades and the warriors that weilded them (and in some cases still might) and the smiths who made them. Can you imagine that primitive society making bellows from a palm stump and bird feathers to smelt the steel? WOW!! I would love to test out my beliefs about how these enhance the cut when used properly. I might have to find a good enouh one but not museum quality as I want to use it and a Mandau not an Ambang. The common steel would be too brittle. Well, A long patient search ahead of me but so much fun as well :D
 
Thanks for sharing your amazing and beautiful collection Gehazi. They are almost impossible to find in Malaysia now but there are local smiths from Sarawak still making modern reproductions but no way as intricate and detailed compared to your collection. Cheers!
 
I feel pretty lucky to be able to put it together nepki, thanks-- I really really love the art the people managed there, the pre-abrahamic animistic art is my favorite and also the very hardest to get in good quality ; though both the islamic and christian variants of mandau I have seen are really beautiful, I just like all the demons and mysticism in the blades, it makes me wonder how and where it all started. I find it all amazing, as many westerns seem to have since they first encountered mandau-- I have tourist piece from sarawak that I think was made in the 1800s :D

and even as cool as my collection is, there are many many people who have just amazing collections-- if you want to see some really awesome stuff check out mytribalworld is a dutch collector all his mandau sell before I can even speak for one :(, but I have been most fortunate dealing with a tribal art guy in california, who has helped me get most of my mandau of high quality, the others I got from various antique sites and bidding sites.

I really want to set up a proper display, right now they are all in a chest; but the pictures give you a good idea--

found a beautiful authentic mandau pictures and info http://www.ethnographicswords.com/i...nieuwenhuismandaufoto&catid=48:fotos&Itemid=1
 
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picked this up from a guy in germany, just waiting on my card to get my payment lol then I will pay him for it :D



secured this from one of the guys who helped me get into mandau, told me how to recognize them properly, the blade on this one I do not have proper picture of, but it is fantastic, I should have before the month is done, and get some fresh pictures in january--



On this one you can see a similar blade design and grip, they are from the same tribe, the same little guy is on both grips, the face in the above picture-- the new one is slightly more ornate than this but not by much, there is no side knife or amulets-- just blade with grip and a worn down scabbard.-- but it is nice to be able to see the tribal continuity in the art.-- will try to get pictures of both faces side by side
 
It was said to be used for a wide variety of tasks, allegedly it is the blade by which the scabbard and grip are carved by the mandau's creator. Also alleged is that it is the blade by which the head hunter would prepare his trophies for curing ( flensing the skull and removing organs). Alleged as well is that the side knife was considered more important than the main parang. Like the main blade they were not just weapons or tools for headhunting but common tools, so they were literally used for everything that the main blade was not used for. the most impressive piso raout's have a blade of about 8 inches with a grip of about 14 inches-- with good variation , I have seen them all sizes and styles.

I am not sure specifically of the significance of the super long grip on the side knife, I have seen them extremely short but those are almost always high quality fakes rather than true mandau. I think it is probably just a really good medium to display artistic skill as well as a handy grip for a variety of tasks.
 
I have seen them place the end of the long handle of the sideknife on the shoulder while holding it near the blade for carving and stripping bark from arrows etc. By extending the handle to reach the shoulder it works as a pivot and helps stabilizes things while carving. Dont know if this is the specific reason for the piso raout having a long handle but may be?
 
sounds very reasonable ndog, and practical, I think you are right

a few more :













 
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More incredible additions Gehazi. I find myself coming back and looking over and over at the pictures of each one. Simply stunning.

As for the long handles and short blade. If you watch videos of these folks working, they use their feet to hold things in place, They use their sholders to create stability, The way they work with the blades seems to be a whole body approach unlike folks like myself who view knives as something we use with our hands. So I am guessing you guys are dead on accurate that it is because of the way they use it for daily tasks ect.
 
not a mandau, but I thought this fellow from england favored aso enough to buy him and claim it is part of my wider collection







all ebony walking cane probably made in africa for an englishman(according to seller), I think it is a really fine work of art, if a bit cheeky

also I am pretty sure I will be committed by my people if they realize how many mandau I have
 
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LOL, what a grin on that head... and I love the twist engraving on the shaft. Lovely, and remember, we collectors are eccentric. You can't be committed for being eccentric :D At least I hope not or I am in trouble too.
 
i have an umbrella stand full (~20) of walking sticks too ! a 19th c. gentleman's fighting stick can be deadly. about the only 'weapon' i can legally carry wherever. just got this heavy vinewood stick (vitis) this week. it brings out the centurio in me.
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this ball headed african blackwood stick is a favourite.
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also a dense strong hardwood, nice grain.
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love african blackwood, great canes ! ( i did end up finding a blackwood supplier and will be able to attempt my war club in blackwood)
 
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Very nice canes! All of them! Yes Shav that grin makes it! Wonder if that was intended?
 
picked up a pretty cool semi antique from a place, expected it to be all brass but it actually has an iron head, so lucky score!!! love these things, would like to hear from karda about some HI cuipaga/fokos








giving this to my dad and calling it a gift and then stealing it
 
here is another good bit to the thread:

this mandau is located at the metropolitan museum of art in NY NY-- one of the really really true fine ones




 
I love the twist on that one Kron. The perfect spiral is amazing, that took some work on wood that dense. As far as a defensive weapon. As I am sure you know, hardwood walking sticks have long been favored for exactly that reason. They make a very effective defensive weapon and when they are as classy and beautiful as those in your collection, they do the job and add a little class at the same time.

Gehazi, That is gorgeous, but I think what is best about it is that it points out the quality of your own pieces. This one is has a lot of brass inlay and the cold forge curling, but the carving on the handle is not that impressive. Though if you look at the other mandau that the Met museum has a picture of in their online collection but isn't displayed. I would love to see that one.
 
absolutely shav, that other mandau is unlike any I have ever seen and I do think the inlay on it is gold-( the other one with not very good pictures at the met)- very few weapons are as fully art as mandau

here is that other one, the caption says it is just brass, but man this is a strange special blade

 
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