Flower Ranger

SOLD.

This mandau is from the eastern portion of the island of Borneo, which is also known as Kalimantan by Indonesians. The island is divided between Indonesia and Malaysia, and the tiny Sultanate of Brunei also occupies a small area on the northern coast. 

Mandaus were (and occasionally, still are) used in headhunting, which is a tradition with a long history on the massive, wild island. Heads were taken to settle disputes between and within Dayak tribes and also to control population. The Dayak tribes have been forced to adapt to the changes implemented by the governments that have divided up their land, but many of these tribespeople have stuck to their guns and occasionally lopped more than a few heads off to try and preserve their way of life. Tribesmen from what is now the Visayas and Mindanao also incurred losses when attempting to raid the coast of Borneo.

Many mandaus are exquisitely carved and decorated with natural materials from the resource-rich jungles and mountains of Borneo. Simpler ones are used for agriculture. This is a modern-made mandau and lacks the finesse of the finest mandaus used by tribesmen, but it is definitely not a standard working version by any means. While it has a few modern touches, this is one, thick, solid chisel-ground blade that was made by skilled traditional blacksmiths. This mandau is very capable of removing someone’s head from their shoulders. 

The blade is around ¼" thick at its base. The blade is 16 ¾" long. The balance point is 6.5" in front of the handle, meaning this is a blade heavy chopper (as it should be). The scabbard is crafted from a fragrant local wood and is carved with traditional motifs and shellacked. The scabbard also has nicely done rattan wrap in several places to hold it together, as well as a rattan loop to allow it to be attached to ones’ waist or carried or hung on a wall.

The blade features a beautiful dragon, which of course is a powerful symbol throughout Asia and much of Europe. This dragon was done entirely by hand and the contrast between the forge scale and polished metal is striking.

The handle has rattan wrap and what I believe to be plant fibers. Traditionally these fibers would be animal or human (!) hair. There are a few holes from pests in the handle.

This mandau comes with a small knife, which the Dayak headhunting tribes consider even more important than the large blade. While this is not a fancy blade by any means (I’m not sure what kind of metal was used for it), they were traditionally used to extricate the brains from victims. While these practices are far less common nowadays, it is believed that they still continue in areas of Borneo where vehicles cannot go. The small knife has a simple handle that is 5 9/16" long with a 2 7/8" blade. 0.4 oz.

The blade is definitely nicely done and made for real use.

The blde is sharp and the tip is nicely ground. There is a traditional twisted portion on the spine.

Being chisel ground, this is one effective chopper and will cut nice and deep.

The anthromorphic carvings are of traditional motifs and have religious significance. 

The back of the scabbard has a small sheath for the brain knife to slip into.

There are forge marks and color on the blade from quenching.

Lustrous.

A man in the grocery store line today approached me and said, “Sir, when I first saw you I was extremely attracted to you, but then I noticed that you are a boy. How… I mean, why do you dress so provocatively?”

I responded, “Well, in today’s world the majority of the straight male race view women as objects, or something that belongs to them. I dress provocatively because it attracts the attention of men in a sexual and OBJECTIVE way. However, when realized that I am actually male, they often become confused, disgusted, upset or all of the above. By inflicting this minor emotional damaged upon the ego of a man raised by twisted societal gender norms, maybe, just maybe the individual will think twice before viewing another woman with an objective attitude and sense of belonging. No woman, belongs to ANYONE. Male or female, the equality of human beings needs to be a priority. It is something worth dressing up for.”

I AM NOT KIDDING. The woman behind me, the female cashier, the old lady bagging groceries and the woman in front of me who was talking on the phone STOPPED, …. and proceeded to gasp and clap. The man shook my hand, told me to have a blessed day and then said, “excuse me ladies, I need to visit my daughter.”

…. I was shaking by the time I walked out of the store.