Authentic Antique Dayak Mandau Head Hunting Sword circa 1890 For Sale

Authentic Antique Dayak Head Hunting Warrior’s Mandau Sword; Borneo Indonesia, circa 1890! This extraordinary piece has a deep dark brown patina and a hand carved, hair decorated, antler handle in the form of several Dayak “Aso” deity gods that’s sheathed in a hand carved pointed wood scabbard termination. Rattan woven waste strap and a hand carved horn haft on a metal pointed sharpening second knife weapon that’s sheathed in a banana leaf second sheath on the rear. Superior hand woven rattan decorates the hand caved scabbard with additional hand carved “Aso” figures. This is an above average Dayak Mandau example. It measurements an impressive 31 inches long, when sheathed. The sword alone measures 25 inches long and it shows signs of tribal use!14 DAY NO QUESTIONS ASKED RETURN POLICY!SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! THIS IS A DAYAK TRIBAL USED PIECE FROM MY GRANDFATHER\'S OLD TRIBAL ART COLLECTION. HE WORKED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, SOUTH AMERICA, AND AMERICA\'S SOUTH WEST IN THE 30\'S. HE TRAVELED TO BURMA, INDONESIA, THE PHILIPPINES, EUROPE AND MEXICO WITH A NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE PHOTOGRAPHER. HE COLLECTED THIS PIECE DURING HIS TRAVELS. ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOURS AND THANKS FOR LOOKING. PLEASE SEE THE OTHER ITEMS THAT I HAVE UP FOR sale. I HOPE YOU ARE THE LUCKY WINNER... GOOD LUCK TO THE HIGHEST buyer! ALL THE BEST TO YOU AND YOURS THANK YOU DAVE… ...WORLD WIDE SHIPPING: INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PAY FOR THE ACTUAL SHIPPING COST FOR THE SERVICE THEY SELECT...

In the past, the Dayak were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices (the ritual is also known as Ngayau by the Dayaks) . Among the Iban Dayaks, the origin of headhunting was believed to be meeting one of the mourning rules given by a spirit which is as follows: The sacred jar is not to be opened except by a warrior who has managed to obtain a head, or by a man who can present a human head, which he obtained in a fight; or by a man who has returned from a sojourn in enemy country. Often, a war leader had at least three lieutenants (called manuk sabong) who in turn had some followers. The war (ngayau) rules among the Iban Dayaks are: If a warleader leads a party on an expedition, he must not allow his warriors to fight a guiltless tribe that has no quarrel with them. If the enemy surrenders, he may not take their lives, lest his army be unsuccessful in future warfare and risk fighting empty-handed war raids (balang kayau). The first time that a warrior takes a head or captures a prisoner, he must present the head or captive to the warleader in acknowledgement of the latter\'s leadership. If a warrior takes two heads or captives, or more, one of each must be given to the warleader; the remainder belongs to the killer or captor. The warleader must be honest with his followers in order that in future wars he may not be defeated. After mass conversions to Christianity, and anti-headhunting legislation by the colonial powers was passed, the practice was banned and appeared to have disappeared. However, it should be noted that the Brooke-led Sarawak government, although banning unauthorized headhunting, actually allowed \"ngayau\" headhunting practices by the Brooke-supporting natives during state-sanctioned punitive expeditions against their own fellow people\'s rebellions throughout the state, thereby never really extinguished the spirit of headhunting especially among the Iban natives. The state-sanctioned troop was allowed to take heads, properties like jars and brassware, burn houses and farms, exempted from paying door taxes and in some cases, granted new territories to migrate into. This Brooke\'s practice was in remarkable contract to the practice by the Dutch in the neighbouring West Kalimantan who prohibited any native participation in its punitive expeditions. Initially, James Brooke (the first Rajah of Sarawak) did engage the British Navy troop in the Battle of Beting Maru against the Iban and Malay of the Saribas region and the Iban of Skrang under Rentap\'s charge but this resulted in the Public Inquiry by the British government in Singapore. Thereafter, the Brooke government gathered a local troop who were its allies. Subsequently, the headhunting began to surface again in the mid-1940s, when the Allied Powers encouraged the practice against the Japanese Occupation of Borneo. It also slightly surged in the late 1960s when the Indonesian government encouraged Dayaks to purge Chinese from interior Kalimantan who were suspected of supporting communism in mainland China and also in the late 1990s when the Dayak started to attack Madurese emigrants in an explosion of ethnic violence. After formation of Malaysia, some Iban became trackers during the Malayan Emergency against the Communist Insurgency and thereafter they continue to be soldiers in the armed forces. Headhunting resurfaced in 1963 among Dayak soldiers during the Confrontation Campaign by President Sukarno of Indonesia against the newly created formation of Malaysia between the pre-existing Federation of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak in 16 September 1963. Subsequently, Dayak trackers recruited during the Malayan Emergency against the Communists\' Insurgency wanted to behead enemies killed during their military operations but disallowed by their superiors.

The Dayak traditionally carry their children in a kind of wicker baskets (dayak baby carrier or ba\' ), with a wooden base in the shape of a semicircle. Used for the manufacture of Rattan or ironwood (ironwood), with good flexibility, elasticity and strength.

At first glance, ba\' is a practical, beautifully decorated vehicle for carrying children - one of the many unique in the world slings and bands. In reality it is not so. Ba\' is really a very practical thing, but at the same time, it is truly a work of art, endowed with supernatural properties and plays an important social role.

Children are at infancy up to 2 to 3 years, are carried in this rare art form. The child sits in the \"basket\", facing forward, his legs hanging freely on the sides of his mother\'s body. This position allows the child to watch the events taking place around him over the shoulder of his mother, or from the comfort of sleep, resting her head on her back.

The Dayak are the native people of Borneo, Indonesia. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic subgroups, located principally in the interior of Borneo, each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory and culture, although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable. Dayak languages are categorised as part of the Austronesian languages in Asia. The Dayak were animist in belief; however many converted to Christianity, and some to Islam more recently. Estimates for the Dayak population range from 18 to 20 million.

In the past, the Dayak were feared for their ancient tradition of headhunting practices. Among the Iban Dayaks, the origin of headhunting was believed to be meeting one of the mourning rules given by a spirit.