A typical sword from the island of Nias, south-west of Sumatra. This type of sword is called a ‘balato’. With a narrow, single-edged iron blade. The cutting edge of the blade is very slightly curved, enlarges somewhat and ends in a sharp point. The spine of the blade runs straight.
The hilt ring is made of cast brass. With encircling linear and circular decorations. The grip itself displays a mythical beast characteristic for the art and culture of the island of Nias, called a ‘lasara’:
this mythical composite animal always has the wide open jaws of a crocodile with projecting tongue, the large fangs of a bear and small horns on both sides. Every ‘lasara head’ has a small demon perching on top, called a ‘bekhu’. The ‘bekhu’ demon is always depicted as a small human or monkey. Popular belief on Nias associates the fantastic animal ‘lasara’ with the god of death and darkness. The present Nias sword has its ‘lasara hilt’ carved from the dark brown horn of a water buffalo.
The bivalve sheath consists of dark, reddish-brown wood. The two halves are attached by 24 bands of braided, narrow rattan-strips. The 'magic ball’ that is otherwise frequently attached to the sheaths of Nias swords is missing from this piece. Good usage patina. One small original repair on the ‘lasara head' (horn supplemented), otherwise no age damage.
First half to mid-20th century; L: 66 cm. (ME)

Lit.: ‘Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago’, by Albert van Zonneveld, ill. 31 to 38, 60 to 64, and 314 to 316.