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Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Research on a Preanger Sword (This article has not been written for publication of any kind) (For private study only) Private collection: Paul Vermeiren In this article the term “gobang bandung” will be used for this type of Preanger sword. 1 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Origin It is very likely that these swords have their origin in the Preanger area, which is in the midland of Java around Bandung (page 3) . This can be derived from some facts, found during the research. In the Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde Leiden and Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, we find similar swords, which are labelled as having their origin from Preanger (or at least West- Java). Although the correctness of the information on the labels of museums can not always be taken for granted, we can assume they are right about these coming from Preanger as we are talking here about several similar swords, all labelled as being from the same area, out of different collections and even different museums. Also there is an image (page 6) known of weapons of the governor of Bandung from about 1880, with several types of (also foreign) weapons. But there are up to seven gobang bandungs shown. Another interesting thing which indicates that these swords come from Preanger, is that some very interesting and old drawings of the gobang bandung showed up (pages 9 & 10), drawn during expeditions which took place in these areas, and even two drawings of natives of Bandung wearing a gobang bandung (pages 11 & 12). We can say with certainty, regarding the information mentioned in this chapter, that this is definitely a sword from the Preanger area. 2 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 3 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum The Preanger regencies consist of one sixth part of the whole island of Java (about 21.500 square kilometers). The native name is Tanah Prijangan, which is an abbrevation of Parahijangan, which means “residence of the spirits”. The region is broadly bounded in the north by the residencies Batavia and Cheribon, in the east by Cheribon and Banjoemas, in the south and southwest by the Indian Ocean, and in the west by Bantam. In the north the boundary is along the ridge of the Salak-Gĕdé and the Boerangrang-Tangkoebanprahoe Mountains; In the east the Tji Tandoej river seperates the Preanger regencies from Banjoemas; The south coast has a regular course; In the west, the Wijnkoopsbaai ( Palaboehan Ratoe) and the Zandbaai ( Tjilĕtoe), and in the southeast the Panandjoengbaai penetrate some miles inland. 4 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Age and Use The age can be derived from different provenances from which we can conclude that the gobang bandung was in fashion in the early 1800s and might be even earlier. In the time when there were photographers in the Indonesian archipelago, these kind of swords were already out of fashion, as there is not to be found a single photo with a warrior or native carrying a gobang bandung. There is only one photo (pages 6 & 7) known with gobang bandungs, which shows us a weapon display of the governor of Bandung, made around 1880. The weapons displayed were probably used as status symbols of the governor. We see here some spears, kerisses, African weapons, European/Indian swords, a beladah belabang from south Borneo, and up to seven gobang bandungs. If these gobangs were extensively worn by Preanger natives at that time, it would be unlikely that the governor would show so many of them among the status pieces to represent his high status. 5 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 6 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 7 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Although there is no photograph of a native wearing a gobang bandung, there are some provenanced drawings of these swords from the early 1800s. For instance the drawings made by A.J. Bik and his brother J.T. Bik. They were appointed at first in the year 1816, to make drawings on very early expeditions of Prof. Dr. C. Reinwardt. They assisted Reinwardt together on an expedition from 27 February 1821 to 26 June 1822 through the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago. On this expedition they made a lot of drawings, depicting landscapes, natives, trees and plants and Hindu antiquities. These original drawings are nowadays in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde. The interesting thing is, that we can find the gobang bandung on some of the drawings. One drawing of two different types of Preanger sword (a gobang bandung, another very rare sword from Preanger and a blade only (page 9), a drawing of a gobang bandung in front of a landscape (page 10), and two drawings of natives from Bandung wearing a gobang bandung (pages 11 & 12). Note: For an example of the rare type of sword as depicted next to the gobang bandung on page 9, have a look at page 13. Notice the similarity in scabbard styles! 8 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 9 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 10 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 11 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 12 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Private collection: Michael Marlow 13 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum In the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam collection is a gobang, which, according to the information in the database of the Wereldmuseum, was mainly used for deer hunting (page 24). Although this is the only time that the usage of a gobang has been mentioned, we must take this seriously, and consider that besides other purposes this could be one of them for which it was used. The deer hunting in the Preanger area has been described in several old books or articles. It was mainly for the entertainment of princes, chiefs and noblemen. The deer were hunted by hunters on horses, until they were within the range of the hunters' swords (gobangs?), and killed with a blow to the neck. An old lithograph (1876) of an even older drawing of such a deerhunt, made by E.A. Hardouin, is in the Tropenmuseum collection. (page 15) Also we find a drawing in Indië by J.C. Lamster of such a deerhunt in Java (page 14). 14 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum 15 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Another interesting gobang bandung is known with exceptional provenance (pages 17 & 18). This particular sword, with a total length of 47 cm, is dated “1824 Tjiandjoer”, and on the other side of the blade “R. v.d. Capellen”. This provenanced sword is now in the collection of the Museum of Asian Cultures in Singapore. Robert van der Capellen was resident of the Preanger area in West Java. He was placed in that position by his older brother G.A.G.P. van der Capellen, who was Governor-General of the whole East Indies from 1816 to 1826. R. v.d. Capellen was settled in Tjiandjoer. Another amazing detail is that there is a similar sword in a Dutch collection, with the same date and place, but with the name “C.L. Blume”. These two dated swords are also a covincing indication of the early date of these swords. 16 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Copyright www.mytribalworld.com 17 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Copyright www.mytribalworld.com 18 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Gobang Bandung? The quite unknown name that had been given to these types of Preanger swords is “Gobang Bandung”. This name had been found in a description which belonged to a donation to a museum. But is this the right name for this particular sword type, or was the name gobang just a general name, such as “golok”, “klewang” or “parang”? In the collection of the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam we find a very nice one which had been tagged as a “Sundanese klewang”. In the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam we find several Preanger swords of this type. Some are tagged as goloks, and others are tagged as gobang bandung (but probably this name had been added more recently to the labels, according to the description of the museum donation described earlier in this chapter) . In the collection of the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde Leiden, we can find two of these particular Preanger swords, labeled as golok. A very strange side issue is that both the Tropenmuseum and the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde Leiden labelled a completely different type of Preanger sword as gobang. They are smaller and all with curved blades. (pages 31 & 40) 19 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum When looking in the literature, we find the name “gobang” in an old article of Dr. Jul. Jacobs, Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographie, IV, 1891: De Badoej’s, on page 162 of this article. QUOTE: “The men carry, hooked to their waist belts, a sort of machete (gobang), fig. 4 and 4a (page 20), which they use for daily activities.
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