Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / for Private Use Only/ M

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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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9 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum

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Private collection: Michael Marlow

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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).

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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.

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17 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum

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)

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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. You never will meet a Badoej without his gobang. QUOTE FOOTNOTE: “Gobang, a roughly made machete, with straight broad back, widest at the obliquely cut tip. Pistolbutt shaped hilt of wood, “pérdah”, made of the burl wood of the “hambiroeng” (Veronica Javanica), with iron stem. A roughly made scabbard made of “awi-apoes” (Bambusa apus). Sectionally oblong square, with a cavity over the entire length at the narrow side to fit in the blade: an “ast” knot served as belthook. Whole length 39, blade length 28.5, width idem 2.5, scabbard length 34, scabbard width 2.6 cm. The handle was sometimes also made of “ki leungsir” wood (Nephelium albissimum).

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We can see that the sword called a “gobang” in Dr. Jul. Jacobs, is very different in shape and execution, and is also smaller than the average gobang bandung known in the Dutch museum collections. Could this mean that the sword “gobang” was a more general name of a machete in the certain Preanger area, just like we call some swords “goloks”, “klewangs”, “parangs” etc.? Or was the name gobang bandung the specific name of the Preanger sword we are researching here? These observations in combination with the different types of swords labeled as “gobangs” in two different museum collections (pages 31 & 40), made me presume the name gobang was most likely used as a general name for swords worn in the Preanger area.

Note: The Badoejs lived in the almost impenetrable forests of the Kĕndĕng Mountains in Bantam (about 50 kms West of Bogor).

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There is also an interesting catalogue where we find the name gobang. Namely: Katalogus der tentoonstelling van grondstoffen en nijverheids-voortbrengselen uit den Indischen archipel en van uitheemsche voorwerpen tot bevordering van landbouw en nijverheid in indië dienstig, gehouden te Batavia in de maanden October, November en December 1865 (Lange & Co., Batavia, 1865).

Below the quotations with the name gobang:

Page 89 item 66: “Preanger Regentschappen, an indigenous sabre (gobang), price f12.- , Inz. “Raden Wangsa Redja”. “Koppo” district, Afd. Bandong”.

Page 89 item 67: “Preanger Regentschappen, an indigenous sabre (gobang), price f15.- , Inz. “Raden Joeda Negara”. “Tjipedjeh” district, Afd. Bandong”.

Page 90 item 81: “Preanger Regentschappen, blade of an indigenous sabre (gobang), price f5.- , Inz. “Raksag Goena”, Bandong”.

Page 90 item 82: “Preanger Regentschappen, Idem as above, price f5.- , Inz. “Idjon”, as above”.

Page 90 item 83: “Preanger Regentschappen, Idem as above, price f3.- , Inz. “Raksa Joeda”, as above”.

Page 102 item 406: “Preanger Regentschappen, model of a machete (gobang)”.

Page 171 item 178: “Kediri area, wooden models of sabres and knives, e. Gobang, f. Gobang soedoek, g. gobang Loewoek

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From the catalogue of the Batavia exhibition we can also assume that the name gobang was used for certain sabres in the Preanger area. Unfortunately we do not have any images or drawings which refer to the quotations. Besides gobang we also find other names for Preanger sabres in this catalogue, such as “Bedog”, “gollok loeboek”, “klewang” and “badee”.

A strange side issue here is that the name gobang also was used for sabres in the Kediri area, more east of Java. This can indicate that the name gobang had been used also outside the Preanger area for a certain type of Javanese swords.

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Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, Collection Nr. 1714 Measurements: L 74.5x Wdth 9.3x Thk 3,6cm

Provenance: This sword had been donated to the “Museum voor Land- en Volkenkunde in oprichting”, in 1884 by Dr. Eli van Rijckevorsel.

According to the information in the database of the Wereldmuseum Rotterdam, it was mainly used for deer hunting (pages 14 &15) , and it is made of steel, bone, horn and ivory.

This particular piece would be listed in “Notitie van Nederlandsch- Indische wapens, kleedingstukken enz.”; van “van Rijckevorsel”; Nr 195; ca. 1877. From 1874 till 1877 Van Rijckevorsel travelled among the Indonesian islands to do earth magnetic measurements. During his stay he collected many ethnographic items, of which the beauty of the pieces were often outstanding.

(Information: provided by Sandra van den Broek, Chief Collections and Presentations of the Wereldmusem Rotterdam)

24 Research on a Preanger Sword / 2013 / For Private Use Only/ M. Bloebaum Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde

Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 16/12 Measurements: L 58.5cm, Wdth 4.4cm, Blade L 46cm, Scabbard L 48.5cm

Provenance: Bought in 1861 of Dr. Salomon Muller’s legacy. Dr. Salomon Muller made some very early expeditions in East Indies, from 1826 till 1837. He collected in Java from 1826 till 1828 and again in 1831.

Hilt made of dark horn, representing a stylized head with ears, nose and open mouth with two rows of teeth. The eyes are from bone slices; Oval, silver ferrule, protrusive in the front; Plain blade; Wooden scabbard, entirely wound with rattan strips; Wide red flannel girdle strap, covered with silver brocade.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 16/13 Measurements: L 59.5cm, Wdth 5cm, Blade L 47.7cm, Scabbard L 49.3cm

Hilt and guard of yellow horn, sectional quadrangular, widening from above, and bending to the sharp side; Straight blade ending in a sharp point, with no decorations and no fullers; Wooden scabbard, widening at the scabbard tip and scabbard mouth, entirely wound with rattan strips; Scabbard mouth made of yellow horn, scabbard tip is missing; Red and yellow cotton girdle strap, with no lanyard.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 285/5 Measurements: L 75.5cm, Wdth. 4.8cm, Blade L 62cm, Scabbard L 64.8cm

Provenance: Acquisition in 1880.

Origin: “Buitenzorg” (note: from 17 August 1945 called Bogor).

The hilt of black horn, sectional quadrangular, widening from above, and bending to the sharp side; Straight blade, with two fullers along most of the back, the edge and the back thick from the start, but further sharp and ending in a concave curve to the tip; Wooden scabbard, widening at the scabbard tip and scabbard mouth, entirely wound with sections of yellow and black rattan strips; Scabbard mouth made of black horn, scabbard tip is missing.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 300/1447 Measurements: L 73.5cm, Wdth 7.3cm, Blade L 61.7cm, Scabbard L 64cm

Provenance: One of the appr. 1700 items of the Dutch contribution to the World Exhibition in Paris in 1878, which later came into the Leiden collection.

Origin: “Bantam”.

Yellow/Brown wooden hilt, sectional quadrangular, widening from above, and bending to the sharp side; Blade with sharp point, no decorations of any kind, three fullers; Wooden scabbard, widening from above at one side, and widening at the scabbard tip at both sides, entirely wound with rattan strips; Red flannel girdle strap,on both sides banded with gold bullion, with cylindrical lanyard from purple and brown cotton.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 913/70 Measurements: L 63cm, Wdth 4.7cm, Blade L 51cm, Scabbard L 55.4cm

Provenance: Donation Dr. I. Groneman, 1892.

Origin: “Bandoeng, Preanger regencies”.

Yellow horn hilt with wooden ferrule; Wave patterned damasked blade, on both sides hollow ground; With a very sharp edge near the tip at the spine; Wooden scabbard, with wooden scabbard mouth widening at one side, and wooden scabbard tip which is widening at both sides, entirely wound with rattan strips; Silver brocade girdle strap.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde, Collection Nr. 913/71 Measurements: L 66.5cm, Wdth 8cm, Blade L 53.8cm, Scabbard L 56.5cm

Provenance: Donation Dr. I. Groneman, 1892.

Origin: “Bandoeng, Preanger regencies”.

Hilt in the shape of a stylized snake head and neck, coated with silver and decorated with scales engravings; Plain hollow ground blade, with two fullers along both sides; Wooden scabbard, with a silver scabbard mouth and a silver scabbard tip; Red flannel girdle strap.

(Information: Catalogue of “ ’s Rijks Ethnographisch Museum, JAVA tweede gedeelte.”, by Dr. H.H. Juynboll)

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The four pieces below are named “gobang” according to the Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde database and/or the catalogue of Juynboll, though they are of a completely different type (similar to the one on page 40 from the Tropenmuseum).

Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde: Collection Nr. 913-66

Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde: Collection Nr. 913-67

Rijksmuseum Volkenkunde: Collection Nr. 913-68

Rijksmuseum Volkenkund: Collection Nr. 913-69

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Tropenmuseum

Tropenmuseum Amsterdam, Collection Nr. H-275 Measurements: L 73cm

Provenance: Obtained by the Colonial Museum Haarlem in 1875 from first class engineer J.F. Moet, Padang. Came into the Tropenmuseum collection, 1 January 1926.

Horn hilt and wooden scabbard.