A month back, my friend John visited the interior of Sarawak in the region of Baram and came back with him several ‘souvenirs’ to share with. He was kind enough to give me a bag of Baram rice. Baram rice is well known as a fragrant rice, farmed organically.
The other item John brought back was the Parang Ilang Kayan. ‘Parang’ is a Malay word that has generally been used to describe a cutting tool perhaps equivalent to the machete. Kayan is one of the many ethnic group of the Dayaks living in Borneo and they are known to be fierce warriors and head hunters. I did a bit of research on the Kayans but there seems to be rather conflicting statements from one source to the other.
Anyway, this entry is about this Parang that John brought back. I can’t help it, so I bought one piece from him. First look, it looks like any ordinary Parang. But a closer examination reveals some interesting stuff.
Parang Ilang from Nature Guide John
First of all, I will have to state here that this ‘parang’ is obviously mass produced. It is either for tourist souvenirs or for mass local distribution for everyday use. After a close inspection and the fact that I paid only less than RM100 for it, I reckon it is mass produced for local use. I would expect to pay a few hundred ringgits if it was a private item belonging to a Kayan.
According to some websites, the ‘parang’ that is used by the Kayans are Parang Ilang. It seems that the Ilangs are designed and made to be easily withdrawn from the sheath and the blade itself is made sort of ‘hollow’ on one side to ease it’s sinking (slicing) through limbs or wood. Menacing isn’t it.
I am no blade experts but there were a few things that really caught my attention when I examine the blade further.
The other side of the parang
The sheath was made entirely of wood and jungle produce. The splicing (& plates) and ending of the material used to tie the sheath together is nice. I would like to learn the splices/ plating for sure. Below is a close-up of some parts of the sheath.
Part of the weaving on the sheat
The other side...near to the top of the sheath
Would love to learn how to make this
There is also the handle. Nothing fancy here. It feels nice and it gives a good grip. Some of the Ilangs I saw up for bids on ebay have heavily decorated handles. Mostly with carvings. Those of course are either very expensive or (on the extreme side) special ‘made’ for sale to the RICH & famous.
Now for the blade. This of course is the most interesting part. The blade is probably the most interesting part of the overall Parang. The total length of the blade is roughly 39.5cm with the widest part about 4cm. See pictures below:
The hollow side of the parang
The other side of the parang
The Parang Ilang curves on the back bone towards the end of the blade. The end of the blade is sharp and one can only guess what it is used for. But notice the difference between the surface of the blade on the left picture compared to the right picture? Well, the reason for this is actually due to the blade’s somewhat hollow characteristics on one side (in the left picture). The other side (right picture) is somewhat concave, making it polish-able. So…the view of the Ilang from the front would look something like below:
The concave Parang Ilang
This design it seems helps to make ‘slicing’ easier for the user. Yikes…
If you are a right hander and facing a tree trunk, swinging the Parang Ilang into the tree from a cutting angle would definitely get you a nice deep cut as the ‘curve’ side of the blade would help angle the blade inwards towards the tree. This is perhaps the purpose of the design. However, if you are still holding the Ilang with your right hand and attempt a ‘swing’ at the tree trunk from your left side, there may be a possibility that the blade bounces off the tree. The concave side may ‘push’ your blade away from the tree. Hmm…this would be rather dangerous, especially when used in the hands of an inexperience bushman (like me!). The blade may bounce off and hit my body or any other object standing nearby. That’s a scary thought.
Overall, I (personally) think this Parang Ilang is a great piece of blade. I like the shape, the hand work and of course the blade. However, being a novice parang user, I am not all that confident if this blade is suitable for me to use in the bush.
The sharp pointy end and the concave blade is just too risky for someone who is still struggling with a 3 inch fix blade. Like what Ray Mears said in his Bushcraft book, “The Parang is the most dangerous cutting tool used in bushcraft.” Can’t agree more. This one good looking Parang Ilang will (at this moment) stay in my pile of knife collection.
See more on parangs and traditional crafts on www.sepuh-crafts.com
SEE also other entries on outdoor gear by clicking on the following links:
please give me your retailer that sell all the things for camping gadgets…all the list…thank you
Hi Epul…thanks for your interest. But where are you located? Borneo or West Malaysia?
Hello jungle-adventure person.
Just a little information you might already know about this Parang.
The blade is concaved according to whether you are left or right handed..naturally many of the blades sold are concaved from out to in as yours is as more people are righthanded. this parang is not meant to be used to cut from the left but rather only from the right when say cutting branches etc. as you have earlier mentioned, So some skill is needed, but not much. I just learnt from an uncle of mine who has made these in the past that it is only sharpened on the flat or convexed side to retain the hardness of the steel on the concaved side attained through the tempering process. im not sure if this makes sense to you but i was told not to sharpen it on the concaved side. This blade is usually accompanied by a smaller blade with a long handle the sheath of which is attached to the parang sheath.
Im just an enthusiast who is trying to make his own parang. I recently asked a chinese blacksmith to copy a parang blade i lent to him for refference.. and it cost a mere RM16 for the blade alone. Now working on the handle and sheath. Oh, and the guava wood handle you made with the ‘y’ or fork in it is very similar to that used on the parangs of the Orang Ulu’s of Sarawak. nicely done.
Cheers.