Sword "hemola"

Description:

West Timor, East Indonesia, Atoin Meto (formerly Atoni), 19th century, possibly older
L. 77 cm (92 cm mit Haaren)
Steel, horn (water buffalo, kerbau), hair (horse), wood, rattan. Exceptionally well-preserved, outstanding example of a hemola, as found exclusively on West Timor and the islands of Alor, Rote and Savu to the west of Timor. The slender, forward-widening blade is made of refined steel using the composite technique. The back has a striped structure and consists of several elements forged together, the harder cutting edge part is forged separately. The material quality is high; there is no question of professional or specialized production. The large horn handle with the tufts of horsehair and the spiral geometric ornaments carved in low relief, which clearly refer to Dong s'on ornamentation, is also professionally made; there were specialized handle carvers for this. The large pommel surfaces are hollow, giving the piece great elegance despite its “boxy” appearance. The rattan-wrapped scabbard made of fairly hard wood is a puzzle in terms of construction; it appears to have been made from a single piece. At least no seam can be seen on the thickened mouthpiece and the foot. The hemola sword is usually associated with the islands of Rote / Roti and Sawu in particular, but is part of the Timorese tradition. Timorese swords are related to those of Sulawesi and the southern Philippines (kampilán), which indicates common, very old origins. This sword can be assigned to the large ethnic group of the Atoni (Atoin Meto). These form the dominant population of West Timor. The name Atoin Meto means “native” or “indigenous (indigenous) people” (atoni: human, meto: native, not foreign). The Atoin live in the lower mountainous regions of the hinterland, where they prefer altitudes between 500 m and 1000 m for agricultural reasons (“shifting cultivation”), and populate the whole of West Timor, with the exception of the government districts of Belu and Malaka on the border with neighboring East Timor. The various groups are linked by a wealth of economic and social ties. The people of the neighboring islands of Rote and Sawu, who claim Hindu-Javanese and Indian origins, are clearly related to the Atoin Meto in terms of their material culture. This sword is considered significant due to its condition and exemplary workmanship.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s - Minor wear an minor damages due to age
Like the other large islands in the archipelago, Timor was the destination of many waves of immigration. Anthropologists assume that the descendants of three major waves of immigration live on Timor and the western islands of Rote and Sawu, which also explains Timor's ethnic and cultural diversity. It is assumed that Vedo-Austronesian peoples reached Timor around 40,000 to 20,000 BCE, i.e. during the last cold period. The Atoin Meto and the Helong, who dominate West Timor and originally settled in the region around Kupang and were displaced by the Atoin Meto to the westernmost tip of the island, are partly considered to be the descendants of this first wave of settlement, although their languages belong to the Austronesian languages. The subsequent Metal Age Austronesians, who came from southwest China following the great Mekong and Salween rivers and reached Timor in one or two waves, influenced the existing cultures to varying degrees (e.g. the Tetum and the Kemak). Chinese, Indian and European traders - probably since ancient times - showed a keen interest in the island's formerly very rich sandalwood resources in particular. The centuries-long sandalwood trade with Southeast Asia also left its mark on Timorese cultures at no time