A Scandinavian with a parang from Borneo

starting to look like , if youre a tv survival guru , you got a perang
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Haha--glad I'm not the only one to have noticed that trend! We gotta' get those guys to use some other patterns just to mix things up! :p
 
I agree
But I spose there is only so many designs that you can punch out dirt cheap , that work
and if one survior type dude is making a buck off it , then its gunna be a few getting on that same bandwagon

Odd thing tho , is these guys with the high profile names , consult native peoples about how to survive .. the native guys do not usually carry brand name equipment ... they do OK with seriously basic gear .. the hero of the show depends on his factory made brandname sponsored gear ...and then he has problems and manages to bearly make it every episode ( yeah bad pun intended )

I dont know that id be wearing his name with that much pride on my gear meself ....
 
Hi there Myal and all friends!

I recently went on a 4D3N trip to the Iban longhouse in Batang Ai, Sarawak. I planned the trip with a few friends with the purpose of going camping with the Ibans as well as see for myself the famed parangs in motion.

Batang Ai is a man made hydro dam and when it is flooded, many of the longhouses were relocated on (what use to be) hill tops. From a distance, we could see the longhouses overshadowed by bald hills...hills that were cleared for farming (mostly for hill rice farming) by the Ibans.

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We spent a night at the first Long House called Menyiling. They are a welcoming bunch and we really had a good time chatting and getting to know them. The longhouse is rustic and without any electricity (they still use generator sets to this day despite the fact that the very dam they are living on generates electricity).

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Many of their children and young adults have opted to move to nearby cities in search of work and opportunity. But some of the strong men left behind still bears the marks of an Iban.

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My passion has always been traditional parangs. And this is the one place that I have found so far where the makers of the parangs are the same people who uses them. As farmers and hunters, they rely heavily on their blades. They handforge and make the parangs themselves.

One of their hand made parangs that has been tempered:
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Parangs are a daily tool...liken to how a worker in an office uses a pen. Below are what the Ibans call Duku Panjang...refering to the long blades. They are general uses and used mostly in the farms. Note the style of the handle. The files are used to sharpen the blades before the final tempering.
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Heirloom blades. We always tell them NEVER to sell or trade away such parangs. It belongs to the family. Some of these blades have taken lives. Such decorated blades are usually for ceremony and self defense/ kill (war time).
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Below is a typical Candong. Note how the handle is shaped differently from the Duku Panjang.
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Thank you for that post
Its good to see a bit how others make their gear .
Your photos are really apreciated
 
Their forge is hand powered and they use the very famous Belian wood (super hard wood) to fuel the forges. They claim that the fire from the burning Belian wood 'cooks' the metal faster.
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The following day, while travelling to our trail head, we stopped at yet another longhouse. They too have their own forge. We made a brief stop at the longhouse to pay respect to the chief as we will be camping on his territory. There, I manage to take pictures of even more farming parangs.
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Well, what can I say. The Ibans are well known for being good trackers and masters of the jungles. They thought me so many thing during my trip there with them. But one thing that amazes me the most is how well adapt they are with their parangs. Of the 5 guides with us, some of them have parangs with cracked handles, chipped blades etc. But they are ultimate masters of their tools, completing every tasks imaginable. The chop thick trees into small fire wood, collect bamboo for shelter, harvest bamboo shoots for dinner and even prep food for cooking all using the same tool.

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Our Iban guides parangs:
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None of the parangs are fancy looking, not the very least perfect but in the hands of the Ibans...are the best jungle tool ever.
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I truly learn a lot staying with the Ibans in the jungle. And I admire even more the way they handle and use their parangs.
 
Great post! Thanks much for sharing--it must have been quite the experience! :cool::thumbup:
 
Awesome! I just subscribed to this thread. Salamat again Bandel for sharing. I can't tell you how many things are so familiar from those photos.

To clarify though, the parang candong is the one which has the angled blade, right?
 
Awesome! I just subscribed to this thread. Salamat again Bandel for sharing. I can't tell you how many things are so familiar from those photos.

To clarify though, the parang candong is the one which has the angled blade, right?

Selamat! I have to say that as far as I know, most of the parangs have that up curve shape on the blade. What makes the candong different is that it is generally heavier with a thicker spine.
I am sorry if I cannot give you a more accurate definition of it.
 
Selamat! I have to say that as far as I know, most of the parangs have that up curve shape on the blade. What makes the candong different is that it is generally heavier with a thicker spine.
I am sorry if I cannot give you a more accurate definition of it.

I truly understand my friend, because its the same for us your neighbors here in my country ;)

Because we are similarly made-up of many ethnic and regional groups, as well as islands, terms and variation on similar designs do happen. What one might call an "itak" with so-and-so blade shape/form might be be something slightly different somewhere else.
 
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Hi everyone...sorry to revive this thread :p
Been in and out of the jungle and chasing up with work. Finally have the time to sit down and make a video of some 'real' parangs in action.


[video=youtube;FSHWw_sF7Vo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSHWw_sF7Vo[/video]



Enjoy :)
 
Thanks for going to that effort to make the video . Its cool to see people using their traditional tools
 
Nice! Thanks for sharing!

(Geez! Some of those guys actually look like my relatives :))
 
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