Resource Spotlight | “Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago” by Albert van Zonneveld
Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago
by Albert van Zonneveld
Traditional weapons of the Indonesian archipelago is the result of extensive research carried out over a period of 30 years. This study examined all types of weapons from the entire Indonesian archipelago, with the exception of Papua Barat, because this area is commonly regarded as ethnologically more part of Oceania.
The project started with the basic objective of gathering as much pertinent information as possible. During the first 25 years of the research period (the internet and personal computers only became widely available towards the close of the 20th century), this research was truly monastic work. My approach entailed visiting libraries and looking through and reading on the spot thousands of books, travel reports, journals and articles published from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century, all manner of sources in which valuable information could possibly be found about Indonesian weapons. All relevant findings were copied and compiled for further study.
The next step was to arrange and index the information found. The most important metadata were the shapes, islands and regions of origin, the population group, and the names of the weapons. These names often presented problems. These problems are the result of the fact that for the same weapon types, we commonly find a wide variety of names in the various sources. First of all, they vary by area, by region and by population group. It is important to realize that in the Indonesian archipelago about seven hundred different languages are spoken resulting in a widely diverse nomenclature. Then we see differences in the ways the names of weapons have changed over the centuries. Finally, these names as they are found in source materials were mainly recorded by Europeans. They tried, on the basis of phonetics, to capture the local names as well as possible. This was done, of course, by using the phonetics of the language of the person who recorded the name. As a result, there are sometimes dozens of names for a single weapon type, and thus it is impossible to unambiguously determine ‘correct’ names. In this book the ‘most common’ names are used. The descriptions also include the alternative names.
After sorting and indexing the data, the evaluative process of weighing and combining all of the information discovered followed. On this basis, a description was synthesized by weapon type, mentioning the most important sources. It proved impossible to draw up an unambiguous classification of the weapons, which is why it was decided to list them in alphabetical order. To facilitate study and ease of use, a schedule has been included to be able to search by (blade) forms, as well as an index of these types by island and island community.
The final step was to provide the descriptions with representative images. Photographs of objects in the collection of Museum Volkenkunde in Leiden (now part of the National Museum of World Cultures) have been made, as well as photographs of objects in the collections of the author and various private collectors. Field photos were taken from the written sources and collections of various libraries.
The research conducted for Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago, supplemented with new research data, also served as the basis of the following subsequent monographs:
Traditionele wapens van Enggano. Een verdwenen cultuur van de Indonesische archipel. [Traditional weapons of Enggano. A vanished culture of the Indonesian archipelago] (Leiden 2012);
Traditional weapons of Borneo. The attire of the head-hunters, Volume I, shields and war clothes. (Leiden 2018);
Traditionele wapens van Borneo. De uitrusting van de koppensnellers, Deel II, speren en blaasroeren. [Traditional weapons of Borneo. The attire of the head-hunters, Volume II, spears and blowpipes] (Leiden, 2015);
Traditionele wapens van Borneo. De uitrusting van de koppensnellers, Deel III, zwaarden en messen [Traditional weapons of Borneo. The attire of the head-hunters, Volume III, swords and knives] (Forthcoming, publishing expected in 2021).
— Albert van Zonneveld, June 2020
Albert van Zonneveld
Ever since his early years, Albert van Zonneveld (Leiden, 1951) has been fascinated by the traditional weapons of the Indonesian archipelago. The collections housed at the National Museum of Ethnology (now: Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen) and the Army Museum (now: Nationaal Militair Museum) serving as a source of inspiration close to home, this hobby became more and more professional over time. Especially the various functions of the weapons, as a combat weapon, as a status symbol, as a work of art and as a mystical object united in a single object, cause this field of research to be so extraordinary in his view.
Van Zonneveld has carried out ample research, delivered lectures and published articles on the subject. He is the author of a standard work entitled Traditional weapons of the Indonesian archipelago (Leiden 2001) and of the important monographs Traditionele wapens van Enggano. Een verdwenen cultuur van de Indonesische archipel [Traditional weapons of Enggano. A vanished culture of the Indonesian archipelago] (Leiden 2012); Traditional weapons of Borneo. The attire of the head-hunters, Volume I, shields and war clothes. (Leiden 2018) and Traditionele wapens van Borneo. De uitrusting van de koppensnellers. Deel II, speren en blaasroeren [Traditional weapons of Borneo. The attire of the head-hunters, Volume II, spears and blowpipes.] (Leiden 2015).
