A Piso Halasan is typically a sword with a hilt made of deer horn or antelope horn, although horn-shaped hilts of cast metal are also found. The blade is made of a mixture of several kinds of metal and used as a deadly weapon in battles.[1] It has a straight back and a narrow point. Its broadest part is near the point, and there is a notch near the hilt. The scabbard is broader at the top and usually terminates at the bottom in a narrow curved point, partly or totally covered with metal.[2]
The sword may be adorned with engravings and forged with metals which include poisons.[citation needed]
Cultural
Poison was often applied to the edge of the blade when it was used for battle.[3] Only the Rajas and other dignitaries possessed a Piso Halasan distinguished by its ivory hilt and known as a Piso Gading.[4]
References
^Jamaludin S. Hasibuan (1982). Primitive Art of the Ancient Batak in Sumatra, Volume 1. Yayasan K.J. Mahoni. ASINB0006ECEMW.
^Albert G Van Zonneveld (2002). Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago. Koninklyk Instituut Voor Taal Land. ASIN9054500042. ISBN9-0545-0004-2. {{cite book}}: Check |asin= value (help)
^Bisuk Siahaan (2005). Batak Toba: Kehidupan Di Balik Tembok Bambu. Kempala Foundation. ISBN9-7999-5300-6.
^Jamaludin S. Hasibuan (1986). Batak Art And Culture. J. Hasibuan. ASINB0000CQNRS.
Further reading
George Cameron Stone, Donald J. LaRocca, A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times, Courier Dover Publications, 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5
Jamaludin S. Hasibuan, Primitive Art of the Ancient Batak in Sumatra: Volume 1, Yayasan K.J. Mahoni, 1982, ASIN B0006ECEMW
Nick Evangelista, William M. Gaugler, The Encyclopedia Of The Sword, Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995, ISBN 978-0-313-27896-9
