Sewar (or Sejwa, Sivas, Siwah, Siwai, Siwar, Siwaz) refers to a

dagger A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon.State v. Martin, 633 S.W.2d 80 (Mo. 1982): This is the dictionary or popular-use de ...

of Indonesian origin, typically carried in a belt and used mainly in Sumatra,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. The blade is also referred to as Sewah by the

Gayo people The Gayo people are an ethnic group living in the highlands of Aceh Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. The Gayo tribe has a population of 336,856 and they live predominantly in the mountains. Most Gayo live in three regencies in Aceh namely Bener ...

, Seiva by the Minangkabau people, Siva by the Alas people, and Siwaih by the

Acehnese people The Acehnese (also written as Atjehnese and Achinese) are an ethnic group from Aceh, Indonesia on the northernmost tip of the island of Sumatra. The area has a history of political struggle against the Dutch. The vast majority of the Acehnese p ...

Description

The sewar is a short-bladed

used in traditional

n close-quarter fighting styles. The weapon has a slightly curved single or double-edged blade. From the handle's base, the blade either narrows or widens at the tip, depending on the style. The double-edged sewar has a back edge that runs from the tip of the blade to the base of the hilt. Typically, the blade is either flat ground, without a mid-line ridge, or hollow ground. Sometimes it has a slightly hollow grind and a reinforced (integral) back, or comes with several slightly hollow sections. Unlike other traditional combat weapons, the sewar's handle lacks a finger guard. Usually a

ferrule A ferrule (a corruption of Latin ' "small bracelet", under the influence of ' "iron") is any of a number of types of objects, generally used for fastening, joining, sealing, or reinforcement. They are often narrow circular rings made from me ...

made of brass is mounted at the base of the handle to better secure the handle and the blade. For ceremonial versions, a ferrule clamp is extremely ornate (''Tampo''). Its design can be rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal, or triangular (''Glupa''). Traditionally the handle is made of wood and often decorated with carvings or metal ornaments. Various versions of the handle are crafted differently, in styles such as the ''Hulu Boh Glimo'' or the ''Akar Bahar''. The sheaths are usually made of wood, with oval-shaped cross-sections, and are decorated with carvings. Expensive versions are often decorated with precious metals or embedded with gems. The sheath consists of two pieces of wood held together with rattan or silver and gold bindings. On one side of the sheath's "throat", where the protrusion of the daggers are visible, more expensive examples are covered with

plique-à-jour ''Plique-à-jour'' (French for "letting in daylight") is a vitreous enamelling technique where the enamel is applied in cells, similar to cloisonné, but with no backing in the final product, so light can shine through the transparent or trans ...

mountings worked in precious metal and filled with enamel. The Sewar is regarded as outstanding for slashing. The sewar is similar to the

rencong The rencong (Acehnese language, Acehnese: ''reuncong'', Dutch spelling: ''rentjong'', British spelling: ''renchong'') is a type of knife originating in Aceh, Indonesia. Originally a fighting weapon, it is most often seen today in the martial art ...

and the , but its blade is longer, heavier and rests in a distinctly different sheath. The sewar has functional, ornamental and cultural similarities to the kris, found on the Indonesian island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

, with variants indigenous to Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Thailand and the southern Philippines.

Culture

Tari Sewah

The ''Tari Sewah'' (meaning "Sewah Dance") is a traditional

Minangkabau Minangkabau may refer to: * Minangkabau culture, culture of the Minangkabau people * Minangkabau Culture Documentation and Information Center * Minangkabau Express, an airport rail link service serving Minangkabau International Airport (''see belo ...

dance performed by two or three dancers wielding the Sewar. If there are two dancers, only one carries the Sewar. With three dancers, two carry the dagger to portray offensive dance movements towards the unarmed dancer. The Sewar is never used by dancers who hold personal grudges against the unarmed dancer. This traditional dance is one of the ''Tarian Pancak'', a category of traditional dance influenced by some styles of traditional

n martial arts, Pencak Silat.

Description

Culture

Tari Sewah

See also

References

Further reading