MALAY WORLD SPEARS

Spears  are either called Tombak in the Javanese world or Lembing in the Malay Peninsular culture.   

The spear is probably older than the Keris. Some argue the Keris blade was originally a spear head mounted on a short hilt. For instance, Vajrayana flagstaff points from the old Javanese kingdoms have a distinctive Keris shape. Click here for more on the Keris history.

Candi Sukuh (14^th century) which is the earliest known representation of a Keris Empu, shows also some representations of Kudi blades.

Javanese Empu have been very imaginative while forging spear heads. There is an unlimited  variety of shapes, some are very expressive and represent Wayang puppets or sacred animals, others have several heads.

The Tombak or Lembing, is used for ornamental spears with a straight or a wavy blade, some have two (dwisula) or three (trisula) branches. They are fitted with a shaft which length may vary from 40 to 350 cm. The term Lembing is also used more generically for spears of any functional use.

The Kudi, is a talismanic dagger with a blade in a shape of a bird's head.

The Lading Terus, is a dagger fitted with a spear point.