# Communities > Antique Arms & Armour Community > Middle-East, India & Africa (MEIA) >  Mystery Dagger HELP

## Rich Allen

OK, I have no idea what this one is???  Wood sheath appears to have a penis on the end of it?  5 Blades, crude layered steel.  Very odd?  Anyone have a clue on what this is???
Thanks



Attachment 154879

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## Gene Wilkinson

Hi Rich,

I guess that we could call it a 'Tombak' spear, but it's multi blade trishul/purba-esq thunderbolt upgrade is new to me.
If you do enough searching on the net, you'll possibly find another.
It's from the Indonesia/Bali/Java region.

The blades are Pamor blades. 
I'd be interested to see close-ups of the joins and gold areas.

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## Rich Allen

I have been searching images on the net for days, nothing that looks anything like this?  Any clue on the age?

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## Gene Wilkinson

Okay, thats better for viewing the decoration. It's  nicer than I thought.
Do a search for "trishul tombak spear" and you'll see the usual version.
Don't be tempted to clean it. Just a little oil.

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## Gene Wilkinson

P.S not a dagger, a spear. 
Tombak spears are often seen detached from their shafts. And occasionally with a short handle. 
I would assume that this has some connection to Shiva due to its resemblance to a trishul. But the extra blades remind me or the Tibetan ritual thunderbolt/purba.

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## Rich Allen

Thanks for all of the great information.  When I purchased this, I was told it came from an Asmat Tribe “witch doctor” along with many other items that I have not yet seen.  (West Papua- Indonesia)  He told me he also has Face masks, long phallic shaped shields, ect.   As always, I am very skeptical about this type of story.
When I looked for Asmat weapons, I found mostly wooded and bone Items.  The Asmats were very primitive “Head Hunters” and did not appear to have the means to craft this type of weapon?   I did find an article that some Asmat weapons were made of Iron and used to kill crocodiles.   After looking at the tip of this spear, it appears that the gold decoration is actually a crocodile.  You can still see the long snout, bulging eyes, and scales.  As for the wooden sheath, the Asmat appear to be big on the use of Phallic Symbols. 
Maybe this guy was correct?

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