I've been thinking, in the olden times perhaps it's really the agricultural [work] design of a blade that heavily influences martial arts [war] style ...

Like in any agricultural society in which economic surplus is not that much, most people can afford only one bolo. And so it makes sense to design the bolo around its intended agricultural use, as the community is engaged in farming most of the time anyway rather than in hacking other people :D

On the duality thing while not always true, we also see on the other hand that there indeed exist instances where the duality is there (i.e., work & war application is seen on the same blade, like the Leyte-Samar sundang).

Thus, whereas the Full Metal Jacket grunts have to chant

"This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. Without me, my rifle is useless. Without my rifle I am useless ..."

for the typical Filipino farmer of old, when pressed into military service there would be no need for such mantra :)

Dimasalang, maraming salamat po [many thanks]!

Yes indeed, alibata is still very much alive. And per my earlier post we can even see alibata characters in some old Phil. swords ...

Thanks Lew for the link! That's a very cool find :)

For quick reference, the narration went:

Narrator: A regiment of Filipino infantry in the United States army receives the one weapon they know best, the Philippine bolo knife. Used in cutting through jungles, the bolo is equally effective in hand-to-hand combat. Filipinos, young and old, have a long and outstanding score to (inaudible ) with the Japanese invaders of their native land. Today, armed with native weapons, augmenting their modern equipment, they are eager to meet the enemy.

Below are some stills from the video.

Hola Carlos! :) I don't have one but I posted some video grab as can be seen above ... Hope somebody can post a pic from his own collection ...

Certain elite units of the present Philippine Marines are still issued bolos (e.g., ginunting), even up to now.

On where to buy them, kindly check out this post.

I actually bought a ginunting from Buddy last Dec. It was a Xmas present to myself. :D Buddy makes them for the Philippine Marine elite unit. They practice pekiti tirsia under Leo Gaje...and this is their weapon of choice and it is made to their specs.

http://fototime.com/9FF470485BA8BA2/standard.jpg
I just have to add...it is extremely well balanced and light. The Kamagong handles make it look heavy but it is not. Very easy to swing, chop, hack, thrust, etc... And Buddy is a great guy to deal with.

Thanks for the info, Kai! :)

Thanks for pointing that out ... yes indeed, copra's smell is an acquired taste :D

But yes, as you noted the photo shows a freshly opened mature coconut. And thus to scoop out that fresh kernel, you really need a sharp and pointed bolo, as at that point the kernel still sticks very much to the shell.

Actually, I made the mistake in my earlier post by saying the tourist is scooping out copra.

The process of making copra is as follows: you split a mature coconut in two, then you scoop out the fresh thick & hard kernel with a bolo and you throw away the shell (for some later other use), and then you dry that kernel (without the shell), and after some time, the kernel becomes copra.

So one will really initially need that sharp and pointed bolo to separate that fresh kernel from the shell :)

Copra's mass production would date back to at least the mid-1800s I think.

As to which is used more, young or old coconuts, in the Philippines the latter would have much many more uses. Young coconut (i.e., buko, pronounced BOO-koh) is commonly used merely for dessert as buko salad. Mature coconut however would have a host of domestic, commercial, and industrial applications, and copra would just be one of the many :)

In studying the story of the bolomen, I have yet to read Muddy Glory: America's Indian Wars in the Philippines (1981) and Bullets & Bolos: Fifteen Years in the Philippine Islands (1928).

I've read several times however, Vic Hurley's Jungle Patrol (1938) and Swish of the Kris (1936).

Can anybody please comment on whether Hurley has romanticized too much his accounts of the antagonists and protagonists? :D

For instance we read of this account by Hurley about the famous Lt. Leonard Furlong:

Beyond doubt, the most romantic figure of the entire American-Moro conflict, was this same Furlong. His career as a fighting man was so remarkable that to this day the Moros of Cotobato bow their heads when his name is mentioned. Furlong has become an undying tradition to these fierce Moros who respected, more than anything else, the terrific valor displayed by this man. Furlong had a strange and tragic history, the details of which were supplied to the writer by men who knew him well and who fought beside him in Mindanao. After an unfortunate love affair which made life futile to him, he came to Mindanao to seek death on the krises of the Moros. He was in the thick of the Moro fighting for several years and it was said by his associates that no odds were too great and no charge too forlorn for this soldier seeking death. His reckless disregard for his own life often took him alone across open country to the very walls of cottas swarming with hostile Moros. It is said that it was his habit to enter the cottas, far in advance of his men, and that the Moros gave way before him, denying him the death he sought. Furlong seemed to lead a charmed life. To the Moros he was supernatural, and he came through the campaigns without a scratch. When the period of cotta warfare came to and end Furlong resigned his commission and sailed for Manila. There in the capital city, he took is own life, accomplishing that which the Moros had been unable or unwilling to do.

Poetic license (i.e., the underscored portion above) or the plain truth? :rolleyes:

But let us not miss out on the most important lesson here -- any man can survive a lot of battles and hardships, but nothing is as lethal as unrequited love :o :D

The Bolos in the video are not locally made. They are of US mfg., made by the US Spring & Bumper Co. Los Angeles Ca. They have molded green rubber handles with co. logo cast in, and star pattern grip. Blades, and guards are plated. Came with a very flimsey canvas scabbard, but the standard 18" machete scabbard fits perfectly. I sold one on ebay a while back. Will try to find pictures. Couldn't find one, back when I was collecting WWII US edged weapons. :(

THANKS!!
 

Thank you very much !! this information is very fine to me!1
Thanks again
carlos

I think the truth may be somewhat clouded in the mists of the past yet the deeds go down in history . I would suspect that Furlong with many of his contemporarys in the Constabulary found that leading from the front inspired the ranks .\

People will always follow those who lead .

"Denying him the death he sought " ....... well, there's maybe the Journalist .. ;)


I have both the books you mention above Miguel; both are worthwhile reads along with MYSELF AND A FEW MOROS by Cloman from the same era; all of the titles are fairly affordable . :)

Rick

More on Leonard Furlong.
http://www.bakbakan.org/furlong.html

Given the era, I have no doubt that Furlong would have led in the front of his men. The Phil-Am War is the last war where US generals and colonels actually rode on horseback in to battle with their troops. After the Moro/Pulahan uprisings and prior to WWI, looking back on the deaths of both Gen Lawton and Col Stotsenberg makes me believe the US Military now required high ranking officers to stay in the rear or back at HQ. :)

Two WWI US Mfg. Bolo Machetes
 

Couldn't find mile file photo. Image at top of page depicts both the US Spring & Bumper Co. Machete (bright blade) and the one mfg by Creuver Mfg. Co. The second, reported to be dropped by air, to guerillas fighting the Japanese. In reality, it was part of aircraft emergency bail-out kits, in tropical areas. M.P.http://www.lulu.com/content/1253892

Thanks for the comments, Ric :)

And the "Moros [giving] way before him" reminds me of Moses parting the Red Sea ;) :D

Thanks also for the book referral ... I just ordered a copy!

Thanks for the info, and let's put that image here for reference ...

Which reminds me, I've been meaning to get one for myself, too!

By the way, would you know if the Phil. Army (with US troops below, in the 2008 joint exercise in Luzon) would also have a standard issue bolo? Thanks.

Hi Miguel, I wouldn't know if the regulars in the Phil. Army have an issued bolo. :shrug: Im now curious to know if they do. My guess would be yes, considering the environment they have to deal with most of the time. I'll try and find out. :)


You can read Bullets and Bolos online at a secret location. I'll PM it to you. ;)
I have yet to read Muddy Glory also...tough to find that one. I also read through Jungle Patrol and Swish of the Kris a couple times. A copy of Swish of the Kris sold on ebay a few months back...if I remember right it went over $100. I got my copy of Jungle Patrol on ebay for ~$40. :o

Thanks! :)

In searching for old books, you may also want to try these:

[1] BookFinder4U

[2] UsedBookSearch

[3] Univ. of the Phils. library, in case you have relatives here in the Phils. who are enrolled at UP at the moment ...

From the Wikipedia article on Bolo knife, the photos below were described as:

Early 20th century Cebuano Police officers armed with a pinuti (left) and a sundang (right)

and

An assortment of bolos and related implements include:

1. The all-purpose bolo: Used for all sorts of odd jobs, including breaking open coconuts.

2. The haras: Similar to a small scythe, it is used for cutting tall grass.

3. The kutsilyo: The term comes from the Spanish word cuchillo, meaning knife. Generally used to kill and bleed pigs during slaughter.

4. A smaller bolo.

5. The bolo-guna: A bolo specifically shaped for digging out roots and weeding.

6. The garab: Used to harvest rice.

7. A large pinuti: Traditionally it is tipped in snake, spider or scorpion venom and used for self-defense.

8. The sundang: Supposedly used mainly to open coconuts. The sundang, also called "tip bolo" or itak, was a popular weapon of choice in the revolution against the Spanish colonial government and during the Philippine–American War.

There are about 170 dialects in the Philippines, by the way. Thus, it's very likely that the same term may refer to a different blade type in another locale (or vice versa).

Just to liven up this topic once more (I like it very much), what was historically the most successful bolo-rush?

I am intrigued by these near-suicidal rushes being made by native people against colonial powers. Some of them were part of native war-doctrine. Others didn't usually engage in a wild rush unless circumstances necessitated it - the normal warfare was traditionally ambuscades, raids, counter-raids, and very few open engagements. How successful were they? Would it have been easier just to form small groups and ambush with traps and pits with bolo-men closing in afterwards? Or was it paramount to attack with masses of bolo-men? In some cases, maybe fewer bolos would've been better ratio-wise? Masses do inspire courage however...

And also, what's the level of martial training for these bolo-men? Were they simply familiar with their blades or were they familiar and particularly skilled?

I know, for examples, that gurkas didn't traditionally train with khukuris, but rather, the kora, tulwar, etc. were more important weapons. With the introduction of modern firearms, the utility and fighting capabilities of the khukuri shown greatly as bows and koras were replaced by assault rifles. I don't know if many Chinese Da-dao-men were well trained or simply given basic techniques, but they performed admirably... as did the Chileans with their corvos...

Earlier we saw how the cover of vegetation and the cover of darkness yield successful bolo rushes.

The third "cover" and this time employed in urban warfare is the use of artifice and cunning.

And under this mode we see the most successful bolo rush ever. The incident was described as the United States Army's worst defeat since the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876.

It was the Balangiga massacre of 1901 during the Philippine-American War. "Balangiga" is pronounced BAH-lung-hee-gah (not sure where the accent is, and I just presumed it's in the first syllable).

Here's the rest of the bits of info from Wikipedia:

• more than forty American soldiers were killed in a surprise guerrilla attack and Filipinos regard the attack as one of their bravest acts in the war
  
• the attack was made between 6:20 and 6:45 am of September 28, 1901
  
• the leader of the attack was the Balangiga police chief, Valeriano Abanador (standing sixth from right, with Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment, taken in Balangiga)
  
• the attack commenced when Abanador, who had been supervising the prisoners' communal labor in the town plaza, grabbed the rifle of Private Adolph Gamlin, one of the American sentries and stunned him with a blow to the head
  
• this served as the signal for the rest of the communal laborers in the plaza to rush the other sentries and soldiers of Company C, who were mostly having breakfast in the mess area
  
• Abanador then gave a shout, signaling the other Filipino men to the attack and fired Gamlin's rifle at the mess tent, hitting one of the soldiers
  
• the pealing of the church bells and the sounds from conch shells being blown followed seconds later
  
• to mask the disappearance of the women from the dawn service in the church, 34 men from Barrio Lawaan cross-dressed as women worshipers
  
• these "women", carrying small coffins, were earlier challenged by Sergeant Scharer of the sentry post about the town plaza near the church
  
• opening one of the coffins with his bayonet, he saw the body of a dead child, whom he was told, was a victim of a cholera epidemic
  
• unbeknownst to the sentries, the other coffins hid the bolos and other weapons of the attackers
  
• some of the Company C troopers were attacked and hacked to death before they could grab their rifles; the few who survived the initial onslaught fought almost bare-handed, using kitchen utensils, steak knives, and chairs
  
• one private used a baseball bat to fend off the attackers before being overwhelmed
  
• of the 74 men in Company C, 36 were killed in action, including all its commissioned officers; Captain Thomas W. Connell [USMA graduate], First Lieutenant Edward A. Bumpus and Major Richard S. Griswold
  
• twenty-two were wounded in action and four were missing in action; eight later died of wounds received in combat; only four escaped unscathed
  
• the 500 attackers suffered 28 dead and 22 wounded
  
• Company C had to flee the garrison immediately for fear of being wiped out
  
• in the process, they left about 100 rifles and 25,000 rounds of ammunition (which is another devastating loss, as these much needed firearms and ammo prolonged the struggle in Samar, first by the soldiers of the Philippine republic, and later by the Pulajanes and other groups)

The other photo shows Abanador in his old age, while the Balangiga memorial marker says in English:

BALANGIGA MASSACRE: In this town, on the 28th of September 1901, Filipinos armed with bolos attacked Company "C", Ninth Infantry of U.S. They killed almost all the American soldiers. In revenge the Americans launched a six-month "kill-and-burn" [campaign]. The town became like a "howling wilderness." Because of their cruelty, Brig. Gen. Jacob H. Smith and Major Littleton W.T. Waller were tried by court martial and cashiered.

Years ago, there were a lot of conflicting accounts about this encounter as a whole.

Much studies have been made since then. By this time almost all of the points have been harmonized (and as reflected in the Wikipedia article on the subject).

Yes indeed.

In fact there's a method to the madness ;) :D

Gen. Miguel Malvar is popularly known as the last general to surrender during the Philippine-American War.

Malvar for instance ordered that bolomen should not exceed 30% of company strength, as he was more after quality than quantity of troops. That can be read from Brian Linn's book.

Wow, that's a well-executed massacre... damn :eek:

Reminds me of the Wushe Rebellion, but that didn't end so well for the native fighters.... :mad:

__________________________

Yes I figured... otherwise you'd have a lot of young men losing their lives as krag-fodder, instead of training them or using them as scouts, or reserves, or whatever...

Thanks for the link! :)

Looks like most of the Balangiga natives are familiar with martial arts.

We can glean that from the fact that aside from baseball, the US soldiers whiled their time away watching arnis demonstration.

Also, the leader of the attack [Abanador, Balangiga police chief] is known to be a tournament-caliber escrimador. And Abanador was a good chess player, too (his sparring partner in chess is the surgeon Major Griswold, one of those killed in the attack).

And one survivor [Private Gamlin] recounts coming face to face with a native armed with a bolo on one hand and a dagger in another hand.

According to UP Professor Rolando Borrinaga [the person who has done research on this encounter the most], Mariano Valdenor [Balangiga assistant police chief] fitted best this person's description.

Thus it looks espada y daga was another technique well known to the Balangiga natives.

The memorial marker needs to be corrected. The atrocities ordered by Smith and performed by Waller made national news in America. The trial of both was carefully watched. The end result is atrocious…Smith was found guilty and was to be court-martial…his punishment was to be decided by the review board…their punishment for Smith, simply to turn in his resignation paper and retire from the military(with his present rank). And in the case of Waller “the Butcher of Samar”, he was acquitted of his charge. Waller would later make the rank of Colonel a couple years after the his alleged crime(if the case meant anything, this promotion would have never happened). His overall service in the Marine Corp is defined as exemplary, honorable, well respected, and a model Marine...he would retire in 1920 as a full fledge Major General. I HIGHLY doubt this trial made any type of dent or impact on his military career. Both are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

One other interesting thing about Waller. He led the famous Marine expedition through Samar 1901. It is considered by far to be the most dangerous and toughest expedition track of that era…estimated at 250miles, all the while battling Pulahans, Insurgents, bolo attacks, sickness, lack of food, and the rugged dense jungle terrain. It is also after this expedition where Waller gave the orders to execute the 11 native guides. In the long run, the expedition elevated the Marine toughness lore to great proportions throughout all the military branches of the US. Even several years after, the Marines from this expedition were still recognized through out the Marine Corp...regardless of rank, when a Marine from Wallers expedition walked in to a room, his presence would be acknowledged by a shout, “Stand gentlemen, he served in SAMAR!”, and all Marines would rise and salute.

Heroic people on both sides of the conflicts, that's for sure...

Was Samar a major hotbed of resistance? If so, how was it compared to... say Luzon or the Moros?


This is slightly off topic, but...
The "Talibon" was widely used in Samar if I'm not mistaken... and the "Sansibar" in Leyte... Pulahans were said to have used Talibons. However the Pulahan-Derobio eskrima group (claims to have martial arts from the Pulahan fighters) has "sansibars" as their principle bolos. What does that mean? Means different bolos used by the Pulahan? Means different bolos developed by the Waray-waray people of both islands? :confused: :shrug:

Definitely heroic people on both sides of the coin thats for sure...this is why I study accounts on both sides of the war. I have more favorite American war heroes of this era then any other time. I know many people here are collectors of Philippine artifacts, but taking in to account American artifacts of this era, it is just the same. Some people are floored by Barongs and Kris's selling for near $2k...a Krag rifle bayonet of this era just sold for $2,650...and thats the typical price. And a Philippine Krag Carbine from this era is seen as the ultimate prize of all Krags in the Krag world...they are almost nonexistent.

On the major hot regions. Between 1899 and 1913, all 3 regions had their time and place as being the major hotbed. First in Luzon, then in Visayas, and finally in Mindanao...all 3 over lapped one another but they all had their turn at being major hotbeds. From 1899-1903 Luzon was the major hot region...but Sakay and his group still roamed and threatened Luzon up until 1906. Then from 1902-1907, Visayas took over as the major hot region...the turning point came after the capture of Papa Ablen in 1907...the last major Pulahan to be killed was in 1911. And lastly, resistance in Mindanao went from 1904 to 1913...peaking from the disarmament act of 1911, which inevitably lead up to the Battle of Bagsak in 1913. By 1915, all major resistances in all 3 regions was extinguished. Looking at the annual war reports from 1915 on, there is almost nothing reported. It is difficult to say which is the worst out of all 3...but for me personally, I believe Samar-Leyte was the worst area...following in a very close second, Mindanao...with Luzon being last.

On the Talibon and Sansibar topic. I tend to believe both types of swords were used and found in either area, both regions are so close to one another they are typically grouped together when spoken of (Samar-Leyte)...this is because the groups living there share such cultural similarities. Kind of like saying San Jose and San Francisco...two different cities but so close you just call the entire region the Bay Area since everything going on there is essentially the same. The Waray people(who typically made up a huge majority of the Pulahan group) can be found in both regions...and the Pulahans traveled everywhere. But more then likely a larger majority of each sword were found in their respective region due to their origination in those areas. I wouldn't necessary restrict any sword to one region...the Philippines has 7100 islands, traveling by boat was typical. I know many may think, 100 years ago these groups were isolated, thats not true...mode of transportation by boat was infact easy and was an everyday occurrence.

Here's an artist's interpretation of what happened on that fateful morning of Sept. 28, 1901, in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.

This plate came from the 10-volume Filipinas Heritage series published in the 1970s.

I'm not quite sure whether the depiction of the bolos is accurate.

From the same series, here's another color plate.

This painting interprets the contingent that disguised themselves as early morning women churchgoers.

Or perhaps they just want to crossdress, that's all ;) :D