Indeed, the weapons had their smaller-sized counterparts for young boys - axes, bolos, shields, bows and arrows, etc. Sometimes, "female" (for use by women only) counterparts are also available. Isneg women had the female version of the axe.

Nonoy

I just wanted to note here, along with Rick's earlier comment, this thread is absolutely fantastic! From the initiation of the thread, focused on a single weapon, the 'kalinga' axe of the Philippines, and throughout are posts developing the history and use of the tool/weapons, beautifully illustrated, cited references and outstanding discussion and observations.

This is 'textbook' perfect gentlemen!!! Exactly the way we should study these weapons. Until I saw this thread, I really knew nothing of these axes, though I'd seen examples thumbing through Stone. After reading through this thread,I feel like I have experienced a true course on them as a subject, and now have a good understanding of them. Also, this thread will stand as a most current resource for others who might be researching these now or in the future.
Well done gentlemen!!!! and thank you!!! :)

All the best,
Jim

More, from The Bontoc Igorot --

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/f...balbelasan.jpg

On the Bontoc battle-axe [left side in pic]:

"Baliwang [Cordillera] has four smithies ... Baliwang alone makes the genuine Bontoc battle-ax. It is a strong, serviceable blade of good temper, and is hafted to a short, strong, straight wooden handle which is strengthened by a ferrule of iron or braided bejuco. The ax has a slender point opposed to the bit or cutting edge of the blade ... The bit of the ax is at a small angle with the front and back edges of the blade, and is nearly a straight line. The axes are kept keen and sharp by whetstones collected and preserved solely for the purpose. Besao, near Sagada, quarries and barters a good grade of whetstone."

On the sleek Balbelasan battle-axe [right side in pic]:

"A slender, long-handled battle-ax now and then comes into the area in trade from the north. Balbelasan, of old Abra Province, but now in the northern part of extended Bontoc Province, is one of the pueblos which produce this beautiful ax. The blade is longer and very much slimmer than the Bontoc blade, but its marked distinguishing feature is the shape of the cutting edge. The blade is ground on two straight lines joined together by a short curved line, giving the edge the striking form of the beak of a rapacious bird. The slender, graceful handle, always fitted with a long iron ferrule, has a process on the under side near the middle. The handle is also usually fitted with a decorated metal ferrule at the tip and frequently is decorated for its full length with bands of brass or tin, or with sheets of either metal artistically incised.

"The Balbelasan ax is not used by the pueblos making it, or at least by many of them, but finds its field of usefulness east and northeast of Bontoc pueblo as far as the foothills of the mountains west of the Rio Grande de Cagayan. I was told by the Kalinga of this latter region that the people in the mountain close to the Cagayan in the vicinity of Cabagan Nuevo, Isabela Province, also use this ax."

On the variations in the use and non-use of the battle axe:

"In the southern and western part of the Bontoc area the battle-ax shares place with the bolo, the sole hand weapon of the Igorot of adjoining Lepanto, Benguet, and Nueva Vizcaya Provinces.

"The bolo within the Bontoc area comes from Sapao and from the Ilokano people of the west coast. The southern pueblo in the Bontoc area, Ambawan, uses the bolo of Sapao to the entire exclusion of the battle-ax. Tulubin, the next pueblo to Ambawan, and only an hour from it, uses almost solely the Baliwang battle-ax. Such pueblos as Titipan and Antedao, about three hours west of Bontoc, use both the ax and bolo, while the pueblos further west, as Agawa, Sagada, Balili, Alap, etc., use the bolo exclusively—frequently an Ilokano weapon."

On the Sapao bolo and the Moro barong:

"The Sapao bolo is, in appearance, superior to that of Ilokano manufacture. It is a broad blade swelling markedly toward the center, and is somewhat similar in shape to the barong of the Sulu Moro of the Sulu Archipelago. This weapon finds its chief field of use in the Quiangan and Banawi areas."

One of the pics below shows a Sapao smithy.

Note also in the pics below that it was the same "Malay forge" [also called the double-bellows forge, a 2,000-year old design?] that was used throughout the Philippines, whether it was in the highlands of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, or down south in the Moro areas of Mindanao.

Finally, the color pic below is from the Ayala Museum dioramas. It depicts what a foundry in ancient Phils. must have looked like, i.e., about 1,500 to 2,000 years ago.

More of the same, nice weapons here. Does anybody have one like in the large picture.

Here it is, Tim, including a "Kalaw" headdress and axe from the Ilongots.
Sorry for the bad pics.

Nonoy

Here is an old shield graphically illustrating the deadly "Kalinga" axe, as carved on its surface.

Thanks for that Nonoy. It is very interesting. From your picture the blade appears crudely made which is a surprise. That does not mean in real space it is not well made. It could be heavy, with good balanced and well shaped. I was just expecting something very exciting judging from the most attractive scabbard. It is more than likely that there is considerable varriation to the quality of shaping to these blades. I have these two pieces the pictures are poor and the flash wipes away any subtlety.

Hi Tim

Yes, the Ilongot blades come in different forms and quality. There are those that are of such fineness especially those intended for use in ceremonies and "public display."

The axe I posted along with the Ilongot headdress, although originating (geographically) from Ilongot territory is actually a hybird in my opinion. The S-curved blade indicates an Isneg influence, while the brass plate at the bottom of the handle (not seen in the photo) clearly shows Ilongot work.

Your axe, in my opinion in Bontok. Nice ferrule.

The Ifugaw Hinalung appears in the photo to be a large one. Such size of Hinalung were made for chopping wood (as well as a defense weapon).

Tim,

Here is an example of a more finely-made Ilongot blade.
Also, a Hinalung intended as weapon (over-all length is 22 cm. only).

Going back to the axe...

This one comes from the Ifugao. I was told by informants from the area that this axe was intended for use in working wood/chopping trees (not primarily as a weapon). As weapon, the "bolo" type was used by the Ifugao (e.g. Pinahig, Hinalung, Hangap, Yuquyug). So far, I have not encountered any reliable document which tells of the Ifugao using the axe as a traditional weapon.

Fascinating. Nice scabbard, the handle on that knife has the influence of many Philippine knives we see on this forum. The blade looks a little similar to a talibon.
I cannot help myself seeing a relation to the indigenous knives of Taiwan, is this rather fanciful?
Here are some day light pictures of the Hinalung, as you can see it is a big heavy knife. A chopper just as much as a knife. It is one of my most treasured artifacts. I like the almost futuristic clean geometry to the blade, made with absolute confidence. I am not surprised they are used to chop wood, human bodies would offer very little resistance. The other picture is a taiwan knife.

Tinguian (Northern Luzon) folklore (oral tradition) describes the headaxe and its uses in many ways. It also mentions several times the headaxe being used magically by a character in the stories to cross bodies of water or the sea.

This leads me to conjecture that the crescent-shaped blade may have been inspired by the shape of a boat :confused:

More conjectures .... The shape may have originated from the coastal lowlands (not the mountains of the Cordillera where there is no sea) of Luzon, and where blacksmithing technology (using the Malay forge) may have entered the island.

Nonoy

Nonoy,

Here's another bit of info that may support the possibility of the Cordillera [highlands] axe originating from the Cagayan-Isabela [lowlands] area, as you intimated.

For info of everyone, both Cagayan and Isabela provinces are adjacent to and east of the Cordilleras.

In Samuel K. Tan's A History of the Philippines (1987), Tan outlined the patterns of leadership per ethnic group:

"The Ivatan of the Batanes islands developed a system in which two leaders shared authority ... The Ilocano observed a power arrangement in which the babacnang or amaen ti ili exercised dominant influence and power. The Igorot setup consisted of the Apo who performed roles with authority ... The Ilongot, a neighbor of the Igorot, had a sort of 'familial government' ... Somewhat different was the Zambal political arrangement which simply gave the best and recognized fighting man the honor of being the leader. The Gaddang [i.e., one of the Cagayan natives] of Northern Luzon developed a setup in which the best headhunter, called the mingal, exercised dominant authority ...."

Again the proposed proof is indirect, given the scanty info we have. But the logic goes like this -- if headhunting was most celebrated in Cagayan, then perhaps the skills and weapons needed in headhunting were also most developed in Cagayan; therefore, the headhunter's axe's original design may have come from Cagayan, and from there the axe's design just evolved as the axe was adopted by the neighboring provinces.

Of course it does not necessarily follow that the headhunting weapon of choice for the Gaddangs was the axe. It could have been a bolo.

But on the other hand, it could have been an axe, too.

Just thinking out loud ... :)

For what it's worth, here are a couple of prints removed from an early twentieth-century photo album of the Philippines.

Am happy to find out that somebody (GW Peters, in 1899) immortalized the fate of those Igorot warriors.

The painting below is entitled "With the Insurgents in the Philippines - A company of Igorrote spearmen drilling in Caloocan, 1899". Saw it in the book, The Philippines in the 19th Century by Rudolf Lietz.

Note the head-axes being held on the hand holding also the shields. And the Igorot leader in front is depicted as bearing an Ilocano Katipunan dagger (the Ilocos provinces are right beside the Cordillera, hence this is very plausible).

Great stuff.

I heard about this, via hearsay (i.e., the info did not come from any book or study).

Browsing the book Filipinas 1874 by Jose Honorato Lozano, however, I stumbled upon the image below of the Mayoyao Igorot.

The translation of the Spaniard's description of said Igorot tribe is:

"There is one ferocious tribe among the Igorots; these are the Mayoyaos depicted in the plate. They inhabit the mountains near Nueva Vizcaya [a province adjacent to the Cordillera]. Even if pursued, it is often impossible to control them."

This lends credence thus to the report that the spike is indeed used to pick up (and even carry) the severed head. Am sure the triumphant warrior would like to prominently display such head atop the axe's spike, upon his return to his home village.

However, the more known way of bringing back the head-trophy is via the so-called "head basket". Given that the trip back home can be a day's hike or more, great care has to be taken in ensuring the head will not get spoiled! ;)

PS - In the image, note though that the position of the handle vis-a-vis the axe head is at the center, instead of on the forward edge. Apparently that's due to an inaccurate recollection of the 19th century Spaniard who wrote the story.

HERE IS AN INTERESTING DANCE AX FROM CAMEROON AFRICA. IT IS SAID TO BE USED BY THE BANA,KAPSIKI, FALI AND KIRDI TRIBES FOR DANCES AND CEREMONY. THIS EXAMPLE IS 15 X 7.5 IN. AND HAS AN ALUMINUM BLADE. HOW FAR BACK THIS FORM OF AX GOES. :shrug:
SO DID THE FORM DEVELOP IN AFRICA OR IN THE PHILIPPINES AND DID IT DEVELOP FROM A TOOL, A CEREMONIAL OBJECT OR WAS IT ORIGINALLY A WEAPON, THE JURY IS STILL OUT. :D

Thanks Vandoo for sharing the pics of a similar form factor, to borrow a term from the computer industry.

All I can say is that this raises more questions, which is good because we may be able to finally as a result, stumble upon the "true value" :)

I suspect that the use of the term "Kalinga" (for the Kalinga axe) started no earlier than the mid 19th century (likely during the American occupation 1898 to early 1900s). During this period, the area of Northern Luzon which now includes the province of Cagayan (home of the Ibanag) was erroneously believed to be home of the Kalinga peoples. This error, I believe may have been due to the fact that knowledge of the indigenous peoples living there was scant, and "Kalinga" was used as a general word to refer to those peoples living in that area. Later, after extensive study, we now know that the area mentioned are home to many other peoples.

The mention of the term "Buneng" (refering to the axe) by the Ibanag in the 17th century is interesting. I believe that "Buneng" comes from the word "Buneg" - meaning river. Ibanag (or i-buneg) means something or someone/people from the river. The Ibanag people occupy the northern Luzon areas close to the large Cagayan river.

It is through these large waterways that goods acquired through trade from traders (e.g. China, Japan, Borneo, etc), goods such as iron, were bought, transported and sold by the coastal (sea) inhabintants to other coastal (riverine) peoples, and thereafter to peoples living inland or the mountains. Such was the trading network. The riverine coasts were magnets for early Filipinos to reside due to this trade. It was also logical to have blacksmiths in these coastal (sea and riverine) villages work iron to produce weapons for sale.

Thus, it seems probable that the "Buneng" Axe was so called because they were made those villages, i.e. villages along the "Buneg", e.g. Cagayan river or its secondary waterways.

My 2 cents

The painting by Jose Honorato Lozano shows a male Ifugao/Ifugaw. Not only is he holding an axe, but also bow and arrow. It is known that the Ifugao have long time ago disregarded the use of the bow and arrow, and so I am wondering why such weapon appears in a 19th century painting.

There are historical accounts describing the headaxe being used to pick a severed head. I doubt however if Lozano has ever actually seen it happen. I suspect that his painting was based on stories he has heard or read.

Indeed, more questions than answers...

Yes, looks like it.

Like what's that two-pronged spear the Igorot is holding? And then the axe is shown with a loop for its hilt and it has hair or fibers in it.

On the other hand, the painter got right the distinctive haircut with bangs in front, and then long hair at the back plus that small bowl-like weaving that is used as sort of a headdress.

On head-axes in general, below are more pics gathered from various coffee table books.

Some more pics, taken from another forum: Filipinas Collection Thread 3.

Thread by the way has lots of old Philippine pics definitely worth checking out.

I REALLY ENJOY PICTURES LIKE THE LAST ONE IN THIS SERIES, I HAVE SEEN ONE SIMULAR FEATURING NAGA WEAPONS AND ITEMS.
THE SECOND DRAWING SHOWS 2 FELLOWS WITH WHAT LOOKS LIKE A TOOL USED TO HOLLOW OUT THINGS. IT COULD BE USED TO BREAK THRU THE PARTICIONS IN BAMBOO TO FORM CONTAINERS OR WATER PIPES. SOMETHING SIMULAR IS USED TO HOLLOW OUT BLOWGUNS. THE WORKERS STAND UP ON A PLATFORM AND PLACE THE MATERIAL TO BE HOLLOWED OUT BELOW IT AND HOLLOW IT OUT FROM THE TOP TO THE BOTTOM WHICH RESTS ON THE GROUND. SOME OF THE TOOLS ARE HEATED AND BURN THE WOOD AND THEN THE ASH IS REMOVED OTHERS WORK MORE LIKE A CHISEL OR GOUGE TO REMOVE THE WOOD. THIS EXAMPLE LOOKS LIKE THE LATTER TYPE AND AS BAMBOO IS SHOWN IN THE DRAWING IT IS LIKELY A TOOL FOR WORKING IT.

YOU MUST HAVE SOME VERY INTERESTING BOOKS AVAILABLE :cool:

Some of the pics I post (like the most recent ones above) are found merely by rummaging through the Web :)

Would just like to share more very old pics, from Ramon Zaragoza's Tribal Splendor. Here's a set on headhunting-related scenes:

Success ...

Funeral activities re headhunting:

The "usually mile long" parade of Igorot warriors must had been a sight to behold as they snake through the rice terraces ...

Pics showing the "context" within which headhunting took place:

Finally, some Tingguian activities pics (and here's a recent news article on the current status of the Tingguians).

I move away from weapons but would just like to say that these pictures and others, show these people had/have a fasinating and beautiful sculptural sence in building and landscaping with natural stone forms.

Yes, those 2,000-year old Igorot rice terraces are a sight to behold (it's been declared a Unesco World Heritage site by they way).

I've been to Bali, Indonesia once and they too have hillside rice terraces in there. But the scale is much smaller compared to the ones made by the Igorots.

On the head axes, I've been fooling around with two recently acquired Kalinga head axes. After etching, one of them exhibited a hardened edge, along the chiseled cutting edge (see pics).

I understand though that there's a wide variation on how these axes are made. So, this hardened edge feature can be absent in other authentic samples.

Radleigh's Head Axe... A good one? revived my interest on the origin of the northern Luzon head-axe.

From Fay-Cooper Cole's 1922 book on the Tinguians [aka Itnegs], an upland tribe which shares the Cordillera mountain range with the Igorots:

While the axe is primarily a weapon, its use is by no means confined to warfare. It is used in house and fence building, in cutting up game and forest products, and in many other ways. Fig. 8 [below] shows three types of head-axes, the first two, the Tinguian-Kalinga axe; third, the Igorot; fourth, the Apayao. There is a noticeable difference between the slender blades of the first group and the short, thick blade of the Igorot, yet they are of the same general type. The Apayao weapon, on the other hand, presents a radical difference in form. Despite these variations, the axes of these three tribes present an interesting problem. So far as it known, these are the only tribes in the Philippines which make use of a head-axe, and it is believed that no similar weapon is found in the Malayan Islands. However, blades of striking resemblance do occur among the Naga of Assam [10]. It is possible that the weapons of these far separated regions may hark back to a common source, from which they received their instruction in iron working.

xxx

[10] Egerton, Handbook of Indian Arms (Wm. Allen and Co., London, 1880), p. 84; Shakespear, History of Upper Assam, Burma and Northeastern Frontier (MacMillan, London, 1914), p. 197, illustration.

Clearly, the book cited is an old one (1922). On the other hand, so far it still looks like that the northern Luzon head-axe is an original form, endemic strictly to northern Luzon ...

Unless evidence to the contrary is uncovered ...

Reviewing this portion of Cole's 1922 book on the Tinguians:

So far as it known, these [Tinguians, Igorots, & Apayaos] are the only tribes in the Philippines which make use of a head-axe, and it is believed that no similar weapon is found in the Malayan Islands. However, blades of striking resemblance do occur among the Naga of Assam [10].

xxx

[10] Egerton, Handbook of Indian Arms (Wm. Allen and Co., London, 1880), p. 84; Shakespear, History of Upper Assam, Burma and Northeastern Frontier (MacMillan, London, 1914), p. 197, illustration.

I wanted to find out what a Naga-Assam [headhunter's] axe looks like. Photo 1 and photo 2 below are both from Oriental Arms.

There appears to be some similarity all right, but not with the traditional crescent-shaped form of the northern Luzon head-axe.

As to the probable link between the two cultures, it appears to be there indeed. I found this pertinent excerpt, from a recent research work:

Colonel L.W. Shakespear suggests that the Naga fancy for marine shells may point to a bygone home on the sea (History of Upper Assam, p.197). In any case, the Nagas have very strong cultural affinities with the natives of the Asiatic Islands, notably Borneo, and the Philippine Islands, and perhaps physical affinities with some of them (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. xliv, p.57)”.

What's the conclusion? Well so far, it still points to the theory that the northern Luzon head axe is a unique and endemic weapon-tool, with no other parallels ... at least so far :)

I agree. The headaxe of Northern Luzon is an endemic development.

The tribes of Northeast India and Northern Luzon have remarkably similar ecologies and material culture. On the other hand, the social organizations are very different. Also, I also doubt that the headaxe of Northern Luzon and the axe of Northeastern India had come from a common origin, because there is yet no indicative proof. This is not to say, however that both cultures had not adapted certain cultural traits from a common influence or source (directly or indirectly). Talismanic symbol in blades of India is also found in some blades of Northern Luzon (Ilongot and Agta), and Southern Philippines (so called "moro" blades).

Meanwhile, here is a photo of a headaxe with a centipede design – in relation to the thread:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6818

Based on the literature by Morice Vanoverbergh, i.e. "Dress and Adornment in the Mountain Province of Luzon, Philippine Islands"; "The Isneg Farmer"; and "Isneg-English Vocabulary"...

There appears to be no such "Binaroy" axe among the Isneg of Apayao. Instead, the closest type of axe which resembles that posted by VANDOO in this thread is the "Aliwa," specifically the "Badan" type.

The first time I encountered the word "Binaroy" was at the Macau Exhibit - and assumed it to be accurate. However, after going through the above cited literature, I am now in doubt. I wonder where the term "Binaroy" comes from :confused:

The reference to an axe was made by my favorite historian, William Henry Scott, in his book "Barangay: Sixteenth Century Philippine Culture and Society" (1994). In the section covering the Ibanag, Scott wrote (using the work of Fray Jose Bugarin as source):

“Maengel raiders sent out with the plumes of the dalaw bird on their heas and the hair of defeated foes on their spears, to which they added gold ornaments during victory dances around their trophies. An illustration in the Boxer Codex shows a Cagayan warrior … Their weapons were leaf-shaped daggers 20 to 30 centimeters long (inalag) spears (suppil if plain, saffuring if barbed), and one which in modern times would be called a head axe – bunang, “machete of the natives,” Father Bugarin said, “like a crescent moon with a long point.”

Dominican priest Jose Bugarin in the 17th century collected Cagayan Ibanag words which would later be published in an 1854 dictionary (in Spanish).

This is signficant because it provides a possibility that the so-called "Kalinga head-axe" had an Ibanag (not Kalinga or Igorot) origin.

I checked Bugarin's work (in the 1854 document) and discovered that there is no attribution of the Bunang to an axe. In fact, he was specifically refering to a "machete" with a blade that was half-moon shaped (not crescent moon shaped, as Scott had misinterpreted). Thus, the possibility that the head-axe was of Cagayan origin is unlikely, in my opinion.

From the time I posted this topic in October 2009, my research on the origin of the "Kalinga axe" has not ceased. I have since then obtained new and interesting information. I will share these when the research is completed.

What are the chances that these two Kalinga head axes were made by the same guy?[IMG]http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/o...IMG_5342-1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/o...IMG_5338-1.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/o...IMG_5335-1.jpg[/IMG]

There is that possibility... to what extent we may never know.

There are beautiful.

I believe these to be datu pieces, but their blade heads are on backwards and there are some replacement bands. Still great pieces.