Years ago I saw a TV program dealing with the situation in Moro lands. Political violence was still in full blast. It was led by Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF), Abu Sayyaf Group and Bangsamoro Liberation Front with ~12,000 fighters. We are not talking about isolated incidents. Many Moros joined ISIS.


And they apparently won: in 2014 they signed a peace agreement with the central government and their elected government is planned to be established in 2022.

What social/political course will it take is still unknown, but a big cause for concern for the entire SE Asia.

The barung to which Ariel refers has subsequently been sold by the auction house (no price indicated). Here are pictures of this handsome 19th C. weapon that likely killed at least a few Americans and their Filipino allies.

The blade is approximat4ly 18.5 inches in length, which was fairly long for the period. It is clearly a cutting and a stabbing weapon. The hilt has a minimal kakatua pommel that is found on many fighting barung.

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Thanks Ian!

I visited southern Mindanao, Zamboanga, and Basilan in the late 1990s. I was accompanied by locals and only went where I was told I could go safely. Westerners were being kidnapped at that time and held for ransom. Some did not make it out. On a couple of ventures into the rural areas around Davao City I had an escort of Philippine soldiers. In the early 2000s there was the added concern about Abu Sayyaf, a group loosely linked to Al Quaeda.

Quite apart from the long time practice of piracy in the South China Sea, the Bangsamoro region has always been a tense and dangerous area for outsiders. The local politics are diverse, with internal conflicts, but are unified in opposition to outside interference. The struggle for self rule has played out for centuries, with increasing emphasis in the last 120 years and especially since WWII.

Got this barung from Mr Cecil Quirino's collection. My oldest barung so far. It's remarkably well-preserved. It's highly similar to the Leiden barung that was discussed in an old topic here. I fixed the misaligned blade and bent edge; other than that, it's in very good condition.

18-in blade with sandigan/shandigan edge, kamagong hilt, carabao horn pommel, a long ferrule with some sort of brass alloy.

New acquisition
 

After etching the blade slightly. Unluckily one of the MOP-pieces is missing. I needed to add the top 4 cm of the rattan on the scabbard. I very happy with this find.

Best Thomas

I had been looking for the right barong for a couple of years, a few months back I finally found one. The blade was very rusty but cleaned up nice outside of some pitting. The ferule is very thick silver. Below is a more recent purchase.

Nice barungs, gentlemen! It still amazes me just how many variants and personal effects barungs can have through the different eras and locations in the Sulu archipelago.

It's almost been a year, so I'm necro'ing this thread again :D here's my all-time favorite barung, a variant with an upper clipped edge. It is WW2-era, and I reset it just recently.

'Dyak' Barung
 

Forget to add this one from northern Borneo, fullered and decorated blade


Others at the Barung with fullers thread.

Hello Wayne,

I realise that you put 'Dyak' in quotes but for future reference we should clarify here that these barung originate from Moro expat communities on the northern coasts of Borneo and are not culturally associated with any of the Dayak ethnic groups.

I believe that most of these variant examples originate from Kota Belud which has been a blade making center supplying probably all of Sabah's western coast (and, considering the short distance, not surprising to show up in major ports like Kota Kinabalu). One might also note that Kota Belud is really close to Palawan, too.

Regards,
Kai

Attached are the sales pics from my example, which I bought about 2.5 years ago. Blade length 42 cm. The scabbard is missing a bit at the top and is split in a few places.

Wonderful barung, straight-up fighter!

A couple more have sprouted up since my last photo... Thanks to Kino for the great new addition.

Nice display. A little off topic, but could we see the back of those stands? Are they secure? I live in an earthquake zone.

Very nice barungs!

Answered this here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...7&postcount=99

Adding 3 more Barung’s to the thread.

The 3 in my collection.

Great barungs! I especially like the topmost- I'm guessing the ferrule was replaced somewhere in Central Luzon (likely Tagalog) and granted a new scabbard.

Thank you. When I found that barung it was in need of some serious attention.

Amazing pieces as always sir!!!