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Ian · 18th August 2015, 05:15 AM

It seems to me that the answer to some of the questions about the origin of the Moro kris might well rest with the history of Brunei. The Sultanate of Brunei controlled much of northern Borneo and the southern areas of the Philippines, and the Moro were subordinate to the Brunei Sultan from about the 14thC through to the mid-19thC of the Common Era (C.E.). For much of this time, there existed a close relationship between the Brunei Sultanate and the Malay kingdom of Malacca, and during this time there was a greatly increased influence of Islam in Brunei and its dependencies.

“By the middle of the 15th century Po-ni (Borneo, more specifically Brunei) had entered into a close relationship with the Muslim kingdom of Malacca. This era also saw the origin of the ruling dynasty, which continues to this day.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brunei]

While a Filipinocentric view would argue that development of the Moro kris bypassed intermediaries and was based on direct influence from Java or the Celebes, an alternative view is a diffusion from Java, via adaptations in the Malay/Brunei centers of trade and power, to the further regions of the Brunei sultanate in the southern Philippines. A reasonable line of inquiry to help resolve this issue might be to look at the broad influences of Javanese and Malay cultural styles on the Brunei sultanate and its dependencies during the 14th–19thC, C.E.

On the nature of the bird shown on Maurice’s pommel and on Spunjer’s sewar, there is some ambiguity. As I noted earlier, this could be a crested raptor (e.g., hawk or eagle), cockatoo, crested parrot or several other species. Since a cockatoo is called a crested parrot, and “true parrots” rarely have crests (exceptions being the Australian cockatiel and galah), then we are largely dealing with semantics among birds that are related. Spunjer’s sewar actually shows a cockatoo with part of the crest lying flat down the back of its neck. The other crested parrots mentioned above and crested hawks have shorter crests than depicted on the sewar.

Ian

18th August 2015, 05:15 AM	#4
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	It seems to me that the answer to some of the questions about the origin of the Moro kris might well rest with the history of Brunei. The Sultanate of Brunei controlled much of northern Borneo and the southern areas of the Philippines, and the Moro were subordinate to the Brunei Sultan from about the 14thC through to the mid-19thC of the Common Era (C.E.). For much of this time, there existed a close relationship between the Brunei Sultanate and the Malay kingdom of Malacca, and during this time there was a greatly increased influence of Islam in Brunei and its dependencies. “By the middle of the 15th century Po-ni (Borneo, more specifically Brunei) had entered into a close relationship with the Muslim kingdom of Malacca. This era also saw the origin of the ruling dynasty, which continues to this day.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Brunei] While a Filipinocentric view would argue that development of the Moro kris bypassed intermediaries and was based on direct influence from Java or the Celebes, an alternative view is a diffusion from Java, via adaptations in the Malay/Brunei centers of trade and power, to the further regions of the Brunei sultanate in the southern Philippines. A reasonable line of inquiry to help resolve this issue might be to look at the broad influences of Javanese and Malay cultural styles on the Brunei sultanate and its dependencies during the 14th–19thC, C.E. On the nature of the bird shown on Maurice’s pommel and on Spunjer’s sewar, there is some ambiguity. As I noted earlier, this could be a crested raptor (e.g., hawk or eagle), cockatoo, crested parrot or several other species. Since a cockatoo is called a crested parrot, and “true parrots” rarely have crests (exceptions being the Australian cockatiel and galah), then we are largely dealing with semantics among birds that are related. Spunjer’s sewar actually shows a cockatoo with part of the crest lying flat down the back of its neck. The other crested parrots mentioned above and crested hawks have shorter crests than depicted on the sewar. Ian