Bag Lady Kampilan

[Spunjer]

ever seen them bag ladies pushing their carts with their worldly belonging in it? not making fun of them by any means, but that image is the first thing that crossed my mind when i came across this kampilan.
this particular piece carried more historical artifacts with it than any other pieces i've ever owned. what's amazing is the majority stayed with it.
first of, it came with that rare scabbard, and i believe this one is original to it. the scabbard was even carved and painted. it has ukkil carvings on both sides, and get this; i'm pretty sure it's Sulu as compared to my photo collection of barung sampirs, and pictures from Ligaya Amilbangsa's book, Ukkil. looking at the pattern of the ukkil as well, you will notice that the top part is carved, middle part untouched, and carved again at the tip, similar theme to a barung's scabbard.
one of the first things that caught my eyes is the hair. we normally see the hair attached on the ridge of the handle. in this instance, the hair was sewed on a piece of cloth and tacked on the front of the handle, giving it a beard as oppose to the mohawk that we normally see. so this made me think what's the significance of those hair on the kampilan? why do some kampys have hair, and some are bald? why the need to add hair on this particular piece. i don't think it's just for decoration, there's gotta be a meaning behind it.

[Spunjer]

and then there's the munsala cloth. this one was decorated with spanish military buttons on the tip. i'm thinking just a little humor from the original owner: one button is from an infantry uniform, and the other one is from an artillery uniform. nice touch!
there's also a tiger bell. i've always wanted a kampilan with the original tiger bell, not a later add-on. i would say this was main reason why i got it in the first place. it's attached to a small knuckle guard with a leather strip.
i have to give the original owner props on the originality when it comes to decorating the "eye" part of the handle. the obverse has a British token or coin, and the reverse has what appears to be a French medallion (?) or insignia

[Spunjer]

...while he's at it, he decided to add his coin collection. where the hair would normally go, this is where he displayed his collection. he also used a coin to decorate the corners of the cloth that hold the hair. sadly, one is missing. there are various coins from Asia and Europe. i would like the forum's members help in identifying these coins. thanks in advance. there's also a seven pointed star on the opposite side of the handle. oh, and a Naval button..

[Spunjer]

finally, there's this medallion. this is the proverbial monkey wrench in this whole thing. looking at it, it blends with the rest, just another trinket, is all. closer look, it's a Catholic medallion. okay, so the dude converted. or he's not religious and any help from any religion will do. just playing it safe. maybe. that's mystery number 1. what is a catholic medallion doing on a Moro sword? mystery number 2. it's made out of aluminum. with that in mind, it's easy to assume that this was added later, or this whole ensemble is a later piece. if it's a later piece, it's too ordinary looking for a kampy to be jazzed up for tourist consumption. the kampy looks more like a personal sidearm. it's too personalized. possibility number 2 is the medallion is old. i realized aluminum was very expensive around the turn of the 20th century, so it wasn't just something you can acquire just like that. but still, there's that possibility. as far as the medallion, the front says "St Alphonsus Maria of Ligouri, Pray For Us" and it has an image of him. the back says "Our Lady Of Perpetual Help, Pray For Us" with the image of Madonna and Child.
of note on the way the word "St" or "Saint" was stamped on the front: the letter "t" next to the letter "S" was half the size, common practice when they abbreviate words during that era.

ok, i'm done rambling. i just now realized being imprisoned in my house for weeks will do this to me. thanks for looking. i figure this would make a good discussion post while we're pretty much homebound.

[Marbel]

Now THAT’s a cool piece. Wow. Thanks for sharing.

I feel like the scabbard is extra special as well.

Bravo to the maker(s) and owner(s).

[Ian]

I'll take the easy one to identify . The large coin with smaller (gold?) coin on top of it, and inscribed INDO-CHINE FRANCAISE 1897. This is a Colonial French bronze coin worth 1 centime (1896-1939). See here.

[Spunjer]

haha, thanks Ian! now i have to research where Indo-China was. would that be the modern day Vietnam?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

haha, thanks Ian! now i have to research where Indo-China was. would that be the modern day Vietnam?

Roughly what is now Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia.

[Ian]

The coin to the right of the French Indo-China coin is Spanish from the period of Ferdinand VII (reigned 1808-1833). The inscription reads: Ferd.VII D.G.Hisp. Et ind.R. It could be an Octavo (18 mm diameter) or Quarto(22 mm diameter). Both were made from copper. [Reference: http://papercoinage.weebly.com/spain...nes-coins.html]