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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,732
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Sadly I wasn't able to win today this vintage Moro sword, I guess the same age as the kris I have posted recently.
But what is it? Who is able to enlighten me? ![]() ![]() |
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#2 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 999
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Odd shaped blade, doesn’t look Moro to me, although the hilt and scabbard does.
Would be nice to know it the blade is laminated or pattern welded. |
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#3 |
Keris forum moderator
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Nova Scotia
Posts: 7,100
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,732
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Hello Albert and David,
Thank you both for your comments! ![]() ![]() Someone wrote to me by mail that it could be a remounted Chinese blade. ![]() And again yes, on the pictures it looks like the blade could be laminated. I have never seen something similar and was very disappointed to get outbid. ![]() Regards, Detlef |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 640
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Hi Detlef,
The pommel matches Maranao signatures. These are usually found leaf-shaped blades that are also called 'keping' (these blades have often been dressed up and mistaken for barungs. In many cases the dressing up is deliberate, so that the tourists will buy kepings, thinking that they're barungs). I'm guessing this piece was assembled in Tugaya, which has always been a source for curios and hybrids. Tugaya artisans also loved adding handguards (like the one in your sample) and re-using scabbards from other places such as Sulu. There are even cases where Visayan and Luzon blades (or hilts) were married to a Moro dress (or blade). I believe your piece is a hybrid of a blade either copied or sourced from another region, then married with a hilt that has the grip of Sulu and the pommel of a keping, plus a Sulu-flavor scabbard. Last edited by xasterix; 24th May 2022 at 01:32 AM. |
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#6 |
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 640
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Since the next question would be- what would a keping look like? Here are a few samples I've come across. They were ID'd by a museum curator in Cagayan de Oro who has worked extensively with Maranao, Maguindanao, and Lumad tribes for over a decade.
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#7 | |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Germany, Dortmund
Posts: 8,732
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![]() Quote:
Thank you very much for your great expertise! ![]() Best regards, Detlef |
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#8 | |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 999
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#9 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 476
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Hi All,
I have two short swords that, prior to this post, I always thought were barong variants. The top sword looks to have some age to it and may be pre WWII but the bottom sword is certainly post WWII. So, I have four questions. 1: Are these two swords actually keping and not barongs? 2: What does keping mean? 3: Why was a sword so similar to a barong developed in the first place? 4: What are the style queues that would identify a sword as a keping and not a Barong? Sincerely, RobT |
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#10 | |
Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 640
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1. Yes, those are both kepings. 2. It means 'leaf' in the Maguindanaon language. 3. The distinction is that keping was a leaf-shaped bolo used in the Mindanao area (Maranao, Maguindanao, several Lumad tribes), while barung is an exclusive fighting blade used in the Sulu area (Tausug, Sama, Yakan tribes). 4. The blade shape is kinda difficult to explain, but once one has seen hundreds of barungs, one will notice that the keping profile is different. The dress cues are easier to identify: the pommel is different and often flashier, has a smaller grip, the ferrule is fancier, the scabbard is different than that of Sulu barungs'. |
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#11 |
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 640
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"Keping" is pretty much a catch-all term for all Maguindanao/Maranao blades that are leaf-shaped. Some don't look like wide leaf; others are slender and may have clipped points. Here are other examples that are also considered as kepings.
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#12 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 476
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xasterix,
Thanks for answering my questions. I have a few more suspected kepings that I will post in a separate thread. Perhaps you can confirm their status one way or another. Sincerely, RobT |
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#13 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Greenville, NC
Posts: 1,855
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Detlef,
I love the look of the sword you originally showed us in the thread. It's so practical. I am just guessing at some Chinese influence, especially with the guard. I think there are many Moro variations and custom-made swords out there. This thread has some nice examples of just that. I really enjoy looking at pieces that deviate from the norm! Great catch on your part! Congrats! |
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