Interesting Lumad sword

[Ian]

... just finished on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=7320338615

This is a rare and well made saber that is not Moro in origin, although misidentified as such on eBay, but comes from the Kaolu (aka Kaolo, Tagakaolo) who are a Lumad tribe living near Davao City on the east coast of Mindanao. I own another one of these, but I do not know the local name for the sword.

Having handled two other examples apart from the one I have, the one that just finished on eBay is the best I have seen.

Ian.

Pictures of Kaolu Sword posted previously:

[Spunjer]

the one on ebay is definitely a beautiful piece ian. nice score!
btw, since zel is still(?) in mindanao, he might see this post and prolly ask around...

[capt.smash]

I had a last min snipe bid but i didnt go high enough[i suspect not nearly high enough ]....IMHO it went quite cheep.

[VVV]

Congratulations Ian!

Michael
aka testpilot15 (no 2 on the bidding list)

[Ian]

Originally Posted by VVV

Congratulations Ian!

Michael
aka testpilot15 (no 2 on the bidding list)

Thanks Michael. Sorry to beat out a fellow forumite. You have a good eye for quality. If I come to sell it some day, I'll give you first call.

Ian.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by capt.smash

....IMHO it went quite cheep.

Smashy, I don't really know how the market values Lumad swords these days. Some Bagobo and Mandaya swords seem to have taken off lately, but prices on other Lumad weapons remain depressed. Recently, we have seen a couple of nice Bagobo and Mandaya bolos in the $300-400 range and even a little higher. IMO I think the Kaolu sword that just sold on eBay is every bit as good as the better known Bagobo and Mandaya swords that sold for more in the last few months. Your comment may have a lot of truth.

I've been collecting Lumad swords for about ten years, mainly buying on trips to Manila and Davao City, plus a few items off eBay. Up until about three years ago it seems that very few people were interested in Lumad weapons. Good quality, older pieces were available for relatively little, and there was no real buying competition in the marketplace. Discussions here may have helped highlight these weapons, but the main influence has been the increased marketing of these swords out of Davao City as Moro weapons have become harder for dealers to find.

As Moro weapons become even more scarce (at least the older ones of better quality) we may see a further rise in popularity of the Lumad weapons. Certainly, there is an attempt to pass off some Lumad items as "Moro," but that may be partly a lack of knowledge rather than deliberate misinformation. A buyer needs to be careful and well informed about Lumad weapons to avoid making mistakes. I think knowledge has increased among collectors in recent years.

[Spunjer]

herein lies the proverbial catch-22. no one knows these types of weapon up until recently. the more enlightened ones among us tries to shed some light as to the what, who, when, where of these weapons and by doing that it really helps the rest of us newbies who are still learning as we go along. but everytime a "new" weapon is introduced, the collector in us wants to get a specimen of that certain type, now that we know what it is.

when i first got on this message board, it was because i would like to know more about what i have in my collection; i'm sure there are members here that started the same way. after a while as one's knowledge grew, it becomes more of an obsession, the 'i need one of those on my collection' syndrome.

so the question is, do we discuss these "unknown" swords and by doing so we learn about it, respect it, and have more appreciation of it, or do we just keep it to ourselves, therefore not drive up the price to new high level? a good example to this are the visayan weapons. actually, if you look at the pattern on ebay, it's mostly us, as in members of this forum, whose driving the price of these swords. catch-22, indeed...

[Ian]

Thanks Spunjer. I agree we have probably contributed to some of the changes in the market place by talking openly about uncommon or obscure weapons.

This is a decision that we each face. Some people choose one way, others another way. Personally, I favor spreading the knowledge around. I get as much, if not more, enjoyment from talking about these weapons with other interested collectors, than keeping information to myself so that I can accumulate another dozen cheap examples of a sword nobody else cares about or understands what it is.

There is probably a larger number of people who think otherwise. Some of them are probably lurking on this Forum as I write this. I don't have a problem with that. Making a profit from my collection is not a life goal -- if I was a dealer I might feel differently. More improtant to me is the sharing of knowledge, particularly in areas for which there is no handy reference book or accessible data.

This Forum is a great place to hang out and learn about ethnographic edged weapons -- I hope we all continue to share what we know without too much thought about who might be lurking or possibly competing for prized weapons.

Ian.