9th December 2023, 07:28 AM | #1 |
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PIRA
Hello Friends,
A gift from my father. Said to be one of the rarest form of the Moro pira/swords. The horn hilt- in the shape of a cockatoo's head(pommel) with a long pommel extension. (brass ferrule). Scabbard: the upper part which forms as a lock(see pic). With some engravings and made of wood (unknown). OAL: 37.25" (to the tip of the elongated pommel)/ Blade: 19.25" My father said that it took him 47 years to find one in this form. A very Merry Christmas to all! Salud, Yves |
10th December 2023, 12:45 AM | #2 |
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Yves,
I'm not sure whether you are saying that pira are rare or the hilt style on this particular example is rare. I have a few pira and some seem to have a similar hilt style as yours. They are shown here with some other swords in my collection that are not relevant to this discussion--these are just some pictures that I had on hand. Ian. . |
10th December 2023, 02:22 AM | #3 | |
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Pira
Quote:
I mean the hilt form/style. My father said that somewhere he read that this form/style(hilt) is the rarest. Well it took him awhile to get one. And he has been collecting Moro swords since 1976 (and my grandfather, who was in the US Army WW2, since 1946). Regards Yves |
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10th December 2023, 06:13 AM | #4 |
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I guess I agree on the hilt being rare, among recent samples, you will almost never see any pira that still has this type of hilt.
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10th December 2023, 11:25 AM | #5 |
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Hello,
What you have there is a 1920s or later Maranao rendition of the Yakan pira. The hilt is Maranao-made, same with the blade. The blade doesn't have distinct signatures of the original pre-1900 Yakan version (no delineated square/rectangular ricasso before the edge curves down, among other indicators). Furthermore, the hilt extension of your sample is already positioned in a way that it can be struck without the extension getting in the way of the wielding hand (the original pira has this distinct problem/feature). The Maranao copied the pre-1900 version, along with other Moro blades such as barung, because these were popular among American GIs. Hope that info helps! |
10th December 2023, 12:41 PM | #6 |
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Hi Xas,
Good to hear from you on the subject of pira. Interesting that the Maranao chose to produce "tourist" versions for American servicemen. I think my examples fall into the same category. The relationship between the U.S. military and the Maranao people was rather tense at times IIRC. For example, the U.S. punishment expeditions led by Pershing in the early 1900s were unfriendly engagements with the Maranao. So I'm a bit surprised that the Maranao were trading with U.S. servicemen a decade or two later. Also, IIRC, most of the U.S. military on Mindanao were located in and around Reina Regente, close to the HQ of Datu Piang in Cotobato during the period 1901–1925. Perhaps trade with the Maranao picked up closer to WWII and after. |
10th December 2023, 07:04 PM | #7 |
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Here is a Pira that went to Macao and is in the History of Steel catalogue.
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12th December 2023, 12:40 AM | #8 |
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Does the pommel stalk have a function (hooking maybe?) or is it decorative?
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13th December 2023, 02:02 AM | #9 | |
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Quote:
Obviously, the modern pommel versions tend to be exaggerated and non-functional. Regards, Kai |
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13th December 2023, 02:16 AM | #10 |
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Here are some more threads:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26922 http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=26593 |
13th December 2023, 06:30 PM | #11 |
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Interesting. I have noticed that with the kakatua pommel on my kalis that it prevents the wrist from overextending as I have attempted to show below using my amazing paint skills. Could that also be part of it?
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16th December 2023, 07:12 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
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19th December 2023, 11:20 AM | #13 |
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Here again my example.
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19th December 2023, 11:29 AM | #14 | |
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Quote:
That's only one indicator on the blade...there are others such as the orientation of the clip and tip as compared to the hilt axis and "tail," the curve trajectory of the edge, and if viewed from top, telltale signs from the spine. There is no such thing as a Maranao pira. Pira is a Sulu blade, among others, that was copied by Tugaya craftsmen starting 1920s until the 1990s. They also copied other blades such as Lumad, and even from Luzon and Visayan areas; sometimes they re-dressed legit Luzon and Visayan blades with fantastic dresses to make them 'exotic' to tourist eyes. I've personally taken apart a wide range of old Tugaya tourist products and I can assure you, most of them have no heat treatment or made of inferior metal and materials. Some even have nonexistent tangs and are just glued to the hilt cleverly. |
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24th December 2023, 12:39 AM | #15 |
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Here’s an older Pira that I got from a seller on eBay when I first started collecting.
This post actually had me think about doing a blade cleaning and etching to see what might be in the blade. Will post when I get done with the process. |
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