Africans or dayak bronze hilted swords ?

Ian · 6th December 2023, 05:14 AM

Hello Marius,

As David has noted, these are from the southern Philippines. More specifically, they both come from the T'boli people of Cotobato Province in Mindanao. They are neighbors to several Lumad tribes (including the Bagobo and B'laan) as well as Maguindanao Muslims.

Your example with the knuckle guard is probably of relatively recent manufacture, post-1970, while the other one is likely older. The scabbards are of typical T'boli shape; many have incised carvings of geometric shapes and are often wrapped in ikat (patterned woven fabric) for which the T'boli are famous.

There are others on this forum who specialize in T'boli cultural artifacts and can give you more detailed information. You will find more about your swords by searching this Forum for other threads related to them. The T"boli call these swords tok or kafilan. The blades of these swords are generally very well forged, with good temper and hardened edge. You can see evidence of edge hardening in your pictures.

These swords have some market value, so you may have made a good deal. Although we don't dicuss prices on the forum, you may PM people to gauge their current value.

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6th December 2023, 05:14 AM	#3
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	Hello Marius, As David has noted, these are from the southern Philippines. More specifically, they both come from the T'boli people of Cotobato Province in Mindanao. They are neighbors to several Lumad tribes (including the Bagobo and B'laan) as well as Maguindanao Muslims. Your example with the knuckle guard is probably of relatively recent manufacture, post-1970, while the other one is likely older. The scabbards are of typical T'boli shape; many have incised carvings of geometric shapes and are often wrapped in ikat (patterned woven fabric) for which the T'boli are famous. There are others on this forum who specialize in T'boli cultural artifacts and can give you more detailed information. You will find more about your swords by searching this Forum for other threads related to them. The T"boli call these swords tok or kafilan. The blades of these swords are generally very well forged, with good temper and hardened edge. You can see evidence of edge hardening in your pictures. These swords have some market value, so you may have made a good deal. Although we don't dicuss prices on the forum, you may PM people to gauge their current value.