Origin of the Kalinga Axe

[Nonoy Tan]

Thank you for all that enlightening information!

I also did a bit of research this weekend and came up with the following:


1. An 1876 painting by P. Benigno Fernandez show a man with a head-axe (image herewith).

2. The Charles Wilkes Expedition of 1838-1842 gathered thousands of specimens from several countries, which included several “head axes” from the Luzon Cordillera, Philippines. They are currently stored at the US National Museum (Smithsonian Institution).

3. “Informe sabre el Estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842” written by Sinibaldo de Mas mentions the “Aliua” – the term which appears in Spanish records to refer to the head-axe (also sometimes “Aliwa” or “Ligua”).

4. “Vingt annees aux Philippines” (1853) by Paul P. de la Gironiere, illustrates the head-axe.

5. An English transation of “Noticias de los Infieles Igorrotes en lo interior de la Isla de Manila” (an 1789 manuscript by Francisco Antolin) mentions the axe. I have not read the original text, however. Thus, this evidence needs confirmation when I have verified the translation.