Moro Axe Panabas

[scratch]

G'day
I thought some members may be interested in this piece.

Cheers,

Daniel

[Rick]

Congratulations !
You have one of the rarest forms of Panabas .

[Gavin Nugent]

Very nice and a strong raw weapon Scratch, congrats on a great find!!!

The twist rattan wrap pictured, does it denote anything in particular?

Originally Posted by Rick

Congratulations !
You have one of the rarest forms of Panabas .

Make that two of the rarest...I do hope the other is shared in time too...


Gav

[Rick]

Funny, the curve in the spine seems purpose made .

Those marks on the spine are from use; not decoration, correct ?

[KuKulzA28]

never seen one of those, great find scratch!

[dennee]

The blade's curve could be intended to keep the hand away from the work---as with the handle of a broad ax (also with a beveled edge) used for hewing timber.

[wilked aka Khun Deng]

Rick or scratch,
Could you elaborate on the "rarest" comment. I'm unfamiliar with any panabas in this profile?

Dan

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by wilked aka Khun Deng

Rick or scratch,
Could you elaborate on the "rarest" comment. I'm unfamiliar with any panabas in this profile?

Dan

Hi Dan,

My Cato book is on loan at the moment but he notes this form in his book, someone should be able to site the images and passage in the book.

Gav

[G. McCormack]

Lovely piece!

The bend in the blade does not look intentional, but rather a result of use, just like the scars on the spine that come from hammering- as you might when using this to split wood. I'm sure the first owner more than once straightened the blade under his foot. This doesn't come across as a hewing tool.

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by G. McCormack

Lovely piece!

The bend in the blade does not look intentional, but rather a result of use, just like the scars on the spine that come from hammering- as you might when using this to split wood. I'm sure the first owner more than once straightened the blade under his foot. This doesn't come across as a hewing tool.

I'd bet a hundred there is no straightening this blade under foot, between floor boards or any other method. I'd be interested in hearing what the owner has to say though.
I'd be interested in knowing more of the measurements too.

Gav

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by wilked aka Khun Deng

Rick or scratch, Could you elaborate on the "rarest" comment. I'm unfamiliar with any panabas in this profile? Dan

Dan, at the Hayes Museum, there's a similar panabas with this description:

Object Name: Ax
Other Name: Panabas
Catalog Number: 1934.706.1

Description: hand-held ax (often refered to as a borong); leaf-shaped blade, thickens on top and narrows towards bottom, and is heavy; handle is wood and has numerous rinds carved into it from middle to top; bottom half is split down the middle (by design) to accommodate the hidden hilt of the blade and held together by four metal bands, one corroded silver and the three botttom ones brass; end cap has ”WP 54” written in black ink; top part of handle side has unreadable marking sticker;

Date: 1900
Dimensions: L - 20.866 inches
Material: wood; metal;
Event: Philippine Insurrection

Provenance: Panabas brought back from the Philippines by Webb C. Hayes

Notes: # 6 in display case; part of a collection of weapons and assorted items Webb C Hayes brought back from the Philippines. According to Ron Zambarrona [Zambarrano], a collector and historian of Moro weapons, this is a rarest form of a Panabas, a smaller version, which is often mistaken for an ax.

Collection: Webb Cook Hayes

The panabas below as described above also appeared in this thread.

[Maurice]

Originally Posted by freebooter

Hi Dan,

My Cato book is on loan at the moment but he notes this form in his book, someone should be able to site the images and passage in the book.

Gav

Cato page 91.
Photo 56

[Lew]

Nice example but IMO this is more a Agricultural tool for field work of food preparation and not a true panabas

Lew

[Rick]

Hi Lew, I could agree with you .
The only thing that puts me off the tool idea is the blade profile; it looks inefficient for field work .

We can see the abuse the spine has suffered so I'm sure it was used as a tool at some point .

On the other hand; for melee combat it would make a great slashing chopper; not to mention that point .

[Lew]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hi Lew, I could agree with you .
The only thing that puts me off the tool idea is the blade profile; it looks inefficient for field work .

We can see the abuse the spine has suffered so I'm sure it was used as a tool at some point .

On the other hand; for melee combat it would make a great slashing chopper; not to mention that point .

Rick

I really don't think this is a melee weapon the blade is quite thin and it does not much of a reach. The damage to the spine is from batoning probably used it to pound the blade through rattan or some other woody/fiberous material. I can just see the face on the owner on this piece when he confronts another Moro warrior charging at him with a long kris or kampilan.

[scratch]

G'day
I hope this piece continues to generate discussion.
Thank you to all for their communication and contribution.
It would do this piece and its maker a disservice to consider it as tool primarily,I think, although it certainly could have been used as such. Not to imply that an agricultural tool is any less valid of course. Perhaps this piece and other weapons also have their origin in agrarian function?
What parameters does one use to establish whether this a "true" panabas?
In the hands of a Moro warrior committed to death it would be a formidable weapon I think.

Measures
Overall lenght:25 in.
Blade length: 12 1/4 in.
Weight: 2 lb 7 oz.
To my eye Handle is made of bamboo root like good kachin daos.

The double beveled edge creates a thickness at cut zone as "thin" as many of my kukris and thicker than my barong example.
Blade has lateral strength to pry floorboards open/wider without taking a set as suggested. I believe the curve to be forged. I t does not flex easily. I would not subject my barong to this level of stress.
Dings in spine could have come through forceful blows against stationary metal object,I think, or forged purposefully? I tend to agree with Rick that abuse of some kind is likely.
Maurice and Migueldiaz, Thank you for your references as I can find little else published on these items.

Regarding rattan knot am I correct in thinking that mandaus have similiar?

Best regards to all,

Daniel

[Lew]

Scratch

Panabas were originally used as axes and for chopping wood and was put into use as a weapon in a pinch. I have seen photos of Moros carrying kampilans,barungs and kris and the only photo of a panabas I have seen was used to lop off heads for executions.

Lew

[Gavin Nugent]

To those learned gents on Moro Panabas, does the curved notch cut outs top and bottom at the forte indicated a true panabas as I have seen this notching on other high end panabas???
The length is very capable looking at it, longer than a Katchin Dao and nearly as long as a Kora...I'd like to hear more.

Gav

[Battara]

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

I have seen photos of Moros carrying kampilans,barungs and kris and the only photo of a panabas I have seen was used to lop off heads for executions.
Lew

I have been a little quiet on this post. Regarding pictures, I have seen a couple, not many. Yes they were more the execution types not this type.

[Robert]

I wish that I could claim to be the new owner of this exceptional piece and even though I cannot, I felt the need to resurrect this older thread to add these photos to our archives of this rare form of panabas. I am hoping that it was one of our forum members who has given this beautiful piece a new home and that after it has arrived and they have had the chance to give it a bit of TLC they will post more information as well as better quality photos showing the details much better than these auction photos do. My congratulations to whoever it might be that has had the good fortune to have won this beautiful piece.

Best,
Robert

[kronckew]

Nice! That definitely does NOT look like a tool.

[David]

Originally Posted by kronckew

Nice! That definitely does NOT look like a tool.

That is exactly what i was thinking as i scrolled down the photos Wayne. This one, at least, does not appear to be meant for agricultural use.

[Battara]

So you beat me out on this!.............I mean...............er.............great panabas!

And this looks like it belonged to a well respected/higher status warrior!

Congratulations!

[Robert]

Originally Posted by kronckew Nice! That definitely does NOT look like a tool.

Originally Posted by kronckew That is exactly what i was thinking as i scrolled down the photos Wayne. This one, at least, does not appear to be meant for agricultural use.

Yes, this one and the one that Migueldiaz pointed out in this link http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=10566 are the only ones so far that look as if they were never meant for splitting cocoanuts but heads instead. I have attached the photos from the Hayes Museum below for convenience.

Originally Posted by Jose So you beat me out on this!.............I mean...............er.............great panabas!

As I said in my first posting, I "WISH" I could say that I was the winner, but unfortunately I am not Believe me, if I had won this wonderful piece everyone would know.


Best,
Robert

[Battara]

Um........right.........I missed that............

Anyway, I noticed the silver okir inlays into the blade and the bronze okir bands - not seen these in your usual panabas. I was hoping to make the end cap/ring if I got it.