Names of north Luzon blades

migueldiaz · 15th July 2010, 06:19 AM

This pertains to the blades of north Luzon, specifically the Ilocos region.

We see the region's blades often, and we just call them by generic names. I've stumbled upon a book [Tawid: The Living Treasures of Ilocos Sur, 2010], that gives them their names, in the local Ilocano dialect:

kinakandon: a blade which form was inspired by the palay (rice plant) leaf => am still getting a photo of this blade

ganado: "has a rounded blade end and slightly arched body and is used for cutting tree branches"

innigat: "has rounded blade end akin to the shape of an eel's head and is used for clearing field grasses and shrubs"

linipit: hilt has a twirl design

minanabo: "has a straight back edge and slightly curving blade but pointed end and is used for cutting meat and butchering animals"

sinan-babbai or sinan-gabrielasilang or gabriela: the hilt has a woman figure with a native hemispherical hat; by the way, 'Gabriela' or 'Gabriela Silang' refers to the famous 18th century Ilocos heroine

sinan-bukelbukel - hilt has circular or spherical elements in the design

sinan-kapitan or Antonio Luna: the hilt has a human head figure, with an officer's cap; Antonio Luna is a Philippine Revolution hero incidentally

sinan-paddak: hilt has a horse or carabo hoof design (at the pommel)

sinan-sabong: hilt has a partially-open flower design (at the pommel) => this is probably the most often-seen hilt form among Luzon blades

sinan-tattao: generic name for a blade where the pommel is made in the likeness of a human being (would thus include the sinan-babbai and sinan-kapitan swords)

sinan-tutot: "is long with a 2.5 inch-body that tapers into a sharply pointed end and is also used for cutting meat but usually carried in a belt as weapon against venomous snakes"

A page from the book is below, together with pics of some of the above blades.

ThePepperSkull · 16th August 2010, 03:43 AM

very interesting, sir!

I was not aware the nomenclaure for these blades were so comprehensive as they are.

Gavin Nugent · 16th August 2010, 10:19 AM

Lorenz,

Your dedication and tenacity shown in building a world class reference site as you have done and your continuous and informative input about weapons of the Philippines in these pages are an absolute credit to you.

Best regards

Gavin

migueldiaz · 16th August 2010, 04:23 PM

Thanks, Gav!

The site continues to be a work-in-progress. As for the content, from time to time I refer to EAAF. Thus credit is also due EAAF. Finally just for everybody's info I write in Filipino in there, because my target audience is primarily my countrymen, most of which are not familiar with their rich martial and edged weapons heritage. Let's see if I can get more of them to get interested in our traditional arms.

Thanks again

15th July 2010, 06:19 AM	#1
migueldiaz Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manila, Phils. Posts: 1,042	Names of north Luzon blades This pertains to the blades of north Luzon, specifically the Ilocos region. We see the region's blades often, and we just call them by generic names. I've stumbled upon a book [Tawid: The Living Treasures of Ilocos Sur, 2010], that gives them their names, in the local Ilocano dialect: kinakandon: a blade which form was inspired by the palay (rice plant) leaf => am still getting a photo of this blade ganado: "has a rounded blade end and slightly arched body and is used for cutting tree branches" innigat: "has rounded blade end akin to the shape of an eel's head and is used for clearing field grasses and shrubs" linipit: hilt has a twirl design minanabo: "has a straight back edge and slightly curving blade but pointed end and is used for cutting meat and butchering animals" sinan-babbai or sinan-gabrielasilang or gabriela: the hilt has a woman figure with a native hemispherical hat; by the way, 'Gabriela' or 'Gabriela Silang' refers to the famous 18th century Ilocos heroine sinan-bukelbukel - hilt has circular or spherical elements in the design sinan-kapitan or Antonio Luna: the hilt has a human head figure, with an officer's cap; Antonio Luna is a Philippine Revolution hero incidentally sinan-paddak: hilt has a horse or carabo hoof design (at the pommel) sinan-sabong: hilt has a partially-open flower design (at the pommel) => this is probably the most often-seen hilt form among Luzon blades sinan-tattao: generic name for a blade where the pommel is made in the likeness of a human being (would thus include the sinan-babbai and sinan-kapitan swords) sinan-tutot: "is long with a 2.5 inch-body that tapers into a sharply pointed end and is also used for cutting meat but usually carried in a belt as weapon against venomous snakes" A page from the book is below, together with pics of some of the above blades. Attached Images

16th August 2010, 10:19 AM	#3
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Dedication Lorenz, Your dedication and tenacity shown in building a world class reference site as you have done and your continuous and informative input about weapons of the Philippines in these pages are an absolute credit to you. Best regards Gavin

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16th August 2010, 03:43 AM	#2
ThePepperSkull Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 338	very interesting, sir! I was not aware the nomenclaure for these blades were so comprehensive as they are.

16th August 2010, 04:23 PM	#4
migueldiaz Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Manila, Phils. Posts: 1,042	Thanks, Gav! The site continues to be a work-in-progress. As for the content, from time to time I refer to EAAF. Thus credit is also due EAAF. Finally just for everybody's info I write in Filipino in there, because my target audience is primarily my countrymen, most of which are not familiar with their rich martial and edged weapons heritage. Let's see if I can get more of them to get interested in our traditional arms. Thanks again