The Philip Tom article on the Paiwan swords

KuKulzA28 · 6th May 2010, 02:57 PM

I'm glad you posted this up yuanzhumin! If Atayal traditional blades aren't well known then the Paiwanese ones are even less well known. Hopefully I can get my hands on a quality piece someday...

"Despite their rather crude finish, the blades examined for this article appear to have been heat treated with considerable skill."

I am wondering, what is the history of aboriginal metal-working? Some say there was no metal-working before the arrival of Chinese and then Japanese... and yet there is evidence of metal working long before... were headhunting knives weapons that only appeared within the last 300-400 years? If so, how come aboriginal knives have so many similarities with Dyak and "Igorot" blades?

yuanzhumin · 7th May 2010, 11:25 AM

Kukulza, I sincerely hope you'll find a quality Paiwan knife one day. They are rare and like what is rare, they have a price. The challenge is first to find one, a good one, and then to be able to finance the buying -- not an easy task !
Yes, good question concerning iron making. The iron making was known in the island long ago, but it seems that mysteriously the tradition was lost !!? Then came the barter for blades with the non aboriginal settlers ! In this case, there are more questions than answers. The question is the same with pottery making and jade crafting : these techniques were known and mastered early in the island and exported to the whole Asia and Pacific, but then they were forgotten in the island itself -- only few groups were still able to do their own pottery in the 19th cent. Most of the other groups used pottery that was passed from generation to generation or obtained through barter. Why ?

varta · 16th May 2012, 05:24 PM

Fortunately, I dragged a picture from this article for my documentation, before the article disappeared.
I suppose these knives were part of his collection.

Jim McDougall · 16th May 2012, 05:32 PM

Thank you so much for posting this gentlemen! While not in my particular field of study I am always grateful and impressed when any material on these most esoteric subjects is shared and preserved. I never know where my interests will go next, nor when, so thankfully such material will be at hand in such time and Im sure many others feel the same. Also it is good to see that the work and legacy of such a gentlemanly scholar is carefully saved for us.
Nicely done, thanks again,
Jim

varta · 17th August 2012, 03:48 PM

Knives of the Taiwan Aborigines

collection of Sherrod V. Anderson &/or Philip Tom?

varta · 14th June 2014, 11:11 AM

the second knife from bottom on the first picture; inlayed shell.

varta · 14th June 2014, 12:11 PM

the long one

Sajen · 14th June 2014, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by varta

the second knife from bottom on the first picture; inlayed shell.

Very, very nice!

6th May 2010, 02:57 PM	#1
KuKulzA28 Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: between work and sleep Posts: 731	I'm glad you posted this up yuanzhumin! If Atayal traditional blades aren't well known then the Paiwanese ones are even less well known. Hopefully I can get my hands on a quality piece someday... "Despite their rather crude finish, the blades examined for this article appear to have been heat treated with considerable skill." I am wondering, what is the history of aboriginal metal-working? Some say there was no metal-working before the arrival of Chinese and then Japanese... and yet there is evidence of metal working long before... were headhunting knives weapons that only appeared within the last 300-400 years? If so, how come aboriginal knives have so many similarities with Dyak and "Igorot" blades?

16th May 2012, 05:24 PM	#3
varta Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Berlin-Paris Posts: 37	missing picture Fortunately, I dragged a picture from this article for my documentation, before the article disappeared. I suppose these knives were part of his collection. Attached Images

17th August 2012, 03:48 PM	#5
varta Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Berlin-Paris Posts: 37	Some more small pictures from Anderson and Tom's article Knives of the Taiwan Aborigines collection of Sherrod V. Anderson &/or Philip Tom? Attached Images

14th June 2014, 11:11 AM	#6
varta Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Berlin-Paris Posts: 37	details the second knife from bottom on the first picture; inlayed shell. Attached Images Last edited by varta; 14th June 2014 at 12:42 PM.

14th June 2014, 12:11 PM	#7
varta Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Berlin-Paris Posts: 37	details the long one Attached Images Last edited by varta; 14th June 2014 at 12:40 PM.

7th May 2010, 11:25 AM	#2
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Kukulza, I sincerely hope you'll find a quality Paiwan knife one day. They are rare and like what is rare, they have a price. The challenge is first to find one, a good one, and then to be able to finance the buying -- not an easy task ! Yes, good question concerning iron making. The iron making was known in the island long ago, but it seems that mysteriously the tradition was lost !!? Then came the barter for blades with the non aboriginal settlers ! In this case, there are more questions than answers. The question is the same with pottery making and jade crafting : these techniques were known and mastered early in the island and exported to the whole Asia and Pacific, but then they were forgotten in the island itself -- only few groups were still able to do their own pottery in the 19th cent. Most of the other groups used pottery that was passed from generation to generation or obtained through barter. Why ?

16th May 2012, 05:32 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Thank you so much for posting this gentlemen! While not in my particular field of study I am always grateful and impressed when any material on these most esoteric subjects is shared and preserved. I never know where my interests will go next, nor when, so thankfully such material will be at hand in such time and Im sure many others feel the same. Also it is good to see that the work and legacy of such a gentlemanly scholar is carefully saved for us. Nicely done, thanks again, Jim