Unknown Moro sword

[kino]

Originally Posted by xasterix

Hi Detlef,

The pommel matches Maranao signatures. These are usually found leaf-shaped blades that are also called 'keping' (these blades have often been dressed up and mistaken for barungs. In many cases the dressing up is deliberate, so that the tourists will buy kepings, thinking that they're barungs). I'm guessing this piece was assembled in Tugaya, which has always been a source for curios and hybrids. Tugaya artisans also loved adding handguards (like the one in your sample) and re-using scabbards from other places such as Sulu. There are even cases where Visayan and Luzon blades (or hilts) were married to a Moro dress (or blade). I believe your piece is a hybrid of a blade either copied or sourced from another region, then married with a hilt that has the grip of Sulu and the pommel of a keping, plus a Sulu-flavor scabbard.

I was wondering why the this swords scabbard says “Made in Lanao”

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by kino

I was wondering why the this swords scabbard says “Made in Lanao”

Nice piece, and it's neat that they put the provenance! This indicates that it was likely made in Tugaya (it's located in Lanao del Sur).

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by kino

I was wondering why the this swords scabbard says “Made in Lanao”

When I unstand it correctly is this nice sword from Albert as well a keking?

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Sajen

When I unstand it correctly is this nice sword from Albert as well a keking?

That's right sir, it's a "keping." In Jacinto (1892) defined keping as "leaf" in his landmark work Diccionario Moro-Maguindanao-Español. My Mindanao-based contacts say it's simply a leaf bolo. Originally, kepings had simple hilts, but most were re-hilted started from the 1920s up to present time for the tourist trade, so that they could impersonate Sulu barungs. The laminated ones are older samples (I'm guessing pre-WW2, probably even pre-1900 for some), but even these were re-hilted and scabbarded for added bling and to better mimic barungs.

The original purpose of kepings was to serve as bolos (unlike the barung, which was an exclusive fighting blade- the Sulu-based Moros had other blades for bolo work).