Interesting Philippine Sword

[drac2k]

I recently acquired this sword which is historically dated.It is an honest pre-WW2 blade, that even though it is 1945 dated, I believe it to be earlier.The scabbard is not in the traditional mode, but it fits the item perfectly and you can tell that it has had extensive use.
My question is, if I read this correctly to be the 73rd Regiment which served in Europe in WW2, it can not be correct;what am I missing ?

[Ian]

Drac,

That's an interesting sword! I think it is older than your estimate. The inscription is Spanish (note the superscript letters indicating gender) and reads:

Regimento 73
Secundo Batallon
Cuarta Compañia
45

In English:
Regiment 73
Second Battalion
Fourth Company
45

(The "45" may be the number of the individual to whom the knife was issued)


Thus, this piece dates from the Spanish Colonial period. I have seen similar inscriptions on military bolos from the late Spanish period (end of the 19th C). The inscription is written in a style favored in the 19th C. These were most likely distributed to native Filipino militia and police in the Spanish Colonial forces.

I posted another example with a similar inscription many years ago in the old UBB Forum. I'll see if I still have pictures.

This style of blade has several names. Xasterix can fill you in on all of them. Many examples were made in Central Luzon, where they were sometimes referred to as "katana" (as used by the Aeta/Negritos for a fighting knife), and also called a "tabac" when used in the tobacco industry of N. Luzon. A similar profile was made in Pampanga, and has another local name which I cannot find in my records.

I think this is an old traditional Filipino blade style that served a wide range of purposes, but used mainly as a good general purpose jungle knife.

The knife and scabbard are in good condition for their age. Nice find.

[drac2k]

Thanks Ian! I suspected that the knife was older than WW2, but the 45 I assumed to be 1945.I was totally clueless that this might be a Colonial Spanish Period item.

[drac2k]

You were correct Ian about the regiment being comprised of native troops;the 73rd Regiment had 2 battalions of Jolo people, stationed in Manila, and in the field in Luzon & Mindanao.
They participated in the first major action against the Spanish for independence in the Battle of San Juan del Monte also known as the Battle of Pinaglabanan.

[kronckew]

it's my understanding that the Spanish went thru a phase when they prohibited pointy blades & actually snapped the tips off natives blades when they caught them.

[Ian]

Wayne,

I don't know how widespread that was. In any case, that is not what happened here. These are Spanish-issued bolos of a recognized pattern that come with the blade as shown.