Kris - Sulu or Mindanao?
 

Dear All,

for comments a kris. According to Cato (https://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showt...5950&highlight)
it would be from Mindanao. With blade length of 53 cm, that sheath and "Greneng" it feels kind of "suluish".

Wraps on hilt and sheath have been renewed by one of its previous owners, and coated with shellac.

What do you think?

I vote Sulu sir.

Hi Gustav,

Good question! As you note, there are suggestions of both Sulu and Maguindanao influence. Hard to say which culture made and used it. I would place this blade as late 19th C manufacture, with some updates to the wraps on the hilt and scabbard.

Xasterix, Ian,

thank you very much for your responses!

What are the possibilities to explain such "cross cultural" pieces in your opinion?

- a certain ethnic group?

- perhaps an older style from Mindanao, still closer to Sulu?

- something else?

Just like its cousin the keris... Moro kris and kalis have long service lifetimes... a lot of adventures, passed down through different hands, different circumstances, different places, different eras... so mixed signatures aren't really that uncommon :)

Xasterix, thank you oncemore.

I would say the blade is Maguindanao according to the front of the ganga compared to other pieces from that tribe that have the same thing.

Now this scabbard style was used by both Sulu and Maguindanao.

Thanks Xas. I agree completely about mixed signatures.

As a somewhat related side note, there have also been "adoptions" of Moro swords by Lumad and other Mindanao groups that add to the mix of kris and kalis presentations. With regard to these Lumad adoptions, in my experience most of the blades seem to have Maguindanao characteristics. In addition, the blades are usually slimmer, shorter and lighter than the Maguindanao battle kris of the late 19th C, which were often bulkier than earlier forms. I have wondered whether there was a deliberate divestment of some of the older Maguindanao kris through trade to the Lumad groups, but have found no evidence for such a concerted effort. It would make an interesting research study to examine the trade in weapons from Moro to Lumad groups, and vice versa.

I have been told by long term residents of Mindanao that intermarriage between Moro and Lumad groups was relatively common pre-WWII, but perhaps less frequent since the mid-20th C, possibly related to the rise in Muslim activism among the Bangsamoro peoples (who include the original non-Muslim, indio native groups of Mindanao of which the Lumad are members). My informants live in Davao City and travel to Cotobato City on a monthly basis for business reasons.