Philippine-American War Dagger?
 

I purchased these daggers recently. They seem to have been made during the Philippine Revolution (1896-1898)/Philippine-American War (1899-1901) Era. One is 15 5/8" and the other is 16 1/4" long. Since they do not bear the symbols of the Katipunan (KKK) or the Republica Filipina, they are probably not from the armory of the KKK, revolutionary government or the First Philippine Republic. But, they may nonetheless have been used during those events.

Both are engraved 21 de Octubre de 19001 (1901?). One is also engraved with "Fylypyno" (Filipino) and the other with Jullyo (Jullio). The seller couldn't identify the hilt material but based on the photos, it looks like horn.

I suppose it was brought to the United States as souvenirs by a soldier who had served in the Philippine-America War. The blades were in Virginia and now in transit to Manila.

Below are the sellers photos. May I know your thoughts on these daggers please?

Kind regards,

Fernando

What a score!

These look a little Ilocano-ish, but Ian could better determine origin on these.

Congratulations and Maraming Salamat for posting. :D

Maraming salamat, Battara! I added some content to my original post.

Kind regards,

Fernando

Hi Fernando:

A nice pair of early 20th C knives. I agree with Jose that these are almost certainly Ilokano in origin. The symmetrical stiletto blade is a recognized Ilokano style, and the brass guard, brass ferrules and "finial" at the end of the hilt look fairly typical Ilokano work. The spirally grooved horn grip is also a well known Ilokano feature (although also found on knives from elsewhere in Luzon) and at one time would have had twisted wire (most likely brass or steel wire) in the grooves.

With regard to the inscriptions, the use of a "Y" instead of an "I" was not uncommon in the late 19th and early 20th C. Older maps show that Ilocos Norte was sometimes referred to as Ylokos Norte and I have seen "Ilokanos" written as "Ylokanos" also. I don't know how widespread this transliteration was in Luzon, but mention my observations only to indicate that it was a practice among Ilokanos at the time this knife was made.

The date of 21 October 1900 or 1901 is a bit puzzling. Perhaps you have access to better resources in Manila, but my rudimentary attempt to search online for some event in US-Philippine relations on those days came up with little. Perhaps the closest relevant events were the so-called Balangigo Massacre of September 28, 1901 and subsequent reprisals ordered by Brig. Gen. Smith on October 23, 1901. Smith's orders to exterminate the population of Samar were disobeyed by some of his officers and troops, but nevertheless a large number of Filipinos were executed in response to the earlier deaths of US soldiers. Smith and several officers were later court-martialed. The US response was one of several low points in the "pacification" of the Philippines during the early 20th C, and in some quarters it remains a lingering source of Filipino resentment towards the US.

I could find nothing of specific Ilokano significance associated with the possible dates. Overall, I think the inscriptions may reflect an author for whom English was unfamiliar, and who was perhaps not very well educated--the year on the inscription is shown as "19001."

Interesting pieces and I hope you can find out more about them.

Ian.

Hi Ian,

Thank you for your insights and for identifying the daggers as of Ilocano craftsmanship.

The other information you provided are all plausible. In light of what you said, may I just add the possibility that the daggers were crafted by an Ilocano blacksmith in the Visayas. Pockets of various ethnic groups have always been scattered across the archipelago. By the nineteenth century, the Ilocanos are particularly known to have reached distant places during their diaspora. Another possibility is that the daggers were brought to the Visayas either by the revolutionary forces or even just as a commodity of trade. Inter-island/inter-regional trading was common since the precolonial era.

On the use of "y" instead of "i" in the inscription, I've also seen old maps where the Philippine Islands is written as "Yslas Filipinas" instead of the more common "Islas Filipinas." Even the name of the bustling town of Ilo-ilo in the same region as Samar, is sometimes written as Ylo-ylo in some documents. It is however the first time I've seen it used in Fylypyno. Your point on the lack of education of the inscriber or the one who requested the inscription may account for this. 19001 may have been stated (verbally) as "nineteen hundred one" and thus the error. Such interesting possibilities!

Kind regards

Fernando

I agree completely. Ilokanos are a much traveled society, with longstanding communities in Taiwan, Hawaii and mainland U.S.A., as well as throughout the Philippines.

Interesting indeed! I look forward to hearing more about these knives.

Regards,

Ian

Here are two more examples of Ilokano knives with inscriptions where a "Y" is used in Ylocos."

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23479
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12923

Thanks for these links Ian!

I think I recently acquired the one presented in the first link. Could be a twin though. It is now in transit to Manila. I'll post pictures when I get it.

Kind regards,

Fernando

Nice find Fernando! Look forward to seeing the pics.

Ian.