vintage panabas for comment

[Pinoy Blade Hunter]

recently bought this panabas

blade length is 10 inches, handle is 14 inches bound with iron and brass

the end of the handle is bound with iron and looks like it has 2 wedges hammered in.

this may be a newer piece, but which decade maybe?
also, are there distinct characteristics which may tell the place of origin?

salamat

PBH

(also pictured, side by side with modern production of mountain province head axes. and also my growing moro collection)

[Ian]

Hello PBH:

I think what you have is a cousin of the panabas, what is called a tabas that is used mainly for agricultural purposes. I also have one of these smaller examples that is not very old. Even though it is obviously well made, I was told by a friend in Davao City that my example was a tool rather than a weapon.

As far as the age of yours, I would say late 20th C.--perhaps 20-30 years old or thereabouts. There is nothing really distinctive about the piece that would suggest its source of manufacture, but I would guess it is probably from Mindanao. Interesting file work on the end of the blade.

Ian.

[Pinoy Blade Hunter]

thank you for your insights, ian.

i thought this was the 'weapon' grade panabas. because there were other bigger panabas-type blades there but with bamboo handles and with wire wrapping. that to me looked more like agricultural implements.

i guess i was wrong.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Pinoy Blade Hunter

... i thought this was the 'weapon' grade panabas. because there were other bigger panabas-type blades there but with bamboo handles and with wire wrapping. that to me looked more like agricultural implements. ...

The usual weapon forms are indeed quite large and often heavy. In combat they were often a "mopping up" weapon used to dispatch wounded enemy. They could also be used as "heavy assault" weapons but the weight of some of these would prohibit "dueling" unless the person was extremely strong and skilled. There are lighter combat versions too. The double-edged padsumbalim variant usually has a lighter blade and might serve hand-to-hand combat better.

Panabas were also used for ceremonial and execution purposes, and for administering harsh penalties such as the removal of a hand for convicted thieves, although I think these uses have been somewhat over stated and relate mainly to practices prior to WWII.

Ian.

[ACP]

Very nice panabas indeed. Off topic, but the keris you have at the topmost portion of the picture without a hilt, does that not look indonesian to you?

Sure looks like an indonesian keris to me

[Battara]

ACP, you make a good observation.

The earlier back in time, the more Moro kris blades look Indonesian, until you get to the mid to late 1700s where a Moro kris blade is hard to distinguish from a large Indonesian kris (though there are markers).

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by ACP

Off topic, but the keris you have at the topmost portion of the picture without a hilt, does that not look indonesian to you?

Sure looks like an indonesian keris to me

Yes, Jose is correct what he has stated but the single kris blade is a very old Moro blade. Like Jose said, they look a little bit Indonesian, by this you can see from where the Moro kris has it's roots.

Regards,
Detlef

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Ian

The usual weapon forms are indeed quite large and often heavy. In combat they were often a "mopping up" weapon used to dispatch wounded enemy. They could also be used as "heavy assault" weapons but the weight of some of these would prohibit "dueling" unless the person was extremely strong and skilled. There are lighter combat versions too. The double-edged padsumbalim variant usually has a lighter blade and might serve hand-to-hand combat better.

Panabas were also used for ceremonial and execution purposes, and for administering harsh penalties such as the removal of a hand for convicted thieves, although I think these uses have been somewhat over stated and relate mainly to practices prior to WWII.

Ian.

Hi Ian, hope you won't mind me digging up an old thread. My BangsaMoro friends- to be precise, a Tausug, a Yakan, and a Maguindanaoan- have all disputed the pervasive definition of the panabas as a "mopping up" weapon used to dispatch wounded enemies. Some definitions even go as far as to claim that women and children did this task- a very false claim, because imagine- how would women and children be able to carry such a heavy weapon into the battlefield?

My sources believe- as do I- that the 'battle' panabas was a strictly ceremonial and execution weapon, and not at all brought to the battlefield. From what I've studied of Moro Fighting Arts (MFA) and my handling of a small sample of modern and antique BangsaMoro weapons, there would be no 'mopping up' necessary. The main battle blades- kampilan, barung, kris, pira, etc- are already capable of decapitating or maiming enemies in one strike.

Oh, and nice panabas. I hope to get a modern version one of these days; I heard there are traditional smiths in Maguindanao who are still up to the task. The problem is accessibility, as they are located within a perennial warzone.

[Ian]

Hi xasterix:

Thanks for the interesting thoughts and information from your sources. As far as panabas used as weapons on the battlefield, I seem to recall that Captain Pershing's expeditions in the Lake Lanao region during the early 1900s reported the use of the panabas on the battlefield, and may have collected examples as battlefield pickups. I will try to find the reports of those expeditions. I think related materials were deposited with the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Krieger's publication by the Smithsonian (see elsewhere on this site for the figures/plates from that publication) might show some of the Pershing collection.

In support of the panabas as a battlefield weapon, I own a plain example with an old blade guard made from a grooved length of carved wood about an inch wide running the length of the cutting edge, that is held in place by a narrow piece of cloth wrapped around the blade and guard several times. This arrangement seems designed for transporting the panabas rather than using it for ceremonial or judicial purposes. Occasional wooden sheaths made of two pieces of wood held together by light rattan strips are also found. The main function of sheaths/scabbards are to facilitate transportation of the weapon. I have also heard from contacts in Mindanao that the panabas was carried into battle wrapped in cloth—however, my contacts were not Moros.

The padsumbalin panabas seems particularly well suited for combat, often being double-edged. I have a couple of these that are lighter than most other versions of the panabas.

Use of the panabas as a "mop-up" weapon has been reported, notably by Robert Cato in his book Moro Weapons, and others have made similar comments. However, I don't know of an historical reference to support that function. As you note, swords would have been equally effective. My earlier comment about its use as a "mop-up" weapon was based on these sources, but I have no hard evidence to support that use.

Ian

Originally Posted by xasterix

Hi Ian, hope you won't mind me digging up an old thread. My BangsaMoro friends- to be precise, a Tausug, a Yakan, and a Maguindanaoan- have all disputed the pervasive definition of the panabas as a "mopping up" weapon used to dispatch wounded enemies. Some definitions even go as far as to claim that women and children did this task- a very false claim, because imagine- how would women and children be able to carry such a heavy weapon into the battlefield?

My sources believe- as do I- that the 'battle' panabas was a strictly ceremonial and execution weapon, and not at all brought to the battlefield. From what I've studied of Moro Fighting Arts (MFA) and my handling of a small sample of modern and antique BangsaMoro weapons, there would be no 'mopping up' necessary. The main battle blades- kampilan, barung, kris, pira, etc- are already capable of decapitating or maiming enemies in one strike.

Oh, and nice panabas. I hope to get a modern version one of these days; I heard there are traditional smiths in Maguindanao who are still up to the task. The problem is accessibility, as they are located within a perennial warzone.