budiak?

[tanaruz]

Hello,

This came to us yesterday. The seller is from Bacolod (Negros Occidental). Part of his father's collection.

OAL: 11.5 inches/ blade: 8 inches. The collar, in my opinion, is a water 'gi' pipe.

This a budiak or a spear from the lumads in the province?

Question: how do I clean the blade (or better not to tamper with it)?

Kind regards

Yves

[Ian]

Hello Yves,

This appears to be a very old budiak. The surface oxidation looks well stabilized, at least judging from the color and apparent texture of the surface. If there is no active red rust on the surface, I would be inclined just to oil it, wrap in a rag dampened with oil, and leave it as it is. If there is active rust, then gentle removal with sandpaper or steel wool would be a good idea, then oil it.

Attempts to remove the dark oxidation would require some effort. Since the surface is pitted, an acidic de-rusting solution or gel might be an option. However, it really depends on what your intentions are. If you just want to preserve an old artifact, then a conservative (less aggressive) approach is the way to go IMHO.

Others here may well have a different perspective or recommendations.

[tanaruz]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hello Yves,

This appears to be a very old budiak. The surface oxidation looks well stabilized, at least judging from the color and apparent texture of the surface. If there is no active red rust on the surface, I would be inclined just to oil it, wrap in a rag dampened with oil, and leave it as it is. If there is active rust, then gentle removal with sandpaper or steel wool would be a good idea, then oil it.

Attempts to remove the dark oxidation would require some effort. Since the surface is pitted, an acidic de-rusting solution or gel might be an option. However, it really depends on what your intentions are. If you just want to preserve an old artifact, then a conservative (less aggressive) approach is the way to go IMHO.

Others here may well have a different perspective or recommendations.

Yes. that's what I'm gonna do in order to preserve this old artifact. :-)

[kai]

This spearhead certainly doesn't look Moro to me.

Regards,
Kai

[David]

Originally Posted by kai

This spearhead certainly doesn't look Moro to me.

Regards,
Kai

I feel the same and wonder, Ian, what about this spear lead you to identify it as a budiak? It doesn't have the any of the usual features i would expect to see on a Moro budiak.

[Ian]

Kai and David,

This is a spear(head) (budiak) and identified by Yves as a Lumad example from Negros Occidentale. I don't see any reference to a Moro origin in what Yves or I have written above. It appears to have a socketed head, which is clearly not of Moro constructioon. The leaf-shaped blade is generally consistent with Moro spear heads, as is the lenticular cross section, but that's where the similarity ends. It's unclear from the picture if the blade has a tang or the pipe is a socket for attachment of a shaft. If it has a tang, then it might be of Moro construction, perhaps designed for hunting rather than for war. Krieger's plates show a similarly shaped broad blade as Moro in origin.

Ian.


Looking again, there may be some confusion in what Yves wrote: This a budiak or a spear from the lumads in the province?

I read this as an affirmative statement: This (is) a budiak or a spear from the lumads in the province (Since Yves is a native speaker, I assumed he was telling us that budiak is the term for "spear" in that province.)

Alternatively, one could read this as a question: (Is) this a (Moro) budiak or a spear from the lumads in the province?