Dusun or old style Kampilan?

[VVV]

I just recieved this Kampilan with an unusual "hang on" to the hilt.
The hilt is more square which I have noticed is more common on the Kampilans collected in Borneo among the Dusun (Kadazan) Dayaks of Sabah.

Until I saw the pictures of the Filipino collections in Spanish museums posted on this forum I thought that was a sign of Dusun origin.
The same with this "hang on" decoration.
But one of the Kampilans at the Madrid museum has the same kind of decoration as well as several of the Spanish collected Kampilans has the square hilt form. So maybe it's just an older fashion considering that probably the Spanish collected Kampilans are older than those collected by the US?

Also in the old books the Kampilan is attributed to the Filipino Lanun/Illanuns.
So maybe there isn't a special kind of Dusun Kampilan and they all originate from the Philippines?
The Dusun lives in Sabah that always has had a close cultural connection to the south of Philippines.

Does any forumite have any info on what the "hang on" represents?
And have you found any difference between the Borneo and Filipino Kampilans?

Michael

[pinoy]

Has the end of the hilt been broken? Can you provide a picture of the end? This kampilan looks to me more of Filipino origin. Probably the hang on was just later add on. I could be wrong though. The hair/threads on the "hang on" just don't look that old to me.

[VVV]

Pinoy,

Here is the picture you asked for.
How do you differentiate between Filipino and Borneo origin?

Michael

[VANDOO]

A MOST INTERESTING KAMPILIAN! IT APPEARS TO ME THAT IT MAY HAVE BEEN DAMMAGED A LITTLE BUT THAT THERE IS NOT A LARGE PIECE OF THE HANDLE MISSING. I GET THAT FEELING FROM THE OVERALL SHAPE OF THE POMMEL AND THE COMPLETE CARVING ON THE SIDES IN THE CENTER. WERE THERE HOLES IN THE TOP OF THE HANDLE FOR PLACEING HAIR TUFTS AND ARE BOTH SIDES CARVED WITH THE SAME DESIGN.?

THE DECORATION IS NOT TYPICAL OF PHILIPPINE OR DAYAK TRIBES SO FAR AS I CAN TELL. IT LOOKS MORE LIKE SOMETHING FOUND IN THE ISLANDS OFF MALAYSIA OR INDONESIA. WHAT IS IT CONSTRUCTED OF, TWO LEATHER OR WOODEN DISKS WITH THE FIBER AND HAIR ATTACHED IN BETWEEN? WHAT KIND OF HAIR WAS USED? IF HUMAN IT COULD BE A TROPHY ,IF ANIMAL IT IS MOST LIKELY DECORATIVE. THE KAMPILIAN WAS SURELY MORE WIDESPREAD THAN JUST THE PHILIPPINES OR BORNEO ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING THE SEAFARING BOTH COUNTRYS DID. I WILL TRY AND LOOK THRU MY BOOKS WHEN I GET THE CHANCE AS I REMEMBER SEEING SIMULAR THINGS IN OLD CATALOGS OVER THE YEARS. NICE ONE WISH IT WAS MINE, BUT THEN I LIKE ALL THINGS KAMPILIAN

[VVV]

Thanks Vandoo,

I have also seen Kampilans collected mostly in Sulawesi and one in Sumatra.
And I also suspect that the Timor Klewang pict 272 in van Z is a Kampilan. It resembles a bit the one in Cato page 53.
All of the Sulawesi Kampilan had a more square hilt like mine.
But so has most of the Kampilans found in Borneo also.
The hang on has two wooden discs and I think the hair is from a horse.
It's the same kind of hair as those tufts that are still left on the hilt.
The design is the same at both sides and there is no signs of any break as far as I can see.
Also the square hilt, like mine, is quite common in European museum collections.

Below I have attached a resembling Kampilan from Museo Militar in Madrid.
That one is probably a war trophy from the "ex-Spanish colonial" 19th C Philippines?

Michael