Moro Kris

[Spunjer]

here's a photo of datu kalun and his family, sporting a similar type kris. datu kalun was a tagalog from cavite, (originally named pedro cuevas) who was a convict from the spaniard. on the way to zamboanga to do some jail time, he escaped and hid in Basilan. Yakans gave him a hard time, which led him to fight a local datu and ended up killing him. he converted to islam and eventually became the strongest datu in basilan. notice the mix of culture in that famil: the wife is wearing a shawl used by catholic known as mantilla, while his daughter next to him is holding a rosary, or tasbih, as the tausug would call it..
anyways, these kamagong ball type hilt (or any kamagong type hilt) are suppose to be popular on the southern part of sulu (tawi-tawi, bongao, etc.)
david, once i get the detail, i'll definitely let you know..