Kampilan with Bells

[Robert]

Again, wonderful work Jose. I am very happy that you were able to acquire this very nice kampilan and put everything back in order. Congratulation on another great addition to your collection.

Best,
Robert

[carlos]

Beautiful Kampilan, the tiger bells are magnific !!
great work !!
Congratulations
carlos

[Battara]

Thank you folks!

Since we don't get many kampilans with bells, I thought it would be good to post this one for future reference and research. I did research (what little research that exists) and based my restorations on it.

I also get to strike this one off my wish list....

By the way Carlos, these are not tiger bells, but.....well..........bells (tiger bells have stylized tiger faces). These do seem locally made though.

Detlef, your wish is my command.

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Battara

Detlef, your wish is my command.

Thank you very much! Do you have the hair in the traditional style with wooden pins? Look's like this.

Best regards,
Detlef

[CharlesS]

A juramentado was not shy about his intents and purpose. Silence was not necessary. Could these be associated with them?

[Battara]

Good question Detlef:

Yes this is in traditional style. However there are several traditional styles from what I can gather. The range seems to be from this (and a little shorter) to very long. Hair also seems to be a variety of colors from black, to dark red/brown, to red, to orange, to mixed white/light brown.

As far as the pins are concerned, yes this is what I have seen over several years of both working on kampilans personally (including my own) and seeing pictures. I have observed remnants of wooden plugs with some hair left. In this case, I based my hair color and length on a couple of remnant plugs with the length intact.


Charles:

I suppose that a juramentado might have used bells, but I doubt it. A Moro who is performing magsibil would want to get as close to his target as possible before he starts killing. This might be a little different when facing an enemy during a battle.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

A juramentado was not shy about his intents and purpose. Silence was not necessary. Could these be associated with them?

Hi Charles,

As noted by Jose, the juramentado used stealth and deception to get as close to a crowd of victims as he could before running amok. The preferred weapon was a smallish barung that could be secreted in his clothing until it was time to use it. The arms and legs of the juramentado would often be wrapped tightly in cloth, and sometimes the torso as well. This was aimed at reducing blood loss from wounds so that the warrior could continue to fight as long as possible (and thereby inflict as much damage as possible). These wrappings were concealed by outer clothing so as not to give away the intent of the warrior. There were also special cleansing and spiritual rituals that prepared the juramentado for what was often a suicide mission because the warrior seldom survived attacking a much larger number of armed opponents.

Ian

[Battara]

Oh! I almost forgot - here are a couple of before pictures:

(BTW - notice the thin recent copper wires connecting the bells. They would have easily broken off!)