Tboli Kampilan for Assessment

Marbel · 30th September 2020, 06:19 PM

I personally don't think much information can be gathered from anything attached to a Tboli hilt - chains, beads, bells, etc. They are obviously easy to attach and detach any time. Traditionally, brass chains and bells would be used. I think the use of beads - with or without bells attached - is probably meant to make a Tboli hilt look more attractive or authentic to a buyer, but in actuality makes it less so.

drac2k · 30th September 2020, 09:39 PM

The blade could be an indicator of its age. I have a panabas with a similar pattern on the blade; it was made from a huge rasp file as yours may be as well. As a result of the Spanish and the American presence in the Philippines, a large chunk of good steel taken off one of their ships would certainly be tempting. Ships needing a wood rasp probably pre WW2, so in my completely uninformed opinion, the blade could date between 1890-1939; after that, there were plenty of leaf springs as already mentioned.

Battara · 2nd October 2020, 12:44 AM

Thank you Marbel for confirming my suspicions.

tanaruz · 5th October 2020, 01:50 PM

Hi,

The info on this piece is great. But IMHO the abaca textile on the scabbard is most likely called Dagmay- and this type of abaca weave comes from the Mandaya tribe. My father showed me his very old piece of dagmay and it matches the design on the abaca weave.

Just my observation.

Yves

xasterix · 5th October 2020, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanaruz

Hi,

The info on this piece is great. But IMHO the abaca textile on the scabbard is most likely called Dagmay- and this type of abaca weave comes from the Mandaya tribe. My father showed me his very old piece of dagmay and it matches the design on the abaca weave.

Just my observation.

Yves

Many thanks for this info- yet another possible twist in the confused identity of this particular blade. I'll look into dagmay patterns.

Marbel · 5th October 2020, 10:18 PM

I would agree with tanaruz, that dagmay is a good possibiity for the textile on this scabbard. Good call. Mandaya weaves are very distinctive and when seen on their own are quite easily identified - as are most other textiles from the area. When viewing only a very small piece of a larger textile it can get a bit tricky.

Ian · 5th October 2020, 11:16 PM

Thanks Yves and Marbel for identifying the abaca textile as Mandaya. It highlights to me how widely the T'boli tok was traded and used. The finding of it in the dress of several different Lumad groups (so far I've seen it with Bagobo, B'laan, and now Mandayan features) suggests to me that the tok was a widely regarded sword of good quality, and that fits with my own direct examination of these swords.

Xas, I think you have a good cutter there.

30th September 2020, 06:19 PM	#1
Marbel Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 66	Tboli I personally don't think much information can be gathered from anything attached to a Tboli hilt - chains, beads, bells, etc. They are obviously easy to attach and detach any time. Traditionally, brass chains and bells would be used. I think the use of beads - with or without bells attached - is probably meant to make a Tboli hilt look more attractive or authentic to a buyer, but in actuality makes it less so.

5th October 2020, 01:50 PM	#4
tanaruz Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 267	tboli kampilan for assessment Hi, The info on this piece is great. But IMHO the abaca textile on the scabbard is most likely called Dagmay- and this type of abaca weave comes from the Mandaya tribe. My father showed me his very old piece of dagmay and it matches the design on the abaca weave. Just my observation. Yves

5th October 2020, 10:18 PM	#6
Marbel Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 66	Dagmay I would agree with tanaruz, that dagmay is a good possibiity for the textile on this scabbard. Good call. Mandaya weaves are very distinctive and when seen on their own are quite easily identified - as are most other textiles from the area. When viewing only a very small piece of a larger textile it can get a bit tricky.

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30th September 2020, 09:39 PM	#2
drac2k Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 1,230	The blade could be an indicator of its age. I have a panabas with a similar pattern on the blade; it was made from a huge rasp file as yours may be as well. As a result of the Spanish and the American presence in the Philippines, a large chunk of good steel taken off one of their ships would certainly be tempting. Ships needing a wood rasp probably pre WW2, so in my completely uninformed opinion, the blade could date between 1890-1939; after that, there were plenty of leaf springs as already mentioned.

2nd October 2020, 12:44 AM	#3
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,218	Thank you Marbel for confirming my suspicions.

5th October 2020, 11:16 PM	#7
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,194	Thanks Yves and Marbel for identifying the abaca textile as Mandaya. It highlights to me how widely the T'boli tok was traded and used. The finding of it in the dress of several different Lumad groups (so far I've seen it with Bagobo, B'laan, and now Mandayan features) suggests to me that the tok was a widely regarded sword of good quality, and that fits with my own direct examination of these swords. Xas, I think you have a good cutter there.