Show us your Maguindanao panabas

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Xas, that begs the question: How do you differentiate between panabas of Maguindanao vs Maranao origin? Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Kai

Hello Kai,

To my understanding, panabas is endemic to the Maguindanaons- the Maranaons don't produce it, except for tourist versions which can be differentiated by its over-intricacy, both in blade and fittings. The Maguindanaons even up to the present time retain knowledge of the panabas and the terms associated with it- warfare, duelling, execution, etc. In period pics, it was always the Maguindanaon datus who used kris, kampilan, and panabas as badges of office.

Hope this clears up things.

[kai]

Thanks, Xas, that makes things easier!

BTW, Cato does mention Maranao names for panabas parts - so, these would be later adapted or spurious? No need to dwell on the modern repros, indeed...

Regards,
Kai

[kai]

To start things off, here a few examples I'm currently taking care of:

(Pics courtesy of Gavin & Oliver)

[Interested Party]

Are these related to what Van Zonneveld called "stick swords" from Flores?

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Are these related to what Van Zonneveld called "stick swords" from Flores?

Hi sorry, I'm not familiar with the names and context you mentioned- can you provide me a link or short summary? Thanks.

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by xasterix

Hi sorry, I'm not familiar with the names and context you mentioned- can you provide me a link or short summary? Thanks.

Xas, this is the little bit I know. It is from "Traditional Weapons of the Indonesian Archipelago." Pictures 525 in particular and 526 somewhat reminded me of the panabas so I thought i would ask the experts.

Ian thank you very much for the explanation. It helped.

[Ian]

Hi IP,

Thanks for showing the van Zonneveld pictures and text. I've taken the liberty of scanning the figures to try to get a clearer image. Afraid the original pictures are not very good.

Ian.
.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Are these related to what Van Zonneveld called "stick swords" from Flores?

Hi IP:

I don't think there is a direct link or a particular association between the two. The panabas as a weapon is thought to be derived from an agricultural tool known as a tabas--the two coexist today. This more basic tool seems to be an item found in various parts of Asia, being basically a long curved axe for chopping. I have seen similar tools in northern India and mainland SE Asia (e.g., Thai pra). It is possible that "stick swords" in the Malay world were derived from similar agricultural implements in their respective cultures. In Europe, long-bladed glave are probably another example of an agricultural tool of this general type finding its way into armories.

[Rick]

A Stick Sword or Toa from Solor.

[Mefidk]

Here's mine. Interested to see what you knowledgeable folks think of it.

[kai]

There also was the notion that the panabas might be related to a family of bent blades from Borneo (buko, latok, pandat, sadap, tangkin). However, these exhibit pretty different handling characteristics and construction details; moreover, these were dedicated war swords while the panabas is widely acknowledged to have agrarian roots.

I don't think there is a direct link or a particular association between the two. The panabas as a weapon is thought to be derived from an agricultural tool known as a tabas--the two coexist today. This more basic tool seems to be an item found in various parts of Asia, being basically a long curved axe for chopping. I have seen similar tools in northern India and mainland SE Asia (e.g., Thai pra). It is possible that "stick swords" in the Malay world were derived from similar agricultural implements in their respective cultures. In Europe, long-bladed glave are probably another example of an agricultural tool of this general type finding its way into armories.

I'm with Ian in believing that many of these developments were local and that it needs very close similarities to suggest any adaptation from other cultures. There always have been migrations and other cultural influences. However, with blacksmithing already present for about 2 millennia throughout much of the archipelago, any common ancestor will often be very hard to establish.

Regards,
Kai

[Interested Party]

Sorry for the bad picture. I had lighting issues and was more interested in presenting the text. When I looked at the originals with a jeweler's loop 526 appeared to have a Indonesian or Sumatran style pamor. 528 had a cloudy line down the longitudinal center of the blade with a light towards the cutting edge and a dark side towards the spine. I can't tell if it is a lamination mark or a differential temper.

Thank you all for explaining the ancestry of these weapons. Am I correct in assuming that they occupied similar places in the relative martial traditions as heavy choppers? I would imagine that given proximity these are cultures that had some contact with each other. I have been noticing that posted examples have very little edge damage. Does this mean that there was little blade to blade contact in this martial arts system, i.e. no or few parries, or are surviving examples ones that did not see use?

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by kai

Thanks, Xas, that makes things easier!

BTW, Cato does mention Maranao names for panabas parts - so, these would be later adapted or spurious? No need to dwell on the modern repros, indeed...

Regards,
Kai

Hi Kai, the probable reason for this is because the Maranao and Maguindanao language are closely linked together; they come from the same root. The Maranao made tourist versions of the panabas, but up to present time, the Maguindanao pandays still make the 'real' panabas for agricultural use. It's a no-frills and usually smaller version of the old panabas, direct to the point.