Visayas, the Philippines - swords question

[Ian]

Originally Posted by blades

also are Binangon and Ginunting the same thing -- just different words ... or are they different types of swords, or from different cultures, or different language, etc.??

Excellent questions blades!

These issues have been much discussed on this forum, and the consensus is that there are many tribal/regional differences in describing a particular sword pattern. For example, binangon and ginunting basically describe the same blade pattern. You would need to check with Zel or Shelley, however, about which term is used where. They visited the Visayas a year or so back and did some serious on the ground research. Many of us are looking forward to reading their findings.

Some of our more experienced members favor using a simple term to describe swords of various patterns, with sundang being the favored generic term. If you search this forum for "sundang" you will find some of those discussions.

Sorry I can't be more helpful. Perhaps some of our Filipino collectors can add more.

Regards,

Ian.