Origin of the Kalinga Axe

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by Nonoy Tan

It is not easy studying the Cordillera peoples because there are so many groups ...

Hi Nonoy,

I agree. And I also agree that it appears that not all Cordillerans practiced headhunting, or were warlike.

I've just finished browsing the book Ethnography of the Major Ethnolinguistic Groups of the Cordillera (2003). The book is described by the publisher as "a compilation of what is already known about the various groups as described by historians, anthropologists, missionaries, and travelers who recorded the early life of these groups of people collectively called Igorots".

We can see in the summary below that there are groups in which weapons were not observed to play a major role in that group's sub-culture:

A. The Bontoks

Weapons: battle axe (pin-nang/ pinangas); knife and spears (falfeg, fangkao, sinalawitan), and shield (kalasag)

B. The Ibaloys

Weapons: spear (kayang); shield (kalasag), bow and arrow (bekang and pana), and the war club (papa) [Scheer 1905:153]

They use axes (guwasay) but it is a tool and not a weapon.

C. The Ikalahans

Weapons: none mentioned

[Although] "Every adult male carries a backpack called akbot, made of deer hide. A bolo with a wooden scabbard [pinahig?] strapped to the waist is an indispensable equipment of the men. They never leave the house without it. It is about one and a half to two feet long, and held by a belt (balkah) made of finely woven rattan ...."

D. The Ifugaos

Weapons: none mentioned

E. The Isnegs

"The single most important tool of the Isneg man is the bolo (badang). This is a large, single-bladed knife used to cut firewood, fell trees, clear brush, and kill animals (Keyes in Reynolds and Grant 1973:26). In the olden days, the bolo was also used in warfare. Another important tool is the aliwa, a thin-bladed axe with the back drawn out. This is used for all cutting purposes. The women also have an all-purpose tool called the iko, a small hatchet used in harvesting play and carried by the women in their headdress."

F. The Kalingas

"The name Kalinga is believed to have come from the Ibanag "kali-nga" and the Gaddang "kalinga" which both mean headhunters, hence, the Kalinga people must have acquired their name because of their tradition of head taking and tribal war."

Weapons: head axe (sinawit), bolo (gaman/ badang), and spears (balbog/ tubay/ say-ang); the shield (kalasag) is made from light but sturdy wood, the sablang tree.

G. The Northern Kankana-eys

Weapons: bolo (gamig), axe (wasay), and spear (balbeg);

the axe is further classified into three types -- the pinagada, the pannakot, and the gaman;

the first two are tools, and the gaman was the type used for headhunting ("consists of an iron ring that holds the axe head in place, and an iron band at the end of the handle").

H. The Southern Kankana-eys

Weapons: none mentioned

I. The Tingguians/ Itnegs

Weapons: lance or spear (pika), shield (kalasag), head axe (aliwa or gaman), small bamboo spikes (soga), blow gun (salbatana), and bamboo spear (sinolbong);

the shield used is similar in form to that of the Bontoks and Kalingas.

The MAP below will give us an idea of the distribution of these groups within the Cordillera.

In the map, Manila will be about 2.5 squares below where "17" is printed. And the Cordillera has its own zoomed-in map, found on the upper right-hand corner.

[Nonoy Tan]

What excellent map and illustration of the complexity we are dealing here

Thank you for citing the 1676 citing of the axe, too! I can imagine now the possibility that the crescent-shaped head axe may not be Cordilleran afterall, but Ibanag! I hope we can get a collaborative source through diligent research.

Let me add to the absence of representation of the Ifugao on the "Ethnolinguistic ..." book

Ifugao:

Spear or "pahul" which can take the form of a "balabog", "kinango", "gayang", "ludit"; "hinolgat" (war spear)

Also uses the shield (2 types); ax (as a tool); bolo (2 types - "Pinahig" and "Hinalung"); bow and arrow (as an early weapon which became "extinct"); and lasso