Wooden Igorot shield

Indianajones · 16th April 2012, 11:30 AM

Hello Pieje, wel actually -as I am a long time collector of N.-Philippine tribal art- this however typically looking Bontoc-Igorot shield could firstly be older than expected; I reckognise the yellowishness of the wood and it is probably very dry; it may be slightly older than 1900.
Interesting enough your shield has a few 'features' I have not seen before! 1. is the 'strange' lashing. Normally these shields have a woven rattanband -like yours has- running accross and fixated with (only) criscross going 'stitches'. Yours has a sort of praralel running rattanlines also (above n below)
2. the very ends of each projection or 'legs' have notches carved in them.

The tribal name for these shields is 'kalasag' , which name surprisingly is shared by almost all tribes in Luzon.

The 'damaged' sides of the shield are actually a good sign of authentic use. During wartime (before and/or after) all warriors would celebrate and while walking in a row tap with a stick on the sides of their shield. These shields where therefore also sometimes reffered to 'gaklab' ; sound of tapping on the shields.

Because of these features I suspect your shield could also be from South -Kalinga tribe (North of Bontoc). I also have -now I remember- a set of Mother of pearlornaments which also show these carved notches on the sides.

congrats with this nice shield.Best,

16th April 2012, 11:30 AM	#5
Indianajones Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 180	Hello Pieje, wel actually -as I am a long time collector of N.-Philippine tribal art- this however typically looking Bontoc-Igorot shield could firstly be older than expected; I reckognise the yellowishness of the wood and it is probably very dry; it may be slightly older than 1900. Interesting enough your shield has a few 'features' I have not seen before! 1. is the 'strange' lashing. Normally these shields have a woven rattanband -like yours has- running accross and fixated with (only) criscross going 'stitches'. Yours has a sort of praralel running rattanlines also (above n below) 2. the very ends of each projection or 'legs' have notches carved in them. The tribal name for these shields is 'kalasag' , which name surprisingly is shared by almost all tribes in Luzon. The 'damaged' sides of the shield are actually a good sign of authentic use. During wartime (before and/or after) all warriors would celebrate and while walking in a row tap with a stick on the sides of their shield. These shields where therefore also sometimes reffered to 'gaklab' ; sound of tapping on the shields. Because of these features I suspect your shield could also be from South -Kalinga tribe (North of Bontoc). I also have -now I remember- a set of Mother of pearlornaments which also show these carved notches on the sides. congrats with this nice shield.Best, Last edited by Indianajones; 16th April 2012 at 11:41 AM.