Weird Philippine sword/bolo

[Nonoy Tan]

Fr. Ignacio Alcina, S.J. who lived in the Philippines from 1632-1674, spent decades in the Bisayan islands and wrote a description of the Bisayan weapons and methods of warfare in two chapters of his work entitled "Historia de las islas e indios de Bisayas." Fr. Alcina, when referring to the Bisayans, meant not only Cebu, Panay, Bohol, Leyte and Samar, but also Bikol and Caraga of Mindanao. The Bisayan culture is predominant in these areas. For those interested in Bisayan weaponry, those two chapters are a must read.

[Sajen]

Thank you all three for the further and deep informations!

Regards,

Detlef

[migueldiaz]

Thanks Nonoy! And here's more info on those ancient Visayan sea raiders (Junker 2000:344):

"A thirteenth-century Chinese text provides a vivid description of the 'Pi-she-ya' ('painted or tattooed ones' [pintados, in Spanish]) maritime raiders, probably Visayans from the central Philippines, who created fear along the western littoral of the Philippines in the early first millennium A.D., seizing slaves and booty from coastal settlements (Chen 1966:271; Craig 1914:4; Laufer 1907:253-255; Scott 1984:74-75). The Pi-she-ya are even named as possible culprits in a series of thirteenth-century attacks on Cham [Vietnamese] settlements and other coastal centers of the Southeast Asian mainland."

And the in-depth study of the subject which included the Bicolanos as the possible Visayan group that did the sea raids then is: 'The Visayan Raiders of China Coast, 1174-1190 AD" by Efren Isorena (Phil. Quarterly of Culture & Society, Vol. 32, No. 2, June 2004).

Then lately, there's another article on the subject, from a local historian, Ambeth Ocampo: Pirates of the Visayas in China.

[Nonoy Tan]

migueldiaz,

Junker, Scott, Craig, Chen, Laufer, Ocampo, Lacouperie and other historians got their information from the Chinese text I posted which was written by 趙汝适 (Zhao Rugua) between 1209 and 1214. Isorena suggested Samar as the homeland of the Pishoye.

I posted the Chinese text so that others can make their own translation and interpretation of Zhao's words, independent of the scholars just mentioned.

[Nonoy Tan]

"A thirteenth-century Chinese text provides a vivid description of the 'Pi-she-ya' ('painted or tattooed ones' [pintados, in Spanish]) maritime raiders, probably Visayans from the central Philippines, who created fear along the western littoral of the Philippines in the early first millennium A.D., seizing slaves and booty from coastal settlements (Chen 1966:271; Craig 1914:4; Laufer 1907:253-255; Scott 1984:74-75). The Pi-she-ya are even named as possible culprits in a series of thirteenth-century attacks on Cham [Vietnamese] settlements and other coastal centers of the Southeast Asian mainland."

Junker stated that raids were made on "Cham settlements and other coastal centers of Southeast Asian mainland." However, the original Chinese text say that raids were made in the villages of Shui-an and Weï-t'ou in Ts'üan-chóu-fu. Obviously, there is some reconcialtion yet to be made between the two statements.