Luzon Itak?

zamboanga · 12th January 2006, 06:45 AM

Looks like a slim Tabak to me.

On a related note, the Tabak is the logo of the Phil. Army's first infantry division whose AOR is zamboanga peninsula, basilan, sulu and tawi-tawi. they are usually in the forefront in the skirmishes with moro rebels. Tabak vs. barung.

Federico · 19th January 2006, 01:05 AM

Talking to some of the elders in my region a long time ago, they felt that tabak and itak itself are interchangeable, though tabak was used for larger blades while itak was for smaller (eg. oh pass me the itak when asking to pass the steak knife vs. pass me the tabak when asking to pass the cleaver), but then they started messing me up by talking about having large itaks and small tabaks, and then they got into the oh well we dont really know and then back to the oh yeah no its this to oh well not sure to the why do you care if it has a specific name to both tabak and itak are just general words for knife/machete to well you get the idea

forgot to add oh just call it a bolo

Spunjer · 19th January 2006, 11:40 PM

...i guess it comes down to the western mind's penchant for being too specific sometimes (i.e., it 's assault and battery since while he was verbally threatening you he stepped on your pinkie toe...).

looking back at my old posts, i did asked a lot of questions in regards to terms used on these sundangs, some i've heard before, and some that are news to me. when i went back last year and actually spent some time in the inland of Panay (small farming towns like ajuy, tanduyan, tinori-an, etc) and hooked up with friends i haven't seen in decades, i brought with me pictures of these old visayan sundangs for identification. i was reintroduced by them to their fathers and grandfathers, same manongs that use to scold us for teasing the carabaos when we were kids, lol. ahhh, good ol' days...

anyhow, it's funny how they referred to those sundangs as binangon, regardless on how the blade is shape. i guess, they were looking at the general form of the sword. even after pointing out the difference on how the blade is shaped, it didn't matter. as zel pointed out before, go to a different province in that island, and the same sundang is called sanduko, or talibong. then going back to manila, the term binangon is as alien as tombak; the same sundangs are now known as itak, lol. the meaning behind the 'diety' hilt is something that is still a bit of a mystery, tho. maybe, that's another example on how we scrutinize every single detail on how it came to be....

19th January 2006, 01:05 AM	#2
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Talking to some of the elders in my region a long time ago, they felt that tabak and itak itself are interchangeable, though tabak was used for larger blades while itak was for smaller (eg. oh pass me the itak when asking to pass the steak knife vs. pass me the tabak when asking to pass the cleaver), but then they started messing me up by talking about having large itaks and small tabaks, and then they got into the oh well we dont really know and then back to the oh yeah no its this to oh well not sure to the why do you care if it has a specific name to both tabak and itak are just general words for knife/machete to well you get the idea forgot to add oh just call it a bolo Last edited by Federico; 19th January 2006 at 01:59 AM.

12th January 2006, 06:45 AM	#1
zamboanga Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: zamboanga city, philippines Posts: 132	Looks like a slim Tabak to me. On a related note, the Tabak is the logo of the Phil. Army's first infantry division whose AOR is zamboanga peninsula, basilan, sulu and tawi-tawi. they are usually in the forefront in the skirmishes with moro rebels. Tabak vs. barung.

19th January 2006, 11:40 PM	#3
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	...i guess it comes down to the western mind's penchant for being too specific sometimes (i.e., it 's assault and battery since while he was verbally threatening you he stepped on your pinkie toe...). looking back at my old posts, i did asked a lot of questions in regards to terms used on these sundangs, some i've heard before, and some that are news to me. when i went back last year and actually spent some time in the inland of Panay (small farming towns like ajuy, tanduyan, tinori-an, etc) and hooked up with friends i haven't seen in decades, i brought with me pictures of these old visayan sundangs for identification. i was reintroduced by them to their fathers and grandfathers, same manongs that use to scold us for teasing the carabaos when we were kids, lol. ahhh, good ol' days... anyhow, it's funny how they referred to those sundangs as binangon, regardless on how the blade is shape. i guess, they were looking at the general form of the sword. even after pointing out the difference on how the blade is shaped, it didn't matter. as zel pointed out before, go to a different province in that island, and the same sundang is called sanduko, or talibong. then going back to manila, the term binangon is as alien as tombak; the same sundangs are now known as itak, lol. the meaning behind the 'diety' hilt is something that is still a bit of a mystery, tho. maybe, that's another example on how we scrutinize every single detail on how it came to be....