the Kampilan exclusively Moro?

[MaharlikaTimawa]

Originally Posted by Gustav

Regarding Kampilan as a curved cutlass, just a coincidence more likely, considering the "artistic licence":

all of you surely know the picture of a Visayan Timawa or Tumao from the Boxer Codex (c.1590). Note the small signs on the blade, which remind a bit of chinese characters.

Now that I think about it, I've never seen a visayan timawa with a large sword like that before. Possibly this may be the Visayan kampilan that I'm looking for, although seems a lot different from the moro kampilans that were imported to the visayas. If such a large sword existed, could it possible be indigenous to the islands or imported from another area, maybe India.

[kronckew]

i recall seeing a pair of swords very much like the above in an auction on ebay, i believe as south china / viet swords. they also look much like chinese pole arms, guan dao, rehilted as a sword.

[Battara]

Last year I forgot to mention that the kampilan is also found in the Celebes and Sulawesi, both south of the Philippines.

On the topic at hand, this makes me wonder if the straight edged kampilan was not the only form of kampilan, but perhaps the only one that survived.

[MaharlikaTimawa]

Originally Posted by kronckew

i recall seeing a pair of swords very much like the above in an auction on ebay, i believe as south china / viet swords. they also look much like chinese pole arms, guan dao, rehilted as a sword.

I believe the guan dao and other Chinese pole arms have a relatively small blade in comparison to the of a long sword such as the kampilan. The picture of the weapon seem to scale with the size of the person, as shown in other pictures of the boxer codex weapon size seem to be somewhat accurate in their portrayal.

If you look at the photos drawn, the sizes drawn are accurate in terms of portraying them as either a long sword or a short sword. So chances are the sword shown with the timawa might possibly be some sort of long sword or kampilan localy manufactured just as the moros made their own kampilans and panabas.