A Bagobo sword

[Flavio]

Hello guys, here is another addiction of my collection of non-african weapons. I don't know where it comes from (since my copy of Stone is on the way as the one of van Zonneveld ), but on the excellent site of Mr. Yarom, i have found an identical one.

http://www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=992

What to you think? every comments are welcome. Thank you

[katana]

Very nice Flavio, I really like the scabbard.... do the rings (brass?) have any function?

[Ian]

Hi Flavio:

Yes, these are often attributed to the Bagobo, and many may have been made by that tribal group, but I think most that are coming on to the market for the last several years are actually from the Tagakaolo (Kaolu) people who live around Davao City on the east coast of Mindanao. They are neighbors to the Bagobo and Manobo.

This is a nice example of the form most commonly associated with the Kaolu.

Ian.

[Flavio]

Thank you very much Ian. From what you have written i understand that this piece isn't so old, or I'm wrong? Regards

Flavio

[Ian]

Hi Flavio:

Hard to judge age. This one does not look to have been used. Perhaps 1970 or later. These are still being made today, although not generally of this quality -- the brass is well cast and fitted well to the handle; good hardwoods used on the handle and scabbard; and the inlay work is well done also.

Pretty nice looking sword.

The tubes at the end of the scabbard are seen also on T'boli scabbards. They appear to be a form of decoration dating from the early- to mid-20th C. I have not seen them on 19th C. swords.

Ian.

[pinoy]

Got here a very nice example of an old bagobo kris.

[Flavio]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Flavio:

This one does not look to have been used. Perhaps 1970 or later.

Ian.

Thank you Ian . I don't know if it was used, but maybe you can see from the pics that there is a restoration of the top of the handle that was made, i think, by the second owner, because he used a kind of resin. Moreover a lot of brass rings shows oxidation and the handle shows, in the upper part, a nice, quite deep, patination. Also the scabbard has some wears. The blade is for sure handmade and shows also singns of oxidation, but maybe it was over cleaned. There are still many evidences of a smoothing on stone: the blade surface is "covered" with lines that in some case are parallel, but not made with a file.

Flavio

Here are some more pics

[zelbone]

Ian,

Are you sure about the Kaolu attribution? Could it possibly be B'laan?

Zel

[Flavio]

Well, my last question and most important is: is this piece a revolting touristic souvenir or a recent indigenous sword sold to a western person before it could be heavy used ? Be rude if necessary Thank you

[Spunjer]

flavio,

my thinking is, if it's indeed a fairly new piece, it's strictly made for tourists. lumads, or indigenous people, i see over there sport your typical open market bought bolos. these are only in rural areas. plus it's illegal to walk around town with a sword hanging on your waist, lol... my two centimos

[Flavio]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

flavio,

my thinking is, if it's indeed a fairly new piece, it's strictly made for tourists. lumads, or indigenous people, i see over there sport your typical open market bought bolos. these are only in rural areas. plus it's illegal to walk around town with a sword hanging on your waist, lol... my two centimos

OUCHHH!!!

[Ian]

Zel: I've seen relatively few B'laan swords, and most were decorated with horse hair, which I understand is a B'laan trait. The hilts were somewhat similar to the example at the top of this post, so I suppose B'laan is a possibility. The Kaolu also use horse hair to decorate some of their scabbards, which causes more confusion.

Looking at the general style of Flavio's example, with its double row of brass rings down the side, inlaid dots of (I assume) aluminum, and bare hardwood sheath -- it looks so similar to the large number of items in recent years that have been coming out of Davao City and attributed to the Kaolu.

BTW, some of the brass tubing at the end of these scabbards may have come from old shell casings, mainly post WWII, which pretty much dates them to the second half of the 20th C.

Pinoy: Your kris is certainly older, and I suspect early- to mid-20th C. May well be Bagobo, but Kaolu is a distinct possibility based on the fittings similar to Flavio's example.

Flavio: There is a healthy market for sale of swords to tourists and collectors via Davao City. There are some genuine Kaolu, Bagobo and T'boli swords coming through there, as well as Maguindanao and Maranao, but many are of recent manufacture. I have been told by someone who spent a year or two working with the T'boli that swords are still produced -- they are given to the kids to wear around and create some "age" to the hilts and scabbards. Perhaps this is why we see so many swords with pristine blades and somewhat worn hilts.

Ian.

Originally Posted by zelbone

Ian,

Are you sure about the Kaolu attribution? Could it possibly be B'laan?

Zel

[Flavio]

Thank you very much Ian. The only consolation is that the price that i paid was quite low