Lumad Kampilan aka Cuban Bolo Knife?

Ian · 13th February 2023, 02:34 AM

kino,

Your sword has had me thinking. It appears to have some age--probably not mid-19th C, but could easily be late 19th/early 20th C. While the overall form looks Bagobo, especially the downturned quillion, the shape of the pommel is not traditional, and the brass grip is not quite the same form as Jose's. It lacks the little "spikes" extending up towards the pommel. This makes me think that instead of Bagobo, it could be from the Tagakaolu who are a closely related group living around Davao City. They have brass ferrules of this form and hilts that are slightly different from the standard Bagobo form that Jose's shows.

The blade is a beauty and clearly well forged. It is also of the "small kampilan" type. This is a fairly common blade form among Bagobo swords—more common are the "fat-belly bolos" in my experience. Yours reminds me of the T'boli tok or kafilan blades and I wonder if your blade was forged by a T'boli. The T'boli made first rate blades that they traded widely and were renowned for their high quality and toughness.

It would not surprise me if this were a T'boli blade with mounts for a Tagakoalu owner.

BTW, the label says he represented his country, clearly the U.S.A. That would not be a reference to the US Civil War, which was fought between two sides of the same country (although the South disagreed). The Spanish-American War seems much more likely, which would place the sword being collected circa 1900–1905. Of course, the label could be entirely wrong.

xasterix · 13th February 2023, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian

kino,

Your sword has had me thinking. It appears to have some age--probably not mid-19th C, but could easily be late 19th/early 20th C. While the overall form looks Bagobo, especially the downturned quillion, the shape of the pommel is not traditional, and the brass grip is not quite the same form as Jose's. It lacks the little "spikes" extending up towards the pommel. This makes me think that instead of Bagobo, it could be from the Tagakaolu who are a closely related group living around Davao City. They have brass ferrules of this form and hilts that are slightly different from the standard Bagobo form that Jose's shows.

The blade is a beauty and clearly well forged. It is also of the "small kampilan" type. This is a fairly common blade form among Bagobo swords—more common are the "fat-belly bolos" in my experience. Yours reminds me of the T'boli tok or kafilan blades and I wonder if your blade was forged by a T'boli. The T'boli made first rate blades that they traded widely and were renowned for their high quality and toughness.

It would not surprise me if this were a T'boli blade with mounts for a Tagakoalu owner.

BTW, the label says he represented his country, clearly the U.S.A. That would not be a reference to the US Civil War, which was fought between two sides of the same country (although the South disagreed). The Spanish-American War seems much more likely, which would place the sword being collected circa 1900–1905. Of course, the label could be entirely wrong.

Hope you won't mind me chiming in sir Ian- my curator-friend who worked with the Bagobo said that the outcropping with metal part at the butt-pommel may have been broken along with a significant part of wood, then it may have been repaired or smoothened over. He said that damage has been known to happen to such Bagobo kampilan variants.

kai · 13th February 2023, 03:48 PM

Hello Ray,

It seems to me that Ian was referring to the triangular extensions of the brass grip rather than the wooden pommel. Not sure what the Bagobo view is - it easily could be a tumpal motif.

Ian, I'm pretty sure I have seen quite a few Bagobo swords without these brass triangles - always thought these triangular extensions to be mainly found on datu-level pieces.

Albert's example certainly has an unusual pommel configuration though: While it starts out with the typical concave curved facets (which usually extend downwards to the tip of the curved pommel), this piece exhibits a kind of horizontal separation with a considerably thicker part of the wood at the lower end of the pommel. While there appear to be minor losses or wear to the wood, the additional material can't result from smoothening things out (it doesn't appear to be be a separate piece of wood added during a restoration attempt). A Bagobo variant or from one of the neighbouring groups?

Regards,
Kai

kino · 14th February 2023, 01:26 AM

Thanks for your assessment Ian.

I agree with you that the label could be entirely wrong. I can’t place much value on it being correct. The label is just like a story attached to the sword. I acquired it because of the unusual blade, not the story.
With that said, here’s a brief info on the person mentioned on the label.

13th February 2023, 03:48 PM	#3
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Ray, It seems to me that Ian was referring to the triangular extensions of the brass grip rather than the wooden pommel. Not sure what the Bagobo view is - it easily could be a tumpal motif. Ian, I'm pretty sure I have seen quite a few Bagobo swords without these brass triangles - always thought these triangular extensions to be mainly found on datu-level pieces. Albert's example certainly has an unusual pommel configuration though: While it starts out with the typical concave curved facets (which usually extend downwards to the tip of the curved pommel), this piece exhibits a kind of horizontal separation with a considerably thicker part of the wood at the lower end of the pommel. While there appear to be minor losses or wear to the wood, the additional material can't result from smoothening things out (it doesn't appear to be be a separate piece of wood added during a restoration attempt). A Bagobo variant or from one of the neighbouring groups? Regards, Kai Attached Images

14th February 2023, 01:26 AM	#4
kino Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,018	Thanks for your assessment Ian. I agree with you that the label could be entirely wrong. I can’t place much value on it being correct. The label is just like a story attached to the sword. I acquired it because of the unusual blade, not the story. With that said, here’s a brief info on the person mentioned on the label. Attached Images

13th February 2023, 02:34 AM	#1
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,361	kino, Your sword has had me thinking. It appears to have some age--probably not mid-19th C, but could easily be late 19th/early 20th C. While the overall form looks Bagobo, especially the downturned quillion, the shape of the pommel is not traditional, and the brass grip is not quite the same form as Jose's. It lacks the little "spikes" extending up towards the pommel. This makes me think that instead of Bagobo, it could be from the Tagakaolu who are a closely related group living around Davao City. They have brass ferrules of this form and hilts that are slightly different from the standard Bagobo form that Jose's shows. The blade is a beauty and clearly well forged. It is also of the "small kampilan" type. This is a fairly common blade form among Bagobo swords—more common are the "fat-belly bolos" in my experience. Yours reminds me of the T'boli tok or kafilan blades and I wonder if your blade was forged by a T'boli. The T'boli made first rate blades that they traded widely and were renowned for their high quality and toughness. It would not surprise me if this were a T'boli blade with mounts for a Tagakoalu owner. BTW, the label says he represented his country, clearly the U.S.A. That would not be a reference to the US Civil War, which was fought between two sides of the same country (although the South disagreed). The Spanish-American War seems much more likely, which would place the sword being collected circa 1900–1905. Of course, the label could be entirely wrong.