Budiak with okir

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hi Ian,
Yes I have a kris with this style of decoration. There's a picture of it somewhere in the archives. It's not a toy but a serviceable weapon, yet it seems like something made to catch the eye of 'those who travel for pleasure'. There is no subtlety in its decoration, and it seems a bit coarser compared to older Moro swords.
My guess on the era of these design elements would be the 1920s to the early 1950s. ... I have also noticed about these examples is that they lack the pointy curves that we see so often in later Moro work.

Thanks Rick. Agree on all of those points. The decorative skill seems lacking compared with the twist core elements or silver inlay work seen on other Moro blades.

I have an unmounted kris blade with similar decoration but it does not have a separate gangya, suggesting mid-20th C work. I've also seen a panabas blade so decorated, and on the kampilan shown above. So the style got around a bit.

Here is another budiak with similar decoration, said to be Sulu in origin, that I found on the web.
.

[Ian]

Here is an unmounted kris blade that has similar incised decoration. It has no separate gangya and is probably mid-20th C in manufacture.
.

[Battara]

I would lean more toward Maguindanao okir. Also, I have seen more Maguindanao engravings like this on Maguindanao pieces than any other, though not saying that they don't exist on others.


But the okir does not scream "Maranao" to me (though if any blade screams, get an exorcist ).