Upper class Datu ivory, swassa, and silver barong

[Ian]

Yes, that length would be long for an early 19th C barung. Perhaps second half of the 19th C, as you pointed out.

The amount of swassa on the hilt is less than I would expect for a Sultan. Perhaps for a member of the Royal House or a high level official, such as a panglima.

[xasterix]

If I may add a bit of trivia- any member of the nobility may have carried this; I usually call such as "nobility blades." Moro blades with expensive materials and high craftmanship may be commissioned by any member of the nobility- and this was not limited to those with rank in royalty or military, but also to affluent members of the populace- merchants, shopkeepers- and those invaluable to the community, such as council of elders, priests, sorcerers, even highly successful and senior blacksmiths and artisans.

I've been told by Moro elders that "Datu-class" and "Sultan-class" aren't accurate in describing these weapons, as many of these were owned not by the Datu nor Sultan, but by other members of the nobility. It was not uncommon for non-royalty nobles to have flashier and more expensive blades than royalty. There are even oral traditions of Sulu rulers who would gift noteworthy non-nobility subjects with ivory-pommel blades, while keeping modest blades for themselves.

Certain royalty, from Datu all the way up to the Sultan, preferred to carry these modest blades,because they valued these blades' intrinsic value as their pusaka (heirloom). Then there were also Datu and Sultan who preferred foreign or modern weapons, such as sabers and guns.

Nevertheless, that's a very nice nobility barung

[Sajen]

Congrats Jose, very nice barung!

[kino]

Originally Posted by xasterix

Moro blades with expensive materials and high craftmanship may be commissioned by any member of the nobility- and this was not limited to those with rank in royalty or military, but also to affluent members of the populace- merchants, shopkeepers- and those invaluable to the community, such as council of elders, priests, sorcerers, even highly successful and senior blacksmiths and artisans.

I’ve always wondered why some ivory hilted sandata survived unscathed, all intact with clean blades, perhaps these were the ones owned by the community members other than the soldiers and raiders.

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by kino

I’ve always wondered why some ivory hilted sandata survived unscathed, all intact with clean blades, perhaps these were the ones owned by the community members other than the soldiers and raiders.

That's right sir some of these highly aesthetic blades were also gifted to foreign rulers and dignitaries, or traveled far and wide as dowries for transcontinental marriages. That would account for these blades surviving and preserved elsewhere. That's why there's always a story behind every Moro blade...more data is coming to light in the recent years, as Moro elders and culture-bearers have begun sharing and even publishing info about their ancestors' blade practices.

And the very interesting thing...is that the Luzon and Visayan peoples had their own practices as well; they also had nobility blades after all.