Moro kampilan (?) Spanish American war era

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Being completely unfamiliar with Filipino weapons, I have had this example for more years than I can say, always thinking of it as a 'bolo' (no laughing) with that as a catch all term I guess.

It seems to have a resemblance to this posted example IMO. Could this be one of these? Are these indeed Moro? I presume also a Spanish-American war bringback.

The reason I got it was the hilt style with guard had a characteristic similarity to the Spanish colonial espada ancha, and figured it was reflecting influences of those much earlier swords but with Filipino blade.

I would love to hear more about it if anyone has insight. How long is the blade? So I guess this would be a revolutionary sword either Philippine Revolution or Philippine American War (likely latter as a bring back) and likely Luzon because of the strong Spanish design influence (Visayas, Moro etc had their own distinct blade culture) as well as the regimented military style of some of the Luzon conflicts. Since it is presumably not a calvary piece, does the length indicate officer use?

[Ian]

Hi Jim,

Your sword in post #6 is unlikely to be Visayan. As noted by Sajen already it is more likely from Luzon. There are swords from Cebu that show similar hilts, presumably because it was a significant city with heavy Spanish influence, but I think this is more likely a Luzon sword. The narrow ricasso is unusual for Luzon swords, although we do see that feature on some Bicol swords such as the minasbad. I also have a bat-headed sword from Bicol that has a clipped blade and a narrow "waist" at the ricasso.

Bicol swords and knives seem to be a nexus of Luzon and Visayan styles, and some Bicol blades have chisel grinds. There are other scattered areas in Luzon where chisel ground blades are found, but they are not commonly made on Luzon.

The blade seems also to be unusually long (a measured length would help), and elsewhere on these pages it has been noted several times that during WWII swords of increased length were produced to counter the Japanese katana. If the blade on your sword is 28+ inches in length, then I think it is likely WWII era in manufacture. It is my understanding that swords of that length were rarely (if ever) made in Luzon and the Visayas before WWII. However, xasterix is the one here who can give you the best reading on that issue.

Lastly, the guard. Yes, it does resemble those on some of the espada ancha from Latin America. However, Chinese influence is also a possibility, especially in regard to the D-guard with down-turned quillion.

Regards, Ian.

[Jim McDougall]

Thank you so much guys! As I noted, I know very little on the weapons in this field, but acquired this during the decades I was studying espada anchas and the similarity (Ian-very good point I had not thought of! the Chinese style) in the hilt.
I dont have the actual weapon at hand, but it seems the blade was 22-23".

It seems a rugged, ersatz style example, so the wartime possibility seems likely.

I really appreciate the input, and Ian for going into such detail. The specialty in studying the weapons of these areas is so complicated! but incredibly fascinating, I can see why the profound interest!

[JeffS]

Just saw this on Facebook. New book with fascinating historic uniforms. One of the pages shows that, indeed, there was calvary employing long swords.

[AHite]

That looks like a Must Buy book for me as I grow my collection of Philippine weapons from this era. Also like the Remington Rolling Blocks! I had a Spanish-made licensed RB (Spanish American War bringback) which is most likely what these soldiers were carrying.

Andrew