Tribal spears : Taiwan/Philippines/Asia

Nick Wardigo · 10th July 2007, 01:38 PM

You also see variations of the "spiked end" in China and SE Asia on various polearms.

I had assumed this was simply to protect the shaft itself. If you're a guard, and you spend a good part of your day standing around at attention with the butt-end of your spear touching the ground, I'd think there would be a real danger of an unprotected spear rotting (particularly in hotter climates, such as the rainforests of SE Asia). This would also explain why the Moro lances do not have this feature (you don't normally stand around at attention with a lance).

kronckew · 10th July 2007, 02:32 PM

greek and macedonian hoplite spears, sarissa had a square section counterbalance spike which was also usefull as a secondary weapon if the spearpoint broke or was cut off. it appears that a number of skulls found on ancient battle fields were found with square holes in them, it would have been convenient on the advance to spike your downed enemies as you went by to ensure they stayed down, while still presenting the main spearpoint towards the remaining foe. these SE Asian ones could be convergent evolution.

greek hoplite butt spike (top) & spearhead:

macedonian sarissa butt spike (upper left) & spearhead:

they also could be used to anchor the spear butt in the ground when being charged by cavalry to enhance the hedgehog effect. horses being smarter than their noble armoured riders will seek to avoid colliding with sharp pointy things (in spite of heroic stories and mel gibson movies) and tend to stop suddenly, throwing their riders, which is very embarrassing for the knight in shining armour, also why the british square with it's fixed bayonets was rarely broken by cavalry, the horses objected to being shish-kebabed.

yuanzhumin · 13th July 2007, 02:21 AM

Thanks for the infos.
Here are the three Taiwan spears that just entered my collection.
In this same post, the first one is Atayal, the second is Paiwan. In the second post, it is also a Paiwan one.
Similarities with the Philippines spears, from Luzon mostly, seems to be very strong.
Nicolas

yuanzhumin · 13th July 2007, 02:24 AM

The third spear, a Paiwan one.

yuanzhumin · 13th July 2007, 02:28 AM

I don't know why but the images were mixed up in the first post.
So in that post, the Paiwan spear comes first, and the Atayal one is following.

10th July 2007, 02:32 PM	#2
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,224	greek and macedonian hoplite spears, sarissa had a square section counterbalance spike which was also usefull as a secondary weapon if the spearpoint broke or was cut off. it appears that a number of skulls found on ancient battle fields were found with square holes in them, it would have been convenient on the advance to spike your downed enemies as you went by to ensure they stayed down, while still presenting the main spearpoint towards the remaining foe. these SE Asian ones could be convergent evolution. greek hoplite butt spike (top) & spearhead: macedonian sarissa butt spike (upper left) & spearhead: they also could be used to anchor the spear butt in the ground when being charged by cavalry to enhance the hedgehog effect. horses being smarter than their noble armoured riders will seek to avoid colliding with sharp pointy things (in spite of heroic stories and mel gibson movies) and tend to stop suddenly, throwing their riders, which is very embarrassing for the knight in shining armour, also why the british square with it's fixed bayonets was rarely broken by cavalry, the horses objected to being shish-kebabed. Last edited by kronckew; 10th July 2007 at 02:49 PM.

13th July 2007, 02:21 AM	#3
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Thanks for the infos. Here are the three Taiwan spears that just entered my collection. In this same post, the first one is Atayal, the second is Paiwan. In the second post, it is also a Paiwan one. Similarities with the Philippines spears, from Luzon mostly, seems to be very strong. Nicolas Attached Images

13th July 2007, 02:24 AM	#4
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	The third spear, a Paiwan one. Attached Images

10th July 2007, 01:38 PM	#1
Nick Wardigo Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Posts: 54	You also see variations of the "spiked end" in China and SE Asia on various polearms. I had assumed this was simply to protect the shaft itself. If you're a guard, and you spend a good part of your day standing around at attention with the butt-end of your spear touching the ground, I'd think there would be a real danger of an unprotected spear rotting (particularly in hotter climates, such as the rainforests of SE Asia). This would also explain why the Moro lances do not have this feature (you don't normally stand around at attention with a lance).

13th July 2007, 02:28 AM	#5
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	I don't know why but the images were mixed up in the first post. So in that post, the Paiwan spear comes first, and the Atayal one is following.