Barung; weapon, tool or tourist piece?

[migueldiaz]

Spunjer/ Dan, below is the last pic I got of the reactivation of the Ilagas in 2008.

To all -- the Ilagas are supposedly the only group that the Moros are wary about.

In fact last year when the Moro rebels went on a rampage in Mindanao, the reactivation of the Ilagas by the government as one of the countermeasures made the Moro rebels complain something to the effect that "It's not fair!".

Originally Posted by Spunjer

miguel, hehe, now we're talking ilonggo here. some of the Ilagas (literally meaning Rat) still carry blades, in the form of Binangon, but it's more of a utilitarian than primary weapon. but you can bet on this: lots of them has some form of anting-anting. used to be a lot of Ilagas in the outskirt of gensan.

Spunjer, am really glad you can make it

At last, we have an Ilonggo who can shed more light on what his Ilaga uncles are made of Hey, I didn't know that the name means rats.

By the way, are the notches on the rifle (left photo) supposed to mean number of kills? The right photo on the other hand shows the big boss of this Ilaga group. Does that barrel look like it's an M-16-A4?

Last but not the least, thanks for the comment on the binangon! And yes, I do know that the Ilagas are deep into anting-antings (talismans).

As a last point, unlike the Moros, it is apparent that the Ilagas (and Ilonggos, in general?) don't have any sentimentality and symbolism for the tenegres and ginuntings of their forefathers ...