Kampilan Bolo - Bogobo or T'boli or a mixture?

prh345 · 30th January 2013, 07:11 AM

I purchased this in Manilla in 1978 and it was identified by the curator of the museum in Manilla as a Bogobo Bolo from Mindanao. I was told that it had been confiscated from a native chief by the Davao police chief. It was of superior quality than anything held in the Manilla museum according to the curator, who showed me their collection and who provided me with an export certificate.

On and off for the last 30 years I have been researching the item, and it
seems perhaps it contains features of both Bogobo and T'boli. To me the blade and hilt appear to be T'boli but the bead work and fabric on the sheath from what I've seen appears more of the Bogobo style. Perhaps it was T'boli and captured or traded and then embellished more by the Bogobo?

According to the Museum curator, the chains on the hilt and sheath are mainly iron, but some that have fallen off have been replaced by the tribesmen by brass and later copper. Similarly, the ornaments at the ends of the chains are (he said) mainly originally native tin metal (?), with some lost ones replaced with aluminium, supposedly from WW2 crashed aircraft! Also 4 ornaments have been replaced with ones carved from a cream coloured plastic. They all have a well age patina. There are none of the hawk bells that the Bogobo seems to specialise in.

I find it interesting that the native owner has gone to a lot of effort to maintain the completeness by replacing lost bits with whatever was available in that time period. It seems that the very well made iron chain could not be duplicated in the more recently replaced parts. It is in the original condition when I bought it. I have had it on display from the last 34 years and surprisingly, there has been no sign of any corrosion occurring on the blade.

The blade is 17 1/2" (45cm) and 24" (61cm) overall.

Given the blade length, would it be considered a kampilan? I believe a "tok" is a highly decorated ceremonial version but has a longer 60-70cm blade according to the thread; http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum.../000636-2.html

I am a newbie to these forums but from reading the threads it seems some of the senior members here are much more knowledgeable than me on the topic of T'Boli and Bogobo swords of Mindanoa.

Questions - T'boli or Bogobo or mixture?
Likely age?
Kampilan or Tok?
Would it have likely had hawks bells originally? (The curator said it would have probably had the native tin talismans - he didn't mentions bells.)

What would the metal wrappings likely be?
The curator said the sheet metal wrappings on the sheath are silver, but they have shown no tarnish typical of silver. They are engraved and there is no rust in the engraving which would have penetrated any plating - so not tin plated. I suspect the metal wrapping may be aluminium (again possibly from WW2 plane wreck?).

I would appreciate any opinions and comments on any aspect.

Thanks,
Peter

30th January 2013, 07:11 AM	#1
prh345 Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 5	Kampilan Bolo - Bogobo or T'boli or a mixture? I purchased this in Manilla in 1978 and it was identified by the curator of the museum in Manilla as a Bogobo Bolo from Mindanao. I was told that it had been confiscated from a native chief by the Davao police chief. It was of superior quality than anything held in the Manilla museum according to the curator, who showed me their collection and who provided me with an export certificate. On and off for the last 30 years I have been researching the item, and it seems perhaps it contains features of both Bogobo and T'boli. To me the blade and hilt appear to be T'boli but the bead work and fabric on the sheath from what I've seen appears more of the Bogobo style. Perhaps it was T'boli and captured or traded and then embellished more by the Bogobo? According to the Museum curator, the chains on the hilt and sheath are mainly iron, but some that have fallen off have been replaced by the tribesmen by brass and later copper. Similarly, the ornaments at the ends of the chains are (he said) mainly originally native tin metal (?), with some lost ones replaced with aluminium, supposedly from WW2 crashed aircraft! Also 4 ornaments have been replaced with ones carved from a cream coloured plastic. They all have a well age patina. There are none of the hawk bells that the Bogobo seems to specialise in. I find it interesting that the native owner has gone to a lot of effort to maintain the completeness by replacing lost bits with whatever was available in that time period. It seems that the very well made iron chain could not be duplicated in the more recently replaced parts. It is in the original condition when I bought it. I have had it on display from the last 34 years and surprisingly, there has been no sign of any corrosion occurring on the blade. The blade is 17 1/2" (45cm) and 24" (61cm) overall. Given the blade length, would it be considered a kampilan? I believe a "tok" is a highly decorated ceremonial version but has a longer 60-70cm blade according to the thread; http://www.vikingsword.com/ubb/Forum.../000636-2.html I am a newbie to these forums but from reading the threads it seems some of the senior members here are much more knowledgeable than me on the topic of T'Boli and Bogobo swords of Mindanoa. Questions - T'boli or Bogobo or mixture? Likely age? Kampilan or Tok? Would it have likely had hawks bells originally? (The curator said it would have probably had the native tin talismans - he didn't mentions bells.) What would the metal wrappings likely be? The curator said the sheet metal wrappings on the sheath are silver, but they have shown no tarnish typical of silver. They are engraved and there is no rust in the engraving which would have penetrated any plating - so not tin plated. I suspect the metal wrapping may be aluminium (again possibly from WW2 plane wreck?). I would appreciate any opinions and comments on any aspect. Thanks, Peter Attached Images