New forum member from the Philippines

tagalanao · 12th September 2005, 03:30 PM

Hi,

Greetings from the Philippines!

I've long been lurking in this forum as an outsider, though not that often. Took me so long to decide to finally register coz I feel I don't fit in this very scholarly community. I'm no sword enthusiast/collector, just a lowly sword vendor (on ebay mostly). But recently, I found myself talking to a few of you here privately, so I figured I must join the forum as well. And Kai kept prodding me to join. So here I am.

I'm in a small city called Iligan, which used to be capital of Lanao del Norte province. The capital was moved elsewhere, but Iligan remains the business center for all of Lanao (Lanao del Sur included). Lanao is home of the Maranaos, or "people of the lake," one of the Muslim tribes in the southern island of Mindanao. Iligan is only an hour's drive away from Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur, and 1.5 hours away from Tugaya, where many of you know is home to Maranao swordsmiths.

I'm a journalist by profession. I used to write for a daily paper in Manila, but I can't tolerate the traffic, the floods and the rat race. My last assignment there was covering the Senate, which got me really bored. I decided to bring my family back to my hometown, and resumed my journalistic pursuits here. It was much more exciting work than Manila. But the low pay in the journalism industry in this country drove me to look for other sources income, and thus found ebay, and the Moro swords. I don't do journalism on a regular basis now, only on special assignments. I also do photography work on the side.

While I enjoy earning more on ebay, I also enjoy the readings I need to do so I could communicate well with my buyers, who usually are much more knowledgeable. And reading about Moro swords made me learn more about the history of my very own people. Unfortunately, there's not much reading materials available here. But I can see a lot of people here who know Mindanao a lot.

I'm no Maranao Moro though (how I wish I were), even though I'm living in a place that is traditionally Maranao. That's why I opted to use "tagalanao" instead for this forum, which is vernacular (for the Cebuano dialect) for "one who is from Lanao."

Hoping to an enjoyable stay in this forum.

Bobby T.

mmontoro · 12th September 2005, 04:26 PM

Hi Bobby and welcome. I have enjoyed your photography as a fascinating glimpse into a place most of us will never go.

Best,
Manny

tagalanao · 12th September 2005, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmontoro

Hi Bobby and welcome. I have enjoyed your photography as a fascinating glimpse into a place most of us will never go.

Manny, why not come to our place so I can show you around? If forum members would love to organize an educational visit to Tugaya, I'd love to show them around. But in the meantime, hope these pictures will do ...

http://www.pbase.com/timonera/tugaya

Bob

Bill · 12th September 2005, 05:03 PM

Hi Bobby, Have enjoyed your site & bookmarked it some time ago. Great photos, good to see you posted the link for everyone to enjoy. Don't be shy about posting more photos here, especially smithing. Thanks Bill

engar · 12th September 2005, 05:26 PM

Hi Bobby,
Welcome to this forum and thanks for the amazing pics.
Regards from Spain.

Spunjer · 12th September 2005, 04:39 PM

welcome and kamusta po kayo, bobby t.!
we are not scholars here (well, i can assure you i'm i'm not) lol, but you will find some very, very knowledgeable members here. hang and ask around, wag kang mahiya!!! i'm sure with your unique position being in mindanao, we could learn a lot from you.

btw, do you still travel to gensan and deal with hajji nur?

tagalanao · 12th September 2005, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spunjer

welcome and kamusta po kayo, bobby t.!
we are not scholars here (well, i can assure you i'm i'm not) lol, but you will find some very, very knowledgeable members here. hang and ask around, wag kang mahiya!!! i'm sure with your unique position being in mindanao, we could learn a lot from you.

btw, do you still travel to gensan and deal with hajji nur?

Spunjer,

Thanks for the warm welcome!

I don't purposely travel to GenSan to meet Haji Noor. That's 11 hours drive away! But I'm frequent in the Davao / GenSan / Sarangani area for journalistic and other pursuits, so I get to meet him often. Sometimes, he sends me blades more than I could handle. :-) But lately, I go to Marawi almost every week to meet another Cadi who's as prolific as Noor.

Bob

Ferguson · 12th September 2005, 05:44 PM

Welcome Bobby T. Great to have you here.

Steve Ferguson

Andrew · 12th September 2005, 06:06 PM

Welcome, Bobby!

nechesh · 12th September 2005, 07:47 PM

Hi Bobby, welcome to the forum. I believe we had some communication a while back when your auctions first started showing up on eBay.
As one photojournalist to another, my sincerest compliments on your photography. It is a great photo essay on modern traditional craft in the Philippines. I hope you have found someone to sell it to.

Have you considered trying one of the big boys like National Geographic. I can't attest to your writing skills yet, but your photography is up to their standards.

tagalanao · 13th September 2005, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nechesh

Hi Bobby, welcome to the forum. I believe we had some communication a while back when your auctions first started showing up on eBay.
As one photojournalist to another, my sincerest compliments on your photography. It is a great photo essay on modern traditional craft in the Philippines. I hope you have found someone to sell it to.

Have you considered trying one of the big boys like National Geographic. I can't attest to your writing skills yet, but your photography is up to their standards.

nechesh,

i'm just a third rate writer in a third world country, as you'll soon find out in my posts. my writings appear good only in the newspapers and magazines coz i have good editors.

national geographic, wow! that's beyond my dreams. but how i wish!

yeah, we talked about 2 years ago, i guess.

bob

nechesh · 13th September 2005, 01:26 AM

You gotta dream bobby, you gotta dream!

kai · 12th September 2005, 08:01 PM

Hi Bob,

Welcome!

Now, please post those Kampilan pics!

Regards,
Kai

Battara · 12th September 2005, 08:51 PM

Mabuhay Bob!

Glad you finally took the plunge. Now you can swim in the murky waters with the rest of us.

Your insights and experience can teach us more than you know.

Please share more pictures and knowledge with the rest of us "scholars"(

).

punal · 12th September 2005, 09:17 PM

Hey Bob! is that you?
Finally, you've made it!!!

I welcome you my friend!

I'm looking forward to see more
lovely photos from you.

Now, post those Kampilan pics!!!

"spousal Sec."

12th September 2005, 03:30 PM	#1
tagalanao Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Lanao, Philippines Posts: 37	New forum member from the Philippines Hi, Greetings from the Philippines! I've long been lurking in this forum as an outsider, though not that often. Took me so long to decide to finally register coz I feel I don't fit in this very scholarly community. I'm no sword enthusiast/collector, just a lowly sword vendor (on ebay mostly). But recently, I found myself talking to a few of you here privately, so I figured I must join the forum as well. And Kai kept prodding me to join. So here I am. I'm in a small city called Iligan, which used to be capital of Lanao del Norte province. The capital was moved elsewhere, but Iligan remains the business center for all of Lanao (Lanao del Sur included). Lanao is home of the Maranaos, or "people of the lake," one of the Muslim tribes in the southern island of Mindanao. Iligan is only an hour's drive away from Marawi, the capital of Lanao del Sur, and 1.5 hours away from Tugaya, where many of you know is home to Maranao swordsmiths. I'm a journalist by profession. I used to write for a daily paper in Manila, but I can't tolerate the traffic, the floods and the rat race. My last assignment there was covering the Senate, which got me really bored. I decided to bring my family back to my hometown, and resumed my journalistic pursuits here. It was much more exciting work than Manila. But the low pay in the journalism industry in this country drove me to look for other sources income, and thus found ebay, and the Moro swords. I don't do journalism on a regular basis now, only on special assignments. I also do photography work on the side. While I enjoy earning more on ebay, I also enjoy the readings I need to do so I could communicate well with my buyers, who usually are much more knowledgeable. And reading about Moro swords made me learn more about the history of my very own people. Unfortunately, there's not much reading materials available here. But I can see a lot of people here who know Mindanao a lot. I'm no Maranao Moro though (how I wish I were), even though I'm living in a place that is traditionally Maranao. That's why I opted to use "tagalanao" instead for this forum, which is vernacular (for the Cebuano dialect) for "one who is from Lanao." Hoping to an enjoyable stay in this forum. Bobby T.

12th September 2005, 08:01 PM	#13
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,254	See, that didn't hurt, did it? :) Hi Bob, Welcome! Now, please post those Kampilan pics! Regards, Kai

12th September 2005, 04:26 PM	#2
mmontoro Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 91	Hi Bobby and welcome. I have enjoyed your photography as a fascinating glimpse into a place most of us will never go. Best, Manny

12th September 2005, 05:03 PM	#4
Bill Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Chicago area Posts: 327	Hi Bobby, Have enjoyed your site & bookmarked it some time ago. Great photos, good to see you posted the link for everyone to enjoy. Don't be shy about posting more photos here, especially smithing. Thanks Bill

12th September 2005, 05:26 PM	#5
engar Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Madrid, Spain Posts: 14	Hi Bobby, Welcome to this forum and thanks for the amazing pics. Regards from Spain.

12th September 2005, 04:39 PM	#6
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	welcome and kamusta po kayo, bobby t.! we are not scholars here (well, i can assure you i'm i'm not) lol, but you will find some very, very knowledgeable members here. hang and ask around, wag kang mahiya!!! i'm sure with your unique position being in mindanao, we could learn a lot from you. btw, do you still travel to gensan and deal with hajji nur?

12th September 2005, 05:44 PM	#8
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	Welcome Bobby T. Great to have you here. Steve Ferguson

12th September 2005, 06:06 PM	#9
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	Welcome, Bobby!

12th September 2005, 07:47 PM	#10
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	Hi Bobby, welcome to the forum. I believe we had some communication a while back when your auctions first started showing up on eBay. As one photojournalist to another, my sincerest compliments on your photography. It is a great photo essay on modern traditional craft in the Philippines. I hope you have found someone to sell it to. Have you considered trying one of the big boys like National Geographic. I can't attest to your writing skills yet, but your photography is up to their standards.

13th September 2005, 01:26 AM	#12
nechesh Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 940	You gotta dream bobby, you gotta dream!

12th September 2005, 08:51 PM	#14
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,219	Mabuhay Bob! Glad you finally took the plunge. Now you can swim in the murky waters with the rest of us. Your insights and experience can teach us more than you know. Please share more pictures and knowledge with the rest of us "scholars"( ).

12th September 2005, 09:17 PM	#15
punal Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 91	Hey Bob! is that you? Finally, you've made it!!! I welcome you my friend! I'm looking forward to see more lovely photos from you. Now, post those Kampilan pics!!! "spousal Sec."