27th October 2005, 03:58 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Witness Protection Program
Posts: 1,730
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..and yet another Visayan Sword
here's one that was given to me by my wife as a b-day present. doesn't know much
about it except that it's visayan (cebu, perhaps?). starting with the blade: beveled side is completely covered with engravings, save for the edge. close to the tip, it has the rosicurian crucifix, and right below it, the initial "JHS" which, after searching the net, found this latin description, "Jesu Hominem Salvator" (Jesus, Savior of man). another peculiar thing are groups of three hash marks scattered thru out the blade. now, with the cross, initials and three hash marks combine, it represent the jesuit order. a friar's sundang? the handle is carabao horn in a naga (man-og) form, with silver beads for eyes. also the ferrule is silver. one thing i didn't notice right away was how the guard's end is in the form of a snake. pretty slick, IMO... seems like whoever designed this was in some serious snake cult. the scabbard is kamagong, with three wide silver bands covered in some pretty intricate okir-like designs. at the toe of the scabbard are again, silver, discs. on the band closest to the throat, there's a metal loop, about quarter of an inch in diameter, welded almost at the center of it. the purpose of this is unknown. as a sword, its weight is distributed proportionally. anyone care to shed some more light on this sundang? i'm really interested in knowing what part of the visayan region this one originated from. maybe from one of the christian cults in bohol/samar/leyte area? anyhow, here are some detailed pics. enjoy. here's the handle: |
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