The good fortune in acquiring this account is that the Manobo and Mandaya are neighbors and nearly all of the weapons of the Manobo are acquired from the Mandaya through trade. Garvan's extensive description of Manobo weapons are thus the most detailed account of Mandaya weapons that I have found to date.

The Manobo occupy the Compostela and Agusan River valleys, an area that lies to the north and west of the Mandaya who largely occupy the peninsula on the eastern side of Davao Gulf. Garvan notes that the Manobo were inferior to the Mandaya in many aspects of technology, and they admired and feared the Mandaya for their superior culture. For their part, the Mandaya were very wary of their volatile and unpredictable neighbors. So there was a standoff, with the two tribal groups staying out of each other's way as much as possible, and engaging only in activities of mutual benefit (such as trade). Intermarriage between the two tribal groups did occur, but was uncommon.

Garvan devotes Chapter 9 of his treatise to Weapons and Implements. I have transcribed below what he has to say about the bolo and its sheath (pp 84-86) and the dagger and its sheath (pp 89-90).

Here is a picture of the bolo from the earlier post. The dimensions of this sword are as follows:

Overall length (tip to tip) = 19 5/8 inches
Length of hilt = 6 inches
Thickness of blade in front of hilt = 5/16 inches
Length of blade = 13 3/4 inches
Narrowest width of blade = 1 inch
Widest width of blade = 2 3/8 inches
Distance from hilt to "notch" at start of cutting edge = 2 1/4 inches
Distance from tip to maximum width = 3 3/8 inches

(Compare these dimensions with those specified below)

THE BOLO AND ITS SHEATH

"[The bolo is the Manobo man's] inseparable companion by day and, in regions where the influence of civil or military authority is not strongly felt, also by night.

As there are but two Manobo blacksmiths that I know of, all bolos are imported, either from the Mandayans or the Banuaons, though from time to time one sees a weapon that has made its way from the Bagobo. The prevailing bolo is of Mandaya workmanship and merits a more detailed description.

It is a substantial steel blade varying in length from 30 to 45 centimeters [about 12 to 18 inches]. At its juncture with the handle it is about as broad as the handle but narrows gradually on top, and less so on the lower edge, to a breadth of 25 millimeters [1 inch] at a point one-sixth of the length of the blade from the handle. At this point the back of the bolo changes its direction, running off at an angle to its previous direction of 15 degrees. The lower part or edge of the weapon gradually bellies out until the blade, at a point one-fourth of its entire length from the tip attains its maximum breadth (7 to 10 centimeters) [about 3 to 4 inches] whence it curves like the segment of a circle to the point of the weapon.

The type of bolo that is considered more pretentious, and that is more common on the upper Agusan River, has a thin straight back up to within 6 or 7 centimeters of the handle, at which point the direction of the handle is slightly changed. In other respects this bolo is similar to the one described above.

At the narrowest part of the bolo and on the underside there is occasionally a serrated decoration in the steel, the significance of which I do not know.

The handle is occasionally of ebony, but more commonly of some other wood. The grasp for the handle is cylindrical. The handle is often bound with a braid of rattan, or a band or two of steel or of brass, to prevent splitting, or less commonly with silver bands for ornament's sake. Curving downward beyond the grasp is a carved ornamentation that suggests remotely the head of a bird with an upturned curving bill. This is one continuous piece with the grasp. It is rare to find brass ferrules and hand guards at the juncture of the blade with the handle.

The sheath, which is of Manobo production, consists of two pieces of thin light wood a little broader than the bolo. It is almost rectangular in form for a distance equal to the length of the blade, and then the edges become gradually narrower up to a point that is about 3 centimeters from the end; at this point they expand into a small square with incurving sides.

The two pieces are held together closely by bands of rattan coiled around them at equal intervals. A coating of beeswax serves to preserve the wood and at the same time to impart a finished appearance to the sheath. Frequently pot black is mixed with the beeswax, and on the upper and central parts, and on the ends and edges, symmetrical bands of this black paint are applied according to the fancy of the wearer.

The girdle, which is nearly always of braided abaka fiber, frequently multicolored, and which holds the weapon to the left side of the wearer, passes through a hole on the outer side of the sheath. The hole is made through the central embossed part of the outer piece of the sheath.

A noteworthy feature of the sheath is that it is so made that by pushing the handle to the lower side of the aperture of the sheath, the weapon remains locked and cannot fall out or be withdrawn until the handle is pushed back to the upper side of the aperture."

[A picture of a Manobo man wearing his bolo in the locked position is included with the article. I will scan this and forward it to Lee for inserting into this thread.]

[There then follows an interesting description, which I am not transcribing but will photocopy for anyone interested, on A Magic Test for the Efficiency of a Bolo ]

And here are pictures of the dagger in an earlier post.

image restored from archive

image restored from archive

image restored from archive

THE DAGGER AND ITS SHEATH

"A weapon, whose distribution is limited almost exclusively to Manobos south of 8 degrees of latitude, is the Mandaya dagger, of Mandaya workmanship, and indicative of Mandaya influence.

Its component parts are a thin laminated piece of steel from 15 to 25 centimeters [6 to 10 inches] long with a thin, tapering rod somewhat shorter, projecting in the line of the axis, and a hilt of banati through which the projection of the blade passes. It is carried in a sheath which is held at the wearer’s right side by a girdle.

The blade is two-edged, widening from a sharp point to two shoulders from 3 to 4 centimeters apart [1.2 to 1.6 inches], whence the edges incurve gradually and finally end in two projecting spurs 3 or 4 centimeters apart. The rod for the reception of the hilt extends from this point along the line of the axis for a distance of 6 to 8 centimeters [2.2 to 3.2 inches].

From time to time one finds a blade that is inlaid with tiny pieces of brass or silver, but there is never any kind of ornamentation.

The handle is of a type that is unique, as far as I know, in the Philippine Islands. In using the dagger the body of the hilt is seized in the right hand, the index finger is inserted between one horn of the crescent and the central steel tang, and the thumb between the latter and the other point of the crescent, while the other three fingers hold the weapon within the palm. This method seems clumsy but nevertheless it is the orthodox way of holding it. Fastened to the right side of the wearer in a more or less horizontal position and with the handle projecting forward, it is always at the owner’s disposal for prompt and deadly action, especially so as only a mere thread or two of abaka fiber running from the handle to the upper part of the sheath retains the weapon in its sheath.

The handle is usually strengthened at its neck with plaited rings of nito fiber and may have ornamental silver work, both at that point and on the horns, or even at times on the whole outer surface of it.

The sheath consists of two pieces of wood of an elongated rectangular shape, spreading out at the extremity. Strips of rattan wound at intervals hold the two pieces together and a paint of blended beeswax and pot black is ordinarily employed to give a finish to it. But occasionally one sees bands of beaten silver at the head of the sheath, and, less frequently, a profusion of beautiful, artistic silverwork set over the whole sheath."

Ian.

Alas, the dagger is not mine but belongs to our esteemed Moderator (Rick). I simply borrowed the picture (via URL) from an earlier post here. In that post, the materials are discussed by Rick and others.

Figure 1. Manobo man wearing the typical Mandayan sword and scabbard.

Figure 2. Two Manobo men dueling with spears and shields. The man on the left wears a Mandaya knife in his belt. The spears are long and the large heads resemble Mandaya, Bagobo, and other spear heads from Mindanao. The shields are typical Mandaya.

Figure 3. A collection of Manobo spears, arrows, shields, knives, betel nut containers, and swords. The swords are described as fighting Mandaya bolos. The scabbards are of the typical Mandaya style. One of the Mandaya bolos appears to have a demon or naga pommel on the hilt.

Ian.

Thanks.