Kampilan and budiak spear for comment
 

Good day!

I have recently acquired a kampilan and spear, i would like to hear your comments on them. approximate age or ethnic group, location?

The kampilan i have has no "eye", has a metal knuckle guard, has holes for the hair attachment, rattand wrapped, i havent measured the blade. scabbard i dont think is original with the blade, i think it is a later maranao made piece.

the budiak is not long, maybe 4 feet all in all. has brass rings with engraving. it also has a steel bottom tip. with brass adornments also.

i have yet to clean them up, and will post more pics when i do. :)

thanks
PBH

Hello PBH,

That looks like a really nice, antique kampilan (in need of some TLC)! I can't see much of the scabbard - any clues on the type of wood utilized?

The spear might be Lumad. However, close-ups of the brass fittings would be needed for verification.

Regards,
Kai

Thank you KAI, the scabbard it came with is brass, with inlay, not sure what material. that's why i assumed it is maranao.

i will take better photos after i clean it up.

thank you again!

Lovely kampie! I don't think the spear in Moro, but fine, nonetheless!

here are some more pics and closeups of the spear and kampilan, i have cleaned the scabbard and more of the images popped out. it maybe silver inlay on brass.

On the kampilan, it might be Ilanun. However I agree that the scabbard is later and Maranao.

The spear is interesting. It does look Lumad, perhaps Bagobo, Tagagolo, or perhaps even T'oli. However, the terminal end looks like it came from an Igorot spear, which also is usually around 4 feet.

I agree with Battara and Kai. This kampilan is old and on the short side (can you post dimensions please). I'm assuming that Battara is basing his Ilanum attribution on the shortness of the blade and the hilt form--I also think that the sword itself is probably Ilanum. The brass scabbard is typical Maranao work and might date from the late 1930s to the 1960s or so when this feature was probably most common on Maranao pieces (although occasionally seen up to the end of the 20th C). The spear looks Lumad to me too--I would add B'laan to Battara's list of possibilities.


BTW, some of the rust on the kampilan blade looks recent and aggressive. The blade probably needs a good clean and oiling.

yes, the rusting seems very "aggressive", i was careful not to point that out hehe. might be gruesome for some.

the dimensions:

kampilan:
blade: 27 1/2"
hilt: 9 1/2"
overall: 37"
handle length (grip part): 3 1/2"
guard: 5 1/2" wide and 1 1/2" thick
blade spine thickness: 1cm (base) - .1cm tip
spine length: 24"
width of blade: 1" base, 1 3/4" widest

SPEAR
cutting edge: 8" (1 1/2" widest part)
head: 11 1/2"
brass spirals: 15"
end spike: 7"
OAL: 5ft

An igorot friend says this spear is not igorot because they do not use brass, but rattan instead.

Thank you for your insights. the blades are soaking now in vinegar. :)

I agree that the mounts are not Igorot nor is the blade. The shaft however is the right length for an Igorot spear and the end does look Igorot. It might be right for a Lumad piece of a particular tribe or usage. We know so little of Lumad spears that anything is possible at this point. :shrug:

here they are now :)

i am not getting the contrast that i want yet. i will try again in the near future.

my vinegar tube tank is too short for the kampilan so i tried lemon. it was my first time to try lemon etch. it was taking too long and not much pattern is coming out. then i went for ferric chloride, and these patterns came out.

the spear head is a vinegar soak etch.