Pulahan Talibong with red guard and engravings
 

Sharing my Tailbong blade from the Pulahan movement in the Philippines.

The provenance of this blade from the person I got it from was that, it was taken from a dead native man in 1906 in La Paz, Leyte during the Pulahan Campaign.

There is an engraving of a bird, I'm thinking perhaps a Sarimanok (?)

Hilt - 6in
Guard (tip to tip) - 4 3/4in
Blade - 15 15/16

I love the engravings.

The blade looks more Tagalog to me. Hard to see details of the hilt. Does the tang go through the end of the hilt?

If this indeed belonged to one of the Pulahanes, you got yourself a part of history.
But I always remember a saying from somebody on this Forum: Buy the sword, not its history:-(((

Indio Ira:

Most unlikely to be a Visayan knife. I agree with battara, this looks like a Central Luzon knife with a hilt often associated with Apalit (Pampanga) manufacture. The edge appears to have a convex grind (rather than chisel grind). The small iron ferrule and a "lip" on the hilt adjacent to the ferrule is often found on older knives from Apalit. Might also be from Lake Taal/Batangas area.

The sarimanok is essentially a Moro folk symbol, especially used by the Maranao people.

Ian

Agreed with what the others have said. The blade profile is a dinahong buo (sometimes called dahong bolo) of Luzon. It may have been mislabeled, a lot of bringback pieces have incorrect tags and provenance.

Thank you all for the feedbacks.

It could have been mislabeled indeed.

I’ve never seen another Pulahan blade besides this one- but the red guard definitely is a good indication wouldn’t you all think?

Pulahan (those wearing red) chosen color is red after all.

Would be great to identify the engravings as well.

I got the blade by the way from Davis brothers

Not necessarily. Many bandoleros (bandit groups) used red as the color of their standard during the insurrection eras, including but not limited to the Katipunan. Contrary to popular belief and as cited in several historical documents, the pulahans didn't actually wear red clothes in battle, and not all of them used the red standard (which may be why their were called "pulahan" in the first place).

...as my mentor would say, imagine wearing red on the battlefield. That makes you a very easy target, doesn't it? The Waray knew better than to wear red trousers + white shirts as their battle uniform. The pulahan, for the most part, did not have such a uniform. It's in the lesser-known books and historical accounts...one just needs to dig really deep and veer away from mainstream references.

The engravings are typical of Luzon bolos and can also be seen in Luzon leather scabbards.

I've read somewhere else that you've started a YouTube channel- best of luck on that. I'd strongly recommend getting a copy of the publication entitled "A Warrior's Armament and Ornament: The Edwin R. Bautista Collection of Philippine Bladed Weapons."

No offense to Cato, but a lot of info is either incorrect or inaccurate in his book. This latest publication sorts out a lot of things, and has the latest data. I suggest you get a hold of it, as it's been vetted by the best Philippine traditional blade experts, from both the academe and collectors' circles. It would be a good reference to base your content on.

I will say though that on one kris for example in the book, I think it is attributed to Sulu when based on pictures of Maguindanaos (and actual Maguindanao with documentation) it is actually Maguindanao.

From the Visayas up I would agree that it is accurate, but for the Moros - I would take the book with a grain of salt. And Cato has not been completely inaccurate, though take him with a grain of salt too.

I absolutely support a book about Filipino blades coming out of the Philippines. 100%.

At long last!

I think the dating on the Gunongs in that book leaves something to be desired.

It's still the largest data set out there, aside, perhaps, from this forum.

Thanks,
Leif

It's not perfect, admittedly. I'm one of those advocating for a second edition to rectify a number of errors- but I think these are minor compared to the wealth of data presented by the book on PH weapons, which have not yet before been compiled in a formal reference.

In a nutshell- anyone wishing to study PH weapons SHOULD have that book beside them. It's not perfect, it's not complete- but it provides a solid, updated foundation for anyone wanting to have significant knowledge.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Leif =)

Oh don't get me wrong - I LOVE the book (and Lorenz was one of the biggest draws for me). I have it and it has great information from the research done in the past 20 years. Example: taribongs/sandukos - I remember brining the original research to this forum with Lorenz's permission - all in this book. :D

Oh I forgot! The pictures are great too! :D

With Cato and others, this is an important book! Yes a second edition would be good, but perhaps a volume 2 as well.

I'll stop now since anymore would hijack this thread more.

Back to the piece - would you be able to provide close up pictures of the hilt, even of the butt of the hilt?