Hi Bill,
I am glad that you like the walking cane. Apparently, a lot of time was devoted by the maker to incise those intricate designs onto the cane's surface. It is one of a kind and I have not seen anything like it. It is truly a work of art.
As far as I know those marks are designs not writings. Such designs were also present as tattoos among warriors of the northern Luzon cordillera, particularly those who have taken enemy heads. Also, these peoples do not appear to have had a writing culture, but rather oral traditions (chants, songs, prayers) passed on from one generation to the next.
On the other hand, many Philippine peoples such as the Tagalog, Visayan, Ilokano, etc. were using the ancient script until the introduction of the latin-based writing by Spain. The ancient script died a natural death, with the exception of the Hanunoo Mangyan (Mindoro Island) and Tagbanwa (Palawan) script which survives to the present day.
Nonoy
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