there seems to be a flurry of moro weapons thread lately, and although this is about a moro kris, this is more in the realm of the unexplained.
it has been a habit of mine taking pictures of every weapon i own. i reckon it's a good insurance, and when i do sell or trade it in the future, in essence, i still have a part of it. although my collection changes every so often, every weapon that i've owned, at the least, i have a record of it.
when i acquired this kris, it wasn't anything spectacular, only that it was originally owned by a certain charlie woodruff, who, according to his decendant, spent some time in the southern part of the philippines during the philippine american war.
as i've mentioned, there's nothing spectacular about it: a straight blade with nicks here and there denoting it has seen some action. the pommel is your typical ivory, although what's odd is the wrapping, which is rattan. you would think a more expensive wrapping would be used. it does have some talismanic symbols on the blade, but unlike what we've seen here lately where it's vague and up for guesswork and late night conversations. no, the symbols are straight up bad juju stuff, solomon rings, etc, etc, and some faded kawi or jawi writings, however you wanna call it. whoever originally owned this meant serious business.
now here's where the unexplained part comes in. please bear with me on this cause it sounds crazy. for the life of me, i can't get a clear picture of it. i've taken countless pics (rechargeable batteries are my new best friends) and i just can't get a decent clear picture of the sword. yes, the camera is on a tripod and the subject is laid flat on the floor. i've taken pictures of another sundang prior to this, and also a panabas after and they both came out fine, clear as could be. when i took the pictures, it was taken all at the same day. there has to be a scientific explanation to this as i'm a pretty logical person. i think it could be the exposure, or even the reflection from the blade that is doing this. these pictures are actually the best ones that came out; on some of them it was just a blob. but anyhow, hopefully, some of our members that delve on photography can explain this; meanwhile enjoy the 'blurry' pictures. btw, are there anyone here that can read kawi? is wilked (dan) still in sulu? are you still here, dan? not sure if ths is sama or tausug.
here are the pictures:
