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Originally Posted by Ian
You will notice some discussion of the term sarimanok here (interpreted as "beautiful bird"). That discussion extended into its own thread, which has indeed been a spirited debate. Ron has proposed that sarimanok actually refers to a mythical chicken/rooster that appears in the folk lore of the Maranao people of Mindanao, and by extension concludes that what Cato described as a kakatua pommel on kris and barung is actually a depiction of the mythical sarimanok. The term manok is widely used in the Philippines to refer specifically to a chicken. However, if we use the more generic translation of sarimanok as meaning beautiful bird, then the bird in question could be a kakatua. And so the beat goes on!
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Perhaps i am picking at hairs here Ian, but Ron has not proposed the Sarimanok refers to this mythological bird. That much is pretty well established. It is also pretty well established that Sarimanok is not a kakatau (cockatoo) or any form of parrot. This bird is well known within the culture and has been depicted again and again in art and in connection with royalty and institutions.
The part that is being proposed by Ron that has not been clearly established yet is whether or not the intention of these Moro kris pommels that we know so well are indeed meant to represent the Sarimanok or if Cato was correct in calling them Kakatau. Obviously more evidence needs to be presented before either theory can be considered absolute fact. Since the Sarimanok does have a significant place within the culture as the name of a specific creature i would find some difficulty is using the word more generically to mean "beautiful bird".