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Old 1st November 2008, 12:01 PM   #10
migueldiaz
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill
I've seen where it was stated that the "prong" side was hacked into the ground & the ax side used for a cutting station ...

Not to say head taking had completely stopped in this time period but it certainly became infrequent.
Hi Bill,

Yes, I've also read about the subject battle axe being used as an adze, using the technique you've just mentioned.

I also heard that the other (grisly) use of the spike is to pick up the fallen opponent's severed head.

I've also heard from Igorots that the spike is also used as a grappling tool when Igorots scale steep hillsides.

Finally, there are rumors that up to this day, there are still isolated cases of headhunting, to settle scores between feuding clans living deep in the highlands of the Cordilleras.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nonoy Tan
... maybe the axe is new - i.e. a creation made no earlier than the late 19th century.
Hi Nonoy,

If the axe is new, then the question to my mind is what did the Igorot warriors use then for close quarters combat?

Given that the Igorots didn't develop a sword for the purpose, wouldn't it follow then that the battle axe was there all along, and it cannot be a recent creation by necessity?

They say that the ninja's primary weapon is really the bow and arrow. And the katana only comes in as a weapon of last resort, when things weren't resolved at farther distances.

For the Moros, it may be the same thing. The spear is the one used first, and the barong and the kris would come in only later.

The Igorots fight the same way. And some actually carry two spears: one is used as a missile, and the other is used for close combat. Or if the Igorot happened to carry just one spear (which may be more prevalent), then we can suppose that it will be the axe that will be used for close combat.

So wouldn't the axe of the Igorot be by necessity an ancient weapon also, given the said fighting style, and given further the practice of headhunting as their ultimate recreation?

On the latter point, we read this from Jenks' early-1900s study of the Igorots:
"His [the Bontoc male] social life is lowly, and before marriage is most primitive; but a man has only one wife, to whom he is usually faithful. The social group is decidedly democratic; there are no slaves [isn't this cool and a very advanced concept at the time?]. The people are neither drunkards, gamblers, nor 'sportsmen.' There is little 'color' in the life of the Igorot; he is not very inventive and seems to have little imagination [hey ...]. His chief recreation—certainly his most-enjoyed and highly prized recreation—is head-hunting."
[The words in brackets above are mine obviously. And I was also the one who supplied the underscoring.]

To my mind thus, given that the decapitation of the enemy's head is part and parcel of the Igorots' battlefield practice, and given further that the taking of heads is his chief leisure activity, by necessity the axe has to be as old as the Igorot society.

As to its origins, perhaps it's already staring us in the face.

The Cordillera axe for all we know must be the truly original ethnic Filipino weapon-and-tool!

Just my 2 cents

PS -

Historians say that the Igorot must have been the quintessential ethnic Filipinos, as they were the ones least influenced by colonizers, being the least accessible.

Thus once again, couldn't it be that the subject axe is indeed an ethnic Filipino original, a weapon and a tool that was shaped by the Igorots' way of life, without the influence of outsiders?

The plot thickens?

If I were a Phil. history student, I'd certainly like to make this as the subject of my dissertation.

Nonoy, with your connections to the Phil. museums and perhaps even the academe, maybe you'd like to suggest to them that more studies be made on the subject?
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Last edited by migueldiaz; 1st November 2008 at 12:27 PM.
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