[VANDOO]

NOT KNOWING THE BASE LINE METAL WEAPONS ( FIRST ONES) TO COME TO THE PHILIPPINES WE HAVE TO USE CONJECTURE, LOGIC AND BEST GUESS TO PREDICT THEIR LIKELY EVOLUTION.
TO START WITH WE CAN ASSUME ALL THE TRIBES WOULD HAVE BEEN PAGANS ( A TERM USED BY ALL MAJOR RELIGIONS TO DESCRIBE THE BELIEFS OF TRIBAL PEOPLE OR ONES NOT OF THEIR RELIGION). HEADHUNTING WAS WIDELY PRACTICED BUT THE EXTERMINATION OR ENSLAVING OF ENTIRE TRIBES VERY UNCOMMON AT THAT TIME. MOST TRIBES WERE LIKELY RELATED AS MANY HAD SPLIT AND MOVED APART TO HAVE ENOUGH RESOURCES TO SURVIVE. COMPETITION FOR TERRITORY AS WELL AS PRESTIGE AMONG THESE GROUPS WOULD HAVE INCLUDED HEADHUNTING RAIDS.
THE DAYAKS AND NAGAS WERE BOTH HEADHUNTERS AND FAVORED A HEAVY BLUNT ENDED PARANG ( MANDAU OR NAG AX) THE TIBOLI AND BAGOBO STILL FAVOR THIS FORM OF BLADE AND I SUSPECT THIS WAS THE FAVORED FORM THRU-OUT THE ISLANDS BEFORE THE MOROS OR SPAIN CAME. THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN TRADE AND INFLUENCES FROM MALAY, BATAK, CHINESE AND PERHAPS OTHERS AS WELL. I ATTRIBUTE THE LONG SHARP POINTED WEAPONS TO BE PRIMARILY FROM SPANISH INFLUENCE AND THE BOWIE BLADE SHAPE PERHAPS FROM LATER AMERICAN INFLUENCES. THE KAMPILIAN PROBABLY WAS A LARGER VERSION OF THE EARLIER BLUNT ENDED PARANGS. THE MORO MAY HAVE BEEN THE FIRST TO DEVELOP THE KAMPILIAN OR IT COULD HAVE COME FROM ELSEWHERE AND BEEN ADOPTED BY THEM.?
WHO BROUGHT IN THE FIRST METAL BLADES FOR TRADE IS UNKNOWN. MOORS WHO STARTED THE MOROS FAVORED LARGER WEAPONS AND WERE MORE WARLIKE THAN THE PAGAN TRIBES AND NO DOUBT HAD MORE AND BETTER WEAPONS. INSTEAD OF JUST PROTECTING THEIR TERRITORY AND RAISING THEIR OWN CROPS THEY RAIDED FOR SLAVES. THE SLAVES DID ALL THE WORK LEAVING THE MEN FREE TO MAKE WAR AND HAVE MANY WIVES AND CHILDREN WHICH REQUIRED MORE SLAVES TO SERVE THEM. THIS SYSTEM IS WHAT MADE THE REPUTATION AS GREAT WARRIORS THAT THE MOROS DEVELOPED. THEY DEVELOPED LARGER WEAPONS BETTER SUITED FOR WAR AND PRACTICED AND TRAINED PRIMARILY TO BE WARRIORS. THE PAGAN TRIBES WENT ON THE OCCASIONAL HEADHUNTING RAID AND HAD OCCASIONAL BATTLES TO DEFEND THEIR TERRITORY BUT WERE NOT PROFESSIONAL WARRIORS. PAGAN TRIBES HUNTED, FARMED, AND MOSTLY DID THEIR OWN WORK NOT HAVING LARGE NUMBERS OF SLAVES .
THE MYSTIC STORIES OF THE KERIS OR PERHAPS SOME SLAVES TAKEN OR BOUGHT FROM THE REGIONS WHERE THE KERIS DAGGERS AND LEGENDS WERE, WAS LIKELY THE SOURCE OF THE CREATION OF THE MORO KRIS. THE MORO FAVORED A LARGE SWORD CAPABLE OF REMOVING HEADS AND LIMBS SO A LARGER MODIFIED VERSION INCORPORATING SOME OF THE MAGICAL FEATURES EVOLVED. THE KAMPILIAN IS A LARGER MORE FIERCE VERSION OF THE BLUNT ENDED SWORDS PERHAPS FROM THE EARLIER PAGAN TRIBES SUCH AS THE BAGOBO AND TIBOLI.
THIS IS ALL CONJECTURE BUT A LIKELY SCENARIO. MY USE OF PAGAN AND ANY OTHER TERMS ARE NOT INTENDED TO LOOK DOWN ON OR DISRESPECT ANYONE.