Hello Fernando,
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Point well taken. But allow me to clarify what I meant by my statement that what were shown are "authentic Moro pieces." The present artisans of Tugaya are descended, by family and tradition, from the artisans who made what are now genuine collectible Moro antiques. The items shown on post #9 are therefore made in the traditional center of Maranao crafts by Moro (Maranao) artisans. That was what I meant by "authentic Moro."
It is true that in terms of style and quality, they are not at par with "antique" (for emphasis) Moro pieces but what we are observing is the outcome of a continuing but evolving tradition. Modern/contemporary examples we have seen are therefore still authentic Moro but reflective of contemporary tastes and circumstances.
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I did understand your line of reasoning and apologize for failing to state that I respect this POV.
I believe we need to distinguish between evolving traditions and cultural degeneration though. Maybe the situation can be compared to the living keris tradition on Jawa: The modern generation of makers (or rather some of them) are able to craft high-quality pieces that conform to established cultural norms (pakem); however, this is a difficult task and minute deviations will result in missing the mark (and, thus, considerable loss of income). Many craftsmen seem to opt for an art approach which isn't bound by tradition: This allows for expressive free-style work that catches the eyes of customers, especially the huge majority who hasn't been initiated into the traditional aesthetics. If done well, it certainly is art; it probably isn't a regarded as a "real" keris by any traditionalist though. While one might argue that even pakem are subject to change (as they did in history), I do feel there is a considerable difference between any cultural development that takes place within a cultural setting of norms, traditions, and, especially, underlying symbolic code/language compared to a free-style approach which tosses out the meaning in favor of appealing to any uneducated eyes.
Coming back to Tugaya: Apparently much of the Moro language coded in kris and its fittings has been lost and/or is kept secret; I don't see any indications that the current artisans are trying to "speak" to a culturally educated/initiated audience. Most of the pieces are being sold to cultural outsiders, anyway.
BTW, gunong seem to continue being produced closer to traditions and some of the design elements even carry over into modern kris fittings...
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In fact, right now, Marawi City where many products of the town of Tugaya are sold, is being bombarded by government troops because of an attempt by terrorist group to take over. I do not know if this has been reported in Western media but parts of Marawi now are reminiscent of Syria. It is already a poverty stricken region and the war will aggravate this.
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I believe it was once shortly mentioned in TV news and possibly a couple of newspaper reports. We have to resort to dedicated online news and human rights NGOs for in-depth coverage.
Regards,
Kai