Reviewing this portion of Cole's 1922
book on the Tinguians:
So far as it known, these [Tinguians, Igorots, & Apayaos] are the only tribes in the Philippines which make use of a head-axe, and it is believed that no similar weapon is found in the Malayan Islands. However, blades of striking resemblance do occur among the Naga of Assam [10].
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[10] Egerton, Handbook of Indian Arms (Wm. Allen and Co., London, 1880), p. 84; Shakespear, History of Upper Assam, Burma and Northeastern Frontier (MacMillan, London, 1914), p. 197, illustration.
I wanted to find out what a Naga-Assam [headhunter's] axe looks like.
Photo 1 and
photo 2 below are both from Oriental Arms.
There appears to be some similarity all right, but not with the traditional crescent-shaped form of the northern Luzon head-axe.
As to the probable link between the two cultures, it appears to be there indeed. I found this pertinent excerpt, from a
recent research work:
Colonel L.W. Shakespear suggests that the Naga fancy for marine shells may point to a bygone home on the sea (History of Upper Assam, p.197). In any case, the Nagas have very strong cultural affinities with the natives of the Asiatic Islands, notably Borneo, and the Philippine Islands, and perhaps physical affinities with some of them (Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. xliv, p.57)”.
What's the conclusion? Well so far, it still points to the theory that the northern Luzon head axe is a unique and endemic weapon-tool, with no other parallels ... at least so far
