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Old 5th January 2020, 11:46 PM   #9
Ian
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: The Aussie Bush
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Interesting blade. I'm pretty sure this was not made within the Moro culture. Every Moro kampilan that I have seen has a particular geometry with regard to the "spike" on the terminal end. The base of that spike is always precisely in the middle of the blade. That symmetry can be confirmed easily with kampilan. Because both the spine and edge are straight (albeit diverging from the hilt), a straight line connecting any two points that are midway between the spine and the edge can be extended to define the midline of the entire blade. That midline passes through the base of the terminal spike on Moro kampilan. I have confirmed this arrangement on dozens of Moro kampilan, in fact every one that have found or for which I have a photograph, so I believe that it is a fundamental design feature on Moro kampilan with spikes. [We have discussed this before on this site--perhaps on the old UBB forum that is now defunct.]

The blade above does not show this feature. The base of the spike arises closer to the spine than the edge. Therefore, I would say that this kampilan was not made within the Moro culture. The T'boli make a smaller kampilan with a spike that is called a kafilan and does not usually conform with the Moro geometry described in my first paragraph. For that reason the example shown here is most likely T'boli in manufacture. That would fit with the shorter than usual blade, and its slimmer thickness that Kai has referred to. The Bagobo may make similar blades but I have less information about that.

As already noted, while not rare, it is unusual to find a Panay hilt on a kampilan style blade. Remember that there are many Visayans on Mindanao, and that the largest city on the island, Davao City, is mostly made up of Visayans. The T'boli are located in the south-eastern part of Mindanao, so it's not a great stretch to believe this is a T'boli-Visayan hybrid.

As far as age, I agree with earlier assessments that this one is probably from the first half of the 20th C.

Ian
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