[Ian]

Hi Kai:

Originally Posted by kai

Hello Ian,

This may be a bit of a moot point: ...

Yes, I think it is moot ...

... Yet these blades tend to resemble the Moro bangkung much more than they resemble the Moro kampilan; even the minority of Lumad blades that exhibit a kampilan-like spike, does not show the fine details associated with the latter.

Not sure I agree totally with the bangkung analogy. The similarity to a bangkung is in overall length but not necessarily in blade profile. A defining feature of the Moro kampilan blade is that both the cutting edge and back edge are straight. The pictures of the two examples from Oriental Arms that I posted both show this feature. Bangkung may have straight or curved cutting edges, and the terminus of the bangkung blade is usually rounded to the tip, rather than straight as on kampilan.

I'd posit that the spike got copied into the local traditions merely as a decoration; however, the long Moro kampilan blade wasn't. Moro kampilan blades recycled for Lumad use seem to be exceedingly rare - can anybody show any examples?

The kampilan spike as a decorative element may be true, but we have no evidence for or against that idea. As far as longer kampilan, perhaps recycled from Moro use, I have seen What I think are two such examples. One was in a shop in Manila in 1998. The other is in my collection that has been held in customs by the Australian Government since April of this year. The latter is a most unusual kampilan with a traditional blade but highly atypical hilt. I posted pictures on the old UBB Forum, but they are now gone.

I'd guess that the bangkung as well as the Lumad chopping blades have a common origin with many of the similar chopping swords/tools from the Indo-Malayan realm.

Who knows The origins of so many tools/weapons of the area are lost in time.

How about twistcore blades from the T'boli? The few known Lumad examples appear to be Bagobo - seems like the latter also were capable of very nice bladesmithing work. I believe we need to be very careful not to generalize from the very limited (and often singular) accounts from the colonial period (or later).

I'm not familiar with twist core techniques being used by T'boli or Bagobo smiths. That some weapons used by these groups may have twistcore elements would be unusual (and not necessarily surprising), but I think it is more likely these were acquired by trade or by commissioning a Moro crafstman to make it for them. I have not come across any reference to twistcore being made by the Lumad tribes.

Exactly, Moro kris blades were commonly adapted into Lumad use - there seems to be no reason that kampilan blades would not have been available, too. Thus, their absence/rarity must be related to Lumad preferences.

Quite likely

From a regional perspective, it's the kampilan blades which are "too long" rather than the Lumad blades being "too short" - the latter may double up as machete-like tools (I would not call them knives though) ...

Why do you think the kampilan is "too long?" Although certainly longer than many other swords of the region, it is no longer than, say, some panabas. The kampilan is purely a fighting sword, not a multipurpose tool/weapon. As such, it may have been the perfect length for that purpose.

While local supplies were often limited, trade was pervasive all over the archipelago and getting raw material was mainly limited by funds (or rather gathering of suitable trade goods, especially precious forest products like timber, resins, or spices). Long-distance export from steel-producing industries in China and India has been known for centuries, too.

Production of iron from iron ore on Mindanao was likely quite substantial based on ore deposits near Zamboanga, which are still being mined today. It would be much easier for the Lumad smiths to acquire smelted iron to work with rather than extracting the metal themselves. I agree that local trade was a likely source of iron for their tools and swords.

Ian.