Copper And Brass Philippine Dagger

[Robert]

Ian,
I like your idea for a new thread and hope that (as you have suggested) that someone more knowledgeable on the subject will choose to start one.
Here is another interesting story that was sent to me as a response when I had inquired about information on brass/copper daggers on another venue. The information offered in the reply I was told was attributed to the senders Grandfather. Here is what was sent;
"My Grandfather once told me that in Zamboanga City it is believed that you should carry a bronze knife at night as it can harm and chase away evil spirits and that if you do see a ghost or evil spirit ahead of you that you should turn around and stab the blade of the knife into the ground in front of you while reciting an incantation." Unfortunately the person who passed on this information to me told me he had no idea of what the incantation was and never replied to any other questions I tried to ask later. More information that appears to be related to this comes through a friend who talked to an anthropologist in the Philippines who in essence explained that brass or bronze is highly regarded spiritually because evil spirits are afraid of that alloy, being a metal concocted by man and not by nature. He also went on to say that even those brass/bronze dots on kris and kampilan etc. can be traced to that belief - that is, those dots are talismanic, being made of such alloy.
Something similar to stabbing a brass blade into the ground to chase away evil sprits that I was told is that it is a well established belief in Indonesian that if one wants to harm an enemy all he has to do is to take his keris and stab the footprints on the ground made by his enemy.


Best,
Robert