Origin of the Kalinga Axe

[migueldiaz]

Hi Nonoy,

Thanks for those nice photos of the famous northern Philippine headhunters' battle-axes!

Those head-axes were actually my first love ... until I got seduced by the dark side ... and that's why I'm now into Moro swords.

For those unfamiliar with the northern Philippines, there is this mountain range there called the Cordilleras which is about the size of the state of New Jersey.

And said Cordillera region consists of the following provinces: Benguet, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Mountain Province, and Ifugao. Baguio City is the most popular urban area inside the Cordilleras.

And the subject head-axes are found in the Cordillera region.

So Nonoy, don't you think it would be better to call said head-axe as the "Cordillera head-axe", given that it can be found not only in Kalinga but in the other provinces of the Cordilleras as well? Just a thought ...

From various early-1900s US publications, I was able to gather the pics below. The best resource I've found so far is Albert Jenks' The Bontoc Igorot (1905).

The head-axes coming from Bontoc province are the ones with the shorter axe head. The ones coming from Abra province [Balbelasan in particular] have longer handles, and larger and sleeker axe heads (the topmost pic below).

Best regards.