Modern barung

[xasterix]

Originally Posted by Ian

These two are probably WWII era or later. Both have blades that are not as wide as the vast majority of older barung examples, and some people might not consider the top one a barung at all.

The top one has a suspension system for the scabbard that involves a rope passed through the hole running obliquely just below the throat. This is a traditional Visayan method for wearing a sword, while the Moro barung has traditionally lacked such a device and was worn thrust through a belt or sash or tucked into the waist of pants. The hilt is unusual in that it has a small disk guard, which has been identified on this Forum as a Maranao trait. A combination of Maranao origin and a Visayan suspension-style scabbard has been seen on other recent Moro weapons (see bottom example in the initial post of this thread), and might be expected given the large number of Visayans who live in Mindanao. That this was a well used barung is shown by the wear on the jute wrapping of the hilt, and the blade is still very sharp.

The bottom one is probably of similar age. It has the traditional MOP inlays on the scabbard that one associates with items sold in Zamboanga and nearby. The blade is traditionally leaf-shaped but not as wide as older examples. The brass punto on this one is short, a feature that has been attributed to Yakan weapons. Given the MOP on the scabbard and the short punto, I think this one is likely Yakan in origin.

Ian.

To note, some modern barungs have already adopted the suspension system, but it is still more common on badungs. I would estimate the top example to be from Southern Palawan, but possibly not tribal. The next one, I'm not yet sure if its origin. While the width of the leaf blade is a good observation, there's great variety of widths already in vintage to modern barungs and badungs, to the point that oftentimes the best way to determine which is which is by the tip's orientation.

...but then again there are times when badungs have exactly the same profile as a barung. Other times, it's the hilt or scabbard that's the deciding factor.