Origin of the kampilan?

[Nonoy Tan]

It is not unlikely that the Visayans were using some weapons similar to Borneo. The peoples of these two places had strong historical ties, as well as blood relations. Visayans lived in Borneo, and vice-versa. In the middle of the 15th century (this is before Magellan’s time) the king of Brunei (Sultan Mohammed) was Visayan, based on Hose and McDougall’s “The Pagan Tribes of Borneo.” His great grand nephew, Makoda Ragah (Sultan Bulkiah or Bolkeiah), a famous character in Bornean history is of mixed Visayan, Arab and Chinese blood. The peoples of Visaya and Borneo travelled extensively throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago; the Visayans even invaded a portion of Formosa (modern Taiwan), from where such Visayan chiefs of Formosa raided the Chinese coasts during the 12th century - but that’s another story 

By the way, the Tausug migrated from Northeastern Mindanao (in the area of Butuan), and later occupied the Sulu archipelago where they are now rooted. This movement (c.a. 1100 A.D.) occurred before the introduction of Islam into the country (c.a.1400 A.D.).