Moro Spear

[Sajen]

Hi Gav,

very nice and complete twist core budiak. Would be nice to see it with cleaned and etched blade. I am curious what the inscription saying.

[Rick]

" When one considers Chinese martial applications of the spear, men who mastered the spear where considered cool under fire and never hand sweaty palms. One application was to hold the spear base and thrust it through the other hand like a bullet through a barrel. It I was to draw this paralell, would the Moro warriors have had cloth bound through the butt rings and their hands much like a Keris or Kampalin that has cloth remaining to the hilts?"

Wouldn't one have to drop his Taming in order to fight succesfully in this manner ?

Spears on the ground .

[CharlesS]

According to Stone the budiak's distinction is the chieselled panel/s that give the spear blade within a spear blade effect.

But do we all agree with that?

Regardless, this is a fantastic example and should clean up dramatically.

[Battara]

I would agree with Stone's so far. Twistcores seem to come in budiak and non-budiak styles. There has been some speculation that the butts with loops like these had rope at the end for retrieval.

A clean up, nice polish, and etching would really bring this nice piece out.

Congratulations!

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Rick

Hi Gav,

Try rubbing a bit of flour into the markings; that should make them more legible .

I've never seen one of these with inscriptions or marks .

Should clean up nicely .
Nice score .

Thanks Rick and a great suggestion, once in hand I'll do so.

Originally Posted by Sajen

Hi Gav,

very nice and complete twist core budiak. Would be nice to see it with cleaned and etched blade. I am curious what the inscription saying.

Thank you Detlef, I am sure the expertise here will eventually solve the translation mystery when I provide better images upon receipt of the spear in a few weeks.

Originally Posted by Rick

Wouldn't one have to drop his Taming in order to fight succesfully in this manner

Spears on the ground .

Indeed, indeed Rick, though it begs me to ask, other than staged fighting such as this, would a warrior have a weapon of choice and use it to the death were applicable, I only ask as there have been numerous documented accounts of the barong and keris single handedly used to dispatch US soldiers in the day. The dramatic portrayals to not mention that they swapped and changed weapons in life and death combat.....they Moro warrior simply had a weapon of choice, faced off and that was that???

Originally Posted by CharlesS

According to Stone the budiak's distinction is the chieselled panel/s that give the spear blade within a spear blade effect.

But do we all agree with that?

Regardless, this is a fantastic example and should clean up dramatically.

Thanks Charles. I tend to agree with the Budiak being having sectioned heads as being discussed in the other links but then I look at this one and although not sectioned the same as Maurice and Lee's, it does appear to be scalloped out over the twistcore section and not being a full elipticatal cross section....Mysteries I am not fully versed in hence my question...what is what and when it it what...

Originally Posted by Battara

I would agree with Stone's so far. Twistcores seem to come in budiak and non-budiak styles. There has been some speculation that the butts with loops like these had rope at the end for retrieval.

A clean up, nice polish, and etching would really bring this nice piece out.

Congratulations!

Thanks Battara.

I look forward to adding to this in a few weeks, my early Christmas present to myself.

Gav

[Rick]

" Indeed, indeed Rick, though it begs me to ask, other than staged fighting such as this, would a warrior have a weapon of choice and use it to the death were applicable, I only ask as there have been numerous documented accounts of the barong and keris single handedly used to dispatch US soldiers in the day. The dramatic portrayals to not mention that they swapped and changed weapons in life and death combat.....they Moro warrior simply had a weapon of choice, faced off and that was that???"

I think we can all agree that this was a weapon not meant to be thrown once and picked up after the fight .

Except ...
During the attacks on the cottas all manner of weapons were hurled at the American forces as they closed in .
I have a hard time accepting that spears like these were thrown away once unless in desperation .

One Warrior in this picture carries a Kris .

[Battara]

I would certainly wonder if this were the reason for so many different kinds of butts ( ).

[Lee]

This is an amazing spear, surely the largest and longest I have seen and a fantastic find - and so wonderfully complete!

I will be interested to learn if the inscription can be deciphered. Hopefully there is some useful information there, but I had the thought - without the expertise to back it up - that these engravings might possibly also be 'nonsense' Arabic such as was sometimes seen in European Renaissance arms.

[David]

Originally Posted by Lee

This is an amazing spear, surely the largest and longest I have seen and a fantastic find - and so wonderfully complete!

I will be interested to learn if the inscription can be deciphered. Hopefully there is some useful information there, but I had the thought - without the expertise to back it up - that these engravings might possibly also be 'nonsense' Arabic such as was sometimes seen in European Renaissance arms.

Well i think that there is a good chance that these markings are talismanic and magickal in intention. It may not be Arabic letters at all. If it is it certainly would be in the Arabic language. If it appears nonsensical to us it won't be because it is nonsense.