writing on a sansibar hilt

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by blindside

I would like to return to the blade nomenclature ...

the commonly used terms at present in luzon for work and/or self-defense blades are sundang/sondang, itak, gulok, and tabak.

sundang, itak, and gulok (which are synonyms) are more of the dual-purpose blades (work and self defense). a tabak on the other hand is purely a weapon.

thus the ones exhibited being apparently 'side arms', should be properly called tabak. 'sansibar' is not used at all in luzon, incidentally.

historically, a lot more terms are used. we can see some of them in the pages below of san buenaventura's excellent 1613 spanish-tagalog (i.e., luzon) dictionary. an online version is here.

in that dictionary, we can see that the tagalog word for sword (espada in spanish) is 'kalis'. in other parts of the philippines, it's 'karis', because 'l' and 'r' are sometimes interchangeable to us (ilanun/iranun, lanao/ranao, balangay/barangay, etc.).

in indonesia/malaysia which are next door to us, our kalis/karis is 'keris' if i'm not mistaken. thus the cognates kalis/karis/keris (and presumably, 'kris' is their contraction) is the ancient philippine/indonesian/malaysian term for the common sword.

for the short sword (alfange/alfanje in old dictionaries), the luzon equivalent is 'tabak', as can be seen in that 1613 dictionary.

in summary, the luzon short swords we are seeing above are definitely called 'tabak', even from the olden days.

by the way, can any of the our spanish-speaking friends do us a favor, by translating the spanish portions below of the definitions of "alfanje/tabac" and "espada/kalis"

i'm sure we will learn more, that way. thanks in advance!

[migueldiaz]

as an aside, we can also see above (san buenaventura) that 'calis' (pls. refer to the spanish entry 'esgrimir', i.e., fencing/ sword fighting) has a second meaning -- 'kalis' is the name of the precolonial fighting art of our islands.

the elaboration of 'kalis' in the definition states that reeds and canes ('palos y cañas') are used in that fighting art. but 'kali' can't be found anywhere in those old dictionaries, which are many. thus it's really 'kalis' (or 'karis') that's the term for the ancient martial arts, aside from being a term for the bladed weapon itself.

[Nonoy Tan]

Hi blindside, I am aware that migueldiaz (Lorenz Lasco)is one of the few who had done intensive research on the names of such weapons. I have no doubt with regards the accuracy of his statements.

Hi Lorenz, the "alfanfe/tabac" is described it as a machete with a sheath that is attached to a belt.

[blindside]

Originally Posted by migueldiaz

as an aside, we can also see above (san buenaventura) that 'calis' (pls. refer to the spanish entry 'esgrimir', i.e., fencing/ sword fighting) has a second meaning -- 'kalis' is the name of the precolonial fighting art of our islands.

the elaboration of 'kalis' in the definition states that reeds and canes ('palos y cañas') are used in that fighting art. but 'kali' can't be found anywhere in those old dictionaries, which are many. thus it's really 'kalis' (or 'karis') that's the term for the ancient martial arts, aside from being a term for the bladed weapon itself.

I have read an article regarding the etymology of kali that cited that "calis" reference, one that I was highly interested in given that I am a student of Pekiti-Tirsia Kali.

And thank you for the information on the Luzon blades nomenclature.

[migueldiaz]

@nonoy, thanks for the compliment and the translation as well.

@blindside, thanks too for the reply. the fma group i belong to also uses 'kali' in its name. and i also don't think that the closeness of the two words (kalis & kali) is a mere coincidence. in this little article i wrote, i was speculating that the dropping of the 's' in 'kalis' over time might have been due to the way baybayin is written (like what paul morrow illustrated, below).

on the heart-shaped symbol on the scabbard, i see that motif from time to time. but i have yet to figure out what it is