Bagobo vs. T'boli

[tagalanao]

Originally Posted by zelbone

Your reasoning sounds good. But I would also look at the shape of the hilt as well. T'boli sword hilts tend to flare out more at the pommel than Bagobo hilts. Vandoo also has a good point about the bells and the use of cloth as an identifying factor. Anyways, I'm no expert either. Attached are are pics of a brass hilt Bagobo sword and and a brass hilt T'boli sword. The Bagobo sword is on top and the T'boli sword on the bottom. In between I added a B'laan sword to separate the two and to add more to the confusion.

Thanks, Zelbone! Now I know better. I do come across these blades more often than Moro swords.

Originally Posted by zelbone

BTW...Battara, the cloth I used as the backdrop is the cloth you inquired about. I can send you more pics later. I've been in the middle of a move and just found it the other day. Again I can't guarantee that it is Bagobo or B'laan, Mandaya/Mansaka, or T'boli...but it's most likely Bagobo.

I have that book titled something like Textiles of Southern Philippines, I think published by UCLA, but I have to look for it yet in the pile we have here at home.

BobT