Long Philippine Swords

[LabanTayo]

I'll let themorningstar answer this one......

[themorningstar]

wow! great swords.... now i know who sniped them from me...



might be a sansibar... might be a pinuti... possible sundang... maybe a talibong... hmmm, might even get away with calling it a binasbad... some might just say patalim....


nah... it's a sundang...

[LabanTayo]

looks like a very long gunong....or pedang....maybe some indo influence....or spanish..maybe an espada.
espada largo....thats what it is. i think.
now knowing what our train of thought on deciding what a to call a sword, it should be easier to figure out what the name is.

[zelbone]

...it's a bolo!

[zamboanga]

here is a link about sansibar swords:

http://www.cebueskrima.s5.com/photo5.html

[Ian]

So the experts on Visayan swords are stumped to name this one!

I was hoping to learn more from the questions posed by Robert. I guess I'm left even more confused by the terms that have come and gone, and come again. Is there any sensible way of describing these swords, other than calling them Visayan "swords?"

Does one have to born locally to know the code for what to call the various styles and forms? If so, is there anyone on this forum who can reasonably contribute to that discussion, or are we left with the position that talibong or sundang (or some other generic term for "sword" in one of the local dialects) is as close as we can get?

That seems unsatisfactory to me and I hope our Filipino forumites can shed some light on a rational nosology for these swords ... If not here, where else will we gain such information?

Ian.

[MABAGANI]

They look like runt of the mill pig stickers. If you're going to snipe do you honestly think someone's going to give information. Recently, ebay has been leaving a bitter taste in the mouth, when Filipino sword collectors from the forum find sleepers that get sniped by another member. In the early days of ebay, a few hardcore collectors at least had the courtesy to email so we wouldn't have to pay more than we had to and that was before we were members of this forum. So now those $9.99 bolos worth less than a $100 are going for some over inflated prices. Such is life, I'm abandoning ebay again and going back to the dealers.
Re: names- do your own research and you'll feel more confident about what to call them, I like Zonneveld's lead, multiple labels depending on the locale, its the same with Filipino swords if you're still confused and want obvious answers.

[BSMStar]

Originally Posted by Ian

So the experts on Visayan swords are stumped to name this one!

Does one have to born locally to know the code for what to call the various styles and forms? If so, is there anyone on this forum who can reasonably contribute to that discussion, or are we left with the position that talibong or sundang (or some other generic term for "sword" in one of the local dialects) is as close as we can get?

Ian.

Ian, sometimes the answers are not all easy. Sometimes the question will form its own answer and it may not be the answer one expects. I have seen these swords travel through different hands and they are indeed called by different names.

I have a deep respect for the experience and knowledge of themorningstar, LabanTayo and zelbone (and many others). It may be more meaningful to ask if anyone would call it a sansibar? Otherwise, I would have to agree with their answers.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by BSMStar

It may be more meaningful to ask if anyone would call it a sansibar? Otherwise, I would have to agree with their answers.

BSMStar:

I think that is exactly what Robert asked in the first sentence of his post: "Would either one of these swords be classified as a "sansibar"?" I don't think he really received an answer so far to that question.

Ian.