"Is it really a Cockatoo?"

[Battara]

As far as my research shows, the Lumad tribes do not give very special prominence to birds.

[Ian]

This moro kris just finished online and it presents another hilt version that might represent a cockatoo in a different manner. The silhouette of the hilt certainly looks like the outline of a cockatoo head and crest.

Ian

[Spunjer]

possibility, although the curves upfront resembling a silhouette of a cockatoo could be coincidental as well... i had a similar kris a couple years ago that has the same type of pommel. notice how the curve on mine is totally different. looks like the design is random. any other example of this style of pommel for comparison?

[Spunjer]

so 3 years later and i guess no one else has a similar type of pommel...

moving along, i bid on this kris last night just because i don't have this type of pommel in my collection. what's interesting is, instead of going about in making it as an abstract sarimanok, this one is realistic. i just hope whoever won that piece would post some close up pictures once it's all cleaned up

[Tim Simmons]

Really interesting thread. Subtle and abstract bird forms and motives are also found in what is known as Island Melanesia, Solomons ect . It is possible that in some places the origin for this may be lost but the forms are perpetuated just out of tradition.

ps, could there be any relation to Garuda? even slightly?

any thoughts
https://roguegaruda.wordpress.com/20...ndonesia-a-li/

[Ian]

Hi Ron.

That's an interesting hilt. The sword appears to be Sulu in origin but the sarimanok tradition is Maranao--something that would need reconciling.

Of course, the bird depicted could be something else, such as the Palawan peacock pheasant, a beautiful bird that I had the pleasure of seeing on a visit to northern Palawan to visit the caves.

Ian.

Palawan peacock pheasant
.

[Spunjer]

Tim,
In Sulu folktale or narrative or katakata, there's a creature called Sumayang Galura (the Soaring Garuda), a "giant bird whose lair lies atop a towering tree one meter away from the sky" (per Gerard Rixhon, Sulu Studies). the imaginary Galura is a mythical symbol of the brute or beastly power (Amilbangsa, Ukkil, Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago). it doesn't really describe this fantastic beast other than it's half giant and half eagle with the body and limbs of a man..

Ian,
ok, just for the sake of argument, i'll go with this for now:

The sword appears to be Sulu in origin but the sarimanok tradition is Maranao--something that would need reconciling

.
you do realize that although the sarimanok is prevalent in the Maranao culture, they don't have a monopoly of this particular legendary creature? again in the book Ukkil, Visual Arts of the Sulu Archipelago, there are pictures of this creature, in ukkil form, on Sunduks, or grave markers, brasswares, blanket, etc. so why not on a kalis?
as far as the kris itself: the problem i'm having with this line of thinking, as in "the sword appears to be Sulu in origin" is this; you're insinuating the origin of this particular blade as Sulu, which is based on Cato's theory. i understand that that's the only reference we can go by in regards to classification, but the bottom line is, it's just a theory. if you use that as a guideline, it becomes stagnant. let's look at the material that's being used on that. it appears to be made out of carabao horn. below are pictures of a kris that have a similar pommel motif: again, a sarimanok. i've handled this in person, and yes, the pommel is carved out of a carabao horn. now there's one tribe that's known for using this material: the Yakans. you can see that on their piras.
a peacock? okay...
so what happened to the cockatoo?

[CCUAL]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

so 3 years later and i guess no one else has a similar type of pommel...

moving along, i bid on this kris last night just because i don't have this type of pommel in my collection. what's interesting is, instead of going about in making it as an abstract sarimanok, this one is realistic. i just hope whoever won that piece would post some close up pictures once it's all cleaned up

Ron....after the auction was ended the seller emailed me and noted that kris and scabbard were mismatched, I told him it's okay but it would be nice to have the matching scabbard! he told me that there was another scabbard that should have went on thesame auction but it was for the smaller dagger. I will sell it to you for $25, here it was, perfect fit!

no damage on the pommel/handle what so ever, but a forging crack on the blade. enjoy

[CCUAL]

... a very good example of an earlier kris. (two krises to the left)

[Rick]

About that Cockatoo...........
Anyone?