the Kampilan exclusively Moro?

David · 7th September 2015, 05:04 PM

Barry, i think perhaps animistic might be a better term for these tribes than pagan, though many would certainly consider Animism a form of Paganism.
I would also like to point out that the Moros were not started by the Moors, an ethnic group they really had no contact with. It was the colonial forces of the Spanish who coined the term Moro because these people were Muslims like the Moors that they knew.
It seems obvious that the kris/kalis developed from the keris, but this came to the Moro peoples along with the influx of Islam that flowed from Indonesian states where the keris was established so i don't think to has anything to do with some chance transference from a slave taken by a Moro tribe. I believe it developed into a larger slashing sword specifically to combat the Spanish. I am not convinced that we can categorize the Moro tribes (there are 13 different ethnic groups among them) as being intrinsically more war-like than the more animistic tribes of the region. They were involved for centuries fighting off Spanish colonial domination and when Spain lost the Philippines to the USA they continued their fight for an independent state against us. While they did indeed engage in piracy and raiding of Spanish and Christian held areas it must we remembered that they were at war with these force, not necessarily trying to extend their territories as much as free them from colonial control.

7th September 2015, 05:04 PM	#12
David Keris forum moderator Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 7,211	Barry, i think perhaps animistic might be a better term for these tribes than pagan, though many would certainly consider Animism a form of Paganism. I would also like to point out that the Moros were not started by the Moors, an ethnic group they really had no contact with. It was the colonial forces of the Spanish who coined the term Moro because these people were Muslims like the Moors that they knew. It seems obvious that the kris/kalis developed from the keris, but this came to the Moro peoples along with the influx of Islam that flowed from Indonesian states where the keris was established so i don't think to has anything to do with some chance transference from a slave taken by a Moro tribe. I believe it developed into a larger slashing sword specifically to combat the Spanish. I am not convinced that we can categorize the Moro tribes (there are 13 different ethnic groups among them) as being intrinsically more war-like than the more animistic tribes of the region. They were involved for centuries fighting off Spanish colonial domination and when Spain lost the Philippines to the USA they continued their fight for an independent state against us. While they did indeed engage in piracy and raiding of Spanish and Christian held areas it must we remembered that they were at war with these force, not necessarily trying to extend their territories as much as free them from colonial control.