Mystery knife

[Ian]

Robert:

Thank you.

This makes sense. The knife was among articles found in an old GIs possessions. The Pinatubo Negrito were located very near the Clark Air Force Base on Luzon, so it would not be surprising to find such a bolo being brought back by a U.S. serviceman.

I remember you posting this picture before, and I have tried to find the original reference but unfortunately my library cannot locate that particular number of the original journal.

Ian.

[Battara]

A good catch Robert. Would you post the source of this article?

I do however question the "katana" term.........

[Rafngard]

I'm not sure how relevant it is, but the overall shape reminds me quite a bit of a bolo I have from Apalit, in particular, the small ferrule. If I recall correctly, I think Apalit is also near Clark Air Force Base.

Thanks,
Leif

[David R]

Originally Posted by Battara

A good catch Robert. Would you post the source of this article?

I do however question the "katana" term.........

A lot of Japanese Christians emigrated to the Philippines after their religion was proscribed in the 17th Century, and so katana could easily be a "loan word".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japane...he_Philippines

[Battara]

Rafngard, your picture and example is in that region of the Negritos, also known as the Aeta. Very relevant to this topic, thank you for posting this.

David R, I had no idea. I learned, thank you. It probably is a loan word, another name for the same piece in Pamgangan called a tabak. I personally question that the attribution of that particular piece, and may have been traded in to that area.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Battara

I personally question that the attribution of that particular piece, and may have been traded in to that area.

I agree, Jose. That piece labeled katana looks more Tagalog in origin.

The top one, which Robert has identified as a dipalata, was the subject of much debate many years ago. We eventually decided that it was probably from the Ilongot tribe (one of the Igorot groups) from northern Luzon—a small ethnic group noted for headhunting that continued into the late-20th C.* See here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=235

Ian

* Renato Rosaldo. Ilongot Headhunting, 1883-1974: A Study in Society and History. Stanford University Press, Stanford, 313 pp, 1980

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

The top one, which Robert has identified as a dipalata, was the subject of much debate many years ago. We eventually decided that it was probably from the Ilongot tribe (one of the Igorot groups) from northern Luzon—a small ethnic group noted for headhunting that continued into the late-20th C.* See here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=235

Hello Ian,

the sword which start the thread you have provided is for sure from Northern Luzon, Ilongot, called "itung", a headhunter sword, so the eventually decision was a correct one.

But the sword shown on the drawing seems to be very different in the handle design and was several times identified as Negrito sword/bolo, see here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=diplata and here: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...8&postcount=24

Regards,
Detlef

[Robert]

The information that I posted was photographed from "The Philippine Journal Of Science Volume 81 - The Pinatubo Negritos" which was most graciously sent to me by Lorenz. If anyone is interested in reading the rest of the material I have please let me know and I will email it to you as it is too large for me to post here.

Best,
Robert