Moro blades galore: Any gem/s here?

[David]

Originally Posted by apolaki

i don't quite understand. these swords are made in the philippines by local craftsman where the swords originate. if they are modern creations, how are they any less? i mean didn't the person who posted these pictures say that one vendor is an actual maranao? if it's just a matter of age, i can understand that, but from a cultural ethnographic point of view, should they not hold the same esteem, antique & modern?

Apolaki, this is a valid question, but i am afraid that most of these modern pieces are made for the tourist trade, not with the same care, intention and level of quality that you will find in those actually made as true cultural weapons meant to be fought with by the Moro people. If you held them side by side you would understand the difference better. Certainly these are being made by local craftsmen, but it is sort of like buying a jazzed up tomahawk peace pipe from a Native American at a roadside Indian trading post somewhere in the Southwest states. It may actually be made BY an Indian, but it wasn't made FOR and Indian. Get it?