Origin of the kampilan?

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by VVV

Thanks Miguel for posting the pictures of the Luzon-maybe-kampilan-inspired-swords.
A pity that they aren't easier to see from the pictures.
I have this bolo that, based on Hein's old book, is supposed to be tribal and from Luzon?
Do you recognise it from any of your sources?

Michael

Hi Michael,

I'm not familiar with the form as I'm still a budding collector

It appears though, based on the pics earlier posted in this forum (the ones taken at Madrid museum/s), that it's also possible that they are Visayan (i.e., from central Philippines).

But I'm not really sure about that. I'm sure the others more familiar with the nuances of the forms can comment much more competently.

Regards.

[migueldiaz]

I'd like to propose a theory on the probable use of those thingys on the upper tip of the kampilan's blade.

I'm not aware if this had been proposed before, but my theory is that those things are used to deliver poison to the enemy during combat.

My train of thought would be:

[1] Visayans customarily applied poison on their kampilans & krisses [WH Scott, in Barangay];

[2] In the Battle of Mactan, it doesn't come as a surprise thus that Pigafetta reported the use of poison arrows by the natives against the Spaniards;

[3] After Magellan's defeat, Magellan's first native ally, Rajah Humabon, in disappointment over Magellan's failure to defeat Humabon's enemy [Lapu-lapu], reportedly ordered the extermination of the surviving Spaniards via poisoning;

thus once again, chemical warfare really looks like a typical method of defeating the enemy;

[4] The kris being wavy would have a longer total blade length compared to a straight blade of the same overall length -- as such when the kris was laced with poison, more poison can be lodged on the blade as compared to a straight blade; the point is that the kris' wavy blade then becomes an ideal weapon to deliver poison to the enemy;

[5] Now for the kampilan which Scott said was also laced with poison, being a very long sword perhaps it made sense to just concentrate the poison on the blade's tip;

[6] Now on how to operationalize the idea, I thought that those many perforations and jagged edges would make an ideal repository for the poison (normally the sap of a certain tree, per Krieger, when Krieger described how the Luzon tribes source their poison);

the spikelets and other protrusions on the other hand will provide good platform for injecting the poison into the flesh of the enemy.

On how to prove or debunk the theory, these are the things that can be done --

[a] if Pigafetta had a post-battle account, we should find out whether those wounded by the "large cutlass, which looked like a scimitar" were noted as having experienced symptoms of poisoning (e.g., nausea, vomitting, etc.);

[b] it should also be established whether the Visayans' kampilans had those spikelets and perforations in the first place;

[c] for those in the US and Europe who have access to crime laboratories, those spikelets and perforations on the kampilan should be swabbed and the sample taken for analysis of traces of poison, a la CSI

now if you have etched your kampilan and obliterated any chemical trace on the blade's tip, shame on you!

[d] given that kampilan must have been first developed in Borneo, and then it went up to Mindanao first before reaching the Visayas and then Luzon, it will help if we can find out whether those original users of the kampilan laced their blades with poison also.

Back to the subject on whether in the first place the Visayans had kampilans similar to the ones used by the Moros of Mindanao (i.e., with spikelets and perforations), I think that's the case.

Because Pigafetta described the fighting style of the men of Lapu-lapu as -- "When our muskets were discharged, the natives would never stand still, but leaped hither and thither, covering themselves with their shields."

Now earlier, the Europeans and later the Americans described the Moro fighting style as exactly like that. So if the movements were the same, it stands to reason that the weapons used must have been very similar if not the same.

Admittedly, all of the above are highly speculative.

But hey, to echo Vandoo, let me end by saying that "That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!"

Attached are pics of various spiked tips, as collated randomly from pics in the forum.

[VVV]

Originally Posted by migueldiaz

...It appears though, based on the pics earlier posted in this forum (the ones taken at Madrid museum/s), that it's also possible that they are Visayan (i.e., from central Philippines)...

Thanks for the comment and the pictures.
The pictures just indicate Philippines to me.
But maybe Visayas, as well as Mindanao, is an alternative to Luzon (from Hein)?
Any forumites in Madrid who knows how it's described at the museum?

Michael

[Nonoy Tan]

Hi Michael,

The "bolo" you posted is used by people from the extreme east of Luzon (along the coast and the mountains near the coast). They call it "Katana" - probably a loan word.

Nonoy

[VVV]

Thanks Nonoy!!!

In case you have any pictures of people wearing it I would appreciate if you could share them?

Michael

[Dajak]

Here an shield off the Ilongot .


Ben

[Tim Simmons]

I dare to question the value of discussion about the Kampilan in this thread. I am not trying to be rude or upset anybody but I do have doubts about the information especially as no body has noted that the bottom central weapon in this picture is African.

[VVV]

Tim,

Here is another African example but what does that have to do with the discussion of kampilan?
Isn't it obvious that some curator made a mistake, like they often do.
And don't we all recognise which weapons that don't belong in the picture and which ones that do?

Michael

[migueldiaz]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

I dare to question the value of discussion about the Kampilan in this thread. I am not trying to be rude or upset anybody but I do have doubts about the information especially as no body has noted that the bottom central weapon in this picture is African.

Hi Tim,

There were no further comments because of "kampilan fatigue" perhaps?

Actually when those museum pics were first posted in PI Weaponry in Spanish Museums, forumites already commented that some items are misplaced (e.g., Battara's comment on African weapons being there).

And I've also been leafing through the old threads on kampilan in the archives and indeed, the kampilan discussions go a long way back. So perhaps some are not that interested anymore in reciting the same old stuff!

But me, I'm not tired yet because I've just started

Best regards to all.

[Nonoy Tan]

I believe that a visit to the Southwestern University in Cebu will provide a glimpse of the Visayan weapons during the pre-hispanic times.

Nonoy

[Nonoy Tan]

It is not unlikely that the Visayans were using some weapons similar to Borneo. The peoples of these two places had strong historical ties, as well as blood relations. Visayans lived in Borneo, and vice-versa. In the middle of the 15th century (this is before Magellan’s time) the king of Brunei (Sultan Mohammed) was Visayan, based on Hose and McDougall’s “The Pagan Tribes of Borneo.” His great grand nephew, Makoda Ragah (Sultan Bulkiah or Bolkeiah), a famous character in Bornean history is of mixed Visayan, Arab and Chinese blood. The peoples of Visaya and Borneo travelled extensively throughout the Southeast Asian archipelago; the Visayans even invaded a portion of Formosa (modern Taiwan), from where such Visayan chiefs of Formosa raided the Chinese coasts during the 12th century - but that’s another story 

By the way, the Tausug migrated from Northeastern Mindanao (in the area of Butuan), and later occupied the Sulu archipelago where they are now rooted. This movement (c.a. 1100 A.D.) occurred before the introduction of Islam into the country (c.a.1400 A.D.).

[tom hyle]

Originally Posted by Nonoy Tan

Hi Michael,

The "bolo" you posted is used by people from the extreme east of Luzon (along the coast and the mountains near the coast). They call it "Katana" - probably a loan word.

Nonoy

It appears to be "machete filipiana" ("odd bolo with t grip and....") with a different handle and pommel. Same guard though; is the tip broken off the sheath? Have to go back and check photos.....