Barong Classification

[Federico]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

federico,
as it was noted above, theoretically, post 1930's (why 1930? i don't know...) barongs are so similar that it is hard to distinginguish tribal distinction. are you just talking about the tagub part then? but there has to be a point in time where each of the tribes has their own distict style in both the blade and the tagub.

At least to my eye, the crest of a modern barong is very similar to the "Samal" style. If you filled in all the piercing, you would essentially have the modern crest that comes from the cockatua back vs butt plane as noted in Bob's book. Also notice the rectangular beak on modern barong. Another trait in common. So more than just the tagub is in common. I have a couple of ivory barong that may be from the 30s, but hard to tell, the features are extremely similar between the two styles. Both strike me as Tausug due to the lavishness of the pieces (particularly the use of swaasa for the punto on one, typical Tausug silver braiding on both, and Tausug chase work on the other). Anyways, one reason the 30s date pops up is the Hutchings article, and as well as Kriegers work, both written late 20s early 30s. I believe its the Hutchings article (Id have to go through it again) that points out modern kris lack the separable gangya. One thing Ill note as well, I find more newer pictures (20s and 30s) in which the "Samal" style barong is seen being worn vs. older pictures. Also, the Samal style Ive encountered have had far bigger blades (approaching more modern sizes) than the "Tausug" style. Anyways if the Samal style is the Samal style, why did the Tausug drop their own style of barong and then solely take up making barong in the Samal style. Again, going back to Kiefer, the power relation doesnt make sense. Then again someone like MorningStar could shed light on the matter. Then what do we mean by Samal? If we want to sub-divide further, are we talking Balangingi Samal, Samal Bajau (well this term gets thrown out in some older books), the Jama Mapun Samal, etc... Anyways, sorry about the nonsensical order of this post, real tired and just trying to type quick before work.

[zamboanga]

spunjer,


you could throw in the type of sampil fabric used in the scabbard. tho it is not available in each and every old barong...

[Spunjer]

zamboanga,
glad you brought that up. could you be so kind enuff as to differentiate those? i have one and the fabric feels like felt, and it is solid red. any significance???

[Battara]

Spunjer, I know that at one time for many tribes, the wearing of red meant that one had killed and it was a badge of honor and rank (red for blood). Later I wonder if it became more significant as a talisman.

[Battara]

You know, another thought came into my mind (still hurts ) and that is another type of barong to consider. Ibeam and I were discussing the sipit barong that has a narrower blade profile, and the hilt comes over in an angle and is almost flat at less than a 45 degree angle. I'll post some pictures if I can. This label comes from Cecil Quirino according to Ibeam and not found in Cato's book.

[Ian]

Hi Battara:

Look forward to seeing the pictures of a sipit barung -- don't quite follow your description of the hilt, but a picture should clear that up. Another style not found in Cato is the shandigan barung with its swollen edge, which we talked about a little bit in this thread already.

A question for the barung fans:

Do you think there is a consensus about classifying barung based on Spunjer's proposal, perhaps with some modifications, such that an essay (with illustrations) could be written and published here in the Archives? We have talked about creating additional informative pieces that could serve as references, and an update to Cato's work would be appreciated by many of us. For several years I have been hearing that Cecil Quirino is going to write a more definitive text, setting down new material and correcting inaccuracies in Cato's book, but nothing has emerged yet. Why not help educate ourselves more while we wait for Cecil's book? Just a thought.

Ian.

[Federico]

Originally Posted by Ian

Hi Battara:
A question for the barung fans:

Do you think there is a consensus about classifying barung based on Spunjer's proposal, perhaps with some modifications, such that an essay (with illustrations) could be written and published here in the Archives? We have talked about creating additional informative pieces that could serve as references, and an update to Cato's work would be appreciated by many of us. For several years I have been hearing that Cecil Quirino is going to write a more definitive text, setting down new material and correcting inaccuracies in Cato's book, but nothing has emerged yet. Why not help educate ourselves more while we wait for Cecil's book? Just a thought.

Ian.

My vote has already been made (for what its worth as a mere hobbiest), note earlier posts, against separating Samal and Tausug barong by the criteria listed. Shandigan barong are described in Bob's book, but the name is not used, nor is there a picture of an example. The term really hadnt popped up into more common use til Cecil featured the name for a new barong being produced by his company just a couple years ago. There are a number of changes in later catalogs as well, eg. the use of the term kiwo instead of kalis seko to describe tausug kris, which may hint at things to come once his book is finally published.

[zamboanga]

Originally Posted by Spunjer

zamboanga,
glad you brought that up. could you be so kind enuff as to differentiate those? i have one and the fabric feels like felt, and it is solid red. any significance???

glad to do that spunjer. here is a picture of a tausug and a yakan fabric placed side by side.

the tausug (left) has smaller designs, the threads used are much thinner. The tausug fabric in the picture is a cotton/silk combination (the pink threads are silk, the rest cotton).

The yakan fabric (right) has brighter colors, uses a larger thread and have bigger designs. this one is made of cotton and is of recent make. older yakan fabrics also used silk.

[tom hyle]

Fair to say that in the old days the individual threads in the fabric were likely made/spun/etc. within the tribe, but are now often outsourced off the open planetary market?

[zamboanga]

in older times, silk was traded from the chinese. it was not and is still not made locally. other materials used like abaca were and still are locally produced. modern ethnic fabrics even those from non-moro tribes are still hand-woven. the only difference are the materials used (threads, dyes, etc.) which are often commercially sourced, and the intended purpose (i.e., wall decors, table runners, etc). but the designs are basically the same.

[Ian]

Just finished on eBay. Recently made but illustrative of some of the Palawano style.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7314461834
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7314462329

Ian.