Unusual Piras

Spunjer · 23rd February 2005, 10:45 PM

what's so unusual are the blades and handles. i'll post the group picture first:

Spunjer · 23rd February 2005, 10:49 PM

the first one according to mang ven (vm's antiques) is a b'laan type. i wasn't aware that b'laans used this type of sundang; i thought piras were yakan special.

Spunjer · 23rd February 2005, 10:54 PM

the second one is a more traditional yakan pira. the handle is carabao horn with a bone or ivory punto, i'm not sure. what's weird is the blade design towards the point; it looks like something one would see on a kampilan tip. a kam-pira, maybe?

Spunjer · 23rd February 2005, 11:02 PM

finally, the bottom one is similar to the one on top. the handle is traditional yakan style with a twist: it looks like it's made out of banati wood and is heavily ornated. the punto is made out of brass with some okir designs. on the tip of the handle, there's a coin dated '1915' on it. the blade tip is similar to the one on top also; ala kampilan. the design actually looks like the same type of pattern one sees on a kris. any thoughts and/or comments on these hybrids?

Federico · 24th February 2005, 03:44 AM

Interesting stuff. Any word on the age? I would guess 20th century due to the proliferation of the hilt/blade style (well blade style without the interesting tips) on Ebay of similar modern pieces. Are the blades hefty? Regardless very neat stuff.

Conogre · 24th February 2005, 06:48 AM

Are those now yours, Spunger?
I've got three as well, and the only problem I have with them being automatically being put into the "contemporary class" is that they all seem to have older, heavy, patterned steel blades that are, for lack of a better term, too good for the other modern pieces that I've seen and handled, on a par with early to mid 20th century barung blades.
For now, I'm content to just sit and watch for developements, but I, for one, am not turning loose of mine and am thrilled that something this nice is staying within my monetary reach, at least for now.
Mike

Spunjer · 24th February 2005, 12:46 PM

age wasn't mentioned. matter of fact he didn't he knew about piece one and three. ian, if you can remember mang ven's shop, it was stashed way in the back, behind some boxes. i would say 20th c pieces as well.
as for the blades, the b'laan piece has the thickest blade, thicker than the other two pieces. the base is almost quarter of an inch thick.

Quote:

Are those now yours, Spunger?
I've got three as well, and the only problem I have with them being automatically being put into the "contemporary class" is that they all seem to have older, heavy, patterned steel blades that are, for lack of a better term, too good for the other modern pieces that I've seen and handled, on a par with early to mid 20th century barung blades.
For now, I'm content to just sit and watch for developements, but I, for one, am not turning loose of mine and am thrilled that something this nice is staying within my monetary reach, at least for now.
Mike

yes, they are in my possession. i'm not very familiar with these sandatas, and like you, will prolly hold on them for a while. these were the only pira pieces i saw over there. there were a couple more, but the handle looks like they were 'plastic' or resin, i could be mistaken, tho.

Ian · 24th February 2005, 06:05 PM

Spunjer:

I have seen quite a few of these over years in the store of Manong Ven and other antique shops in Manila.

He gets them via longstanding contacts in Davao City, and other dealers (from Zamboanga, Basilan, Jolo, etc.) who visit his shop. Some of them have brass decorations that are the same as on your panabas. I have talked with Ven about these types of pira, and based on his information each of the examples you have was probably made in the second half of the 20th C. They are well made pieces in the traditional style.

The brass "B'laan" hilt sems to have some surface rubbing (from age?) and its style is consistent with a B'laan attribution, but I think this is a recent addition to the pira blade, and I have doubts that the B'laan ever used such a weapon. Most B'laan swords are similar to the small kampilans used by the T'boli, Bagobo, and Kaolo; it is possible that some Mandaya swords were used also. Like many of the Lumad groups, the B'laan would occasionally use, or adapt for their use, various Moro swords. I have seen a number of kris variants attributed to the B'laan, one barung with a B'laan style hilt, and a few B'laan-modified kampilan. These are weapons that could have been obtained easily through trade or battle with neighboring Moro groups. It is possible that a B'laan warrior may have had a pira blade in his arsenal, but the Yakan are quite remote geographically from the B'laan which makes me doubtful about this combination.

All of these are well made pira. hard to say exactly where the blades and hilts were produced, or exactly when. My best guess is that they come from Mindanao some time within the last 20 years.

Spunjer · 25th February 2005, 05:36 AM

ian,
thanks for your honest opinion on these pieces and the panabas. i figured it was 20thc. but didn't know it was that recent. i was really hoping to find an older (19th century) piece, but it seems like all the good ones are already gone. i can see why you prefer to collect lumad and lesser known tribes' weapon...

Ian · 25th February 2005, 12:28 PM

Spunger:

I could be wrong about the age, but that's my best guess. Versions from the early 20th C. have much longer projections at the back of the hilt, with hilts that look just like documented 19th C pira. More recent hilts seem to have morphed into almost an exaggerated kakatua. Two of yours show this feature, with quite prominent forward-projecting "beaks." That forward projection is virtually absent (or very minimal) on older pieces. This kakatua appearance, and the designs on the brass, are two features that make me think these pira are not coming from Yakan sources.

23rd February 2005, 10:45 PM	#1
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	Unusual Piras what's so unusual are the blades and handles. i'll post the group picture first: Attached Images

23rd February 2005, 10:49 PM	#2
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	the first one according to mang ven (vm's antiques) is a b'laan type. i wasn't aware that b'laans used this type of sundang; i thought piras were yakan special. Attached Images

23rd February 2005, 10:54 PM	#3
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	the second one is a more traditional yakan pira. the handle is carabao horn with a bone or ivory punto, i'm not sure. what's weird is the blade design towards the point; it looks like something one would see on a kampilan tip. a kam-pira, maybe? Attached Images

23rd February 2005, 11:02 PM	#4
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	finally, the bottom one is similar to the one on top. the handle is traditional yakan style with a twist: it looks like it's made out of banati wood and is heavily ornated. the punto is made out of brass with some okir designs. on the tip of the handle, there's a coin dated '1915' on it. the blade tip is similar to the one on top also; ala kampilan. the design actually looks like the same type of pattern one sees on a kris. any thoughts and/or comments on these hybrids? Attached Images

24th February 2005, 06:05 PM	#8
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,033	Three pira Spunjer: I have seen quite a few of these over years in the store of Manong Ven and other antique shops in Manila. He gets them via longstanding contacts in Davao City, and other dealers (from Zamboanga, Basilan, Jolo, etc.) who visit his shop. Some of them have brass decorations that are the same as on your panabas. I have talked with Ven about these types of pira, and based on his information each of the examples you have was probably made in the second half of the 20th C. They are well made pieces in the traditional style. The brass "B'laan" hilt sems to have some surface rubbing (from age?) and its style is consistent with a B'laan attribution, but I think this is a recent addition to the pira blade, and I have doubts that the B'laan ever used such a weapon. Most B'laan swords are similar to the small kampilans used by the T'boli, Bagobo, and Kaolo; it is possible that some Mandaya swords were used also. Like many of the Lumad groups, the B'laan would occasionally use, or adapt for their use, various Moro swords. I have seen a number of kris variants attributed to the B'laan, one barung with a B'laan style hilt, and a few B'laan-modified kampilan. These are weapons that could have been obtained easily through trade or battle with neighboring Moro groups. It is possible that a B'laan warrior may have had a pira blade in his arsenal, but the Yakan are quite remote geographically from the B'laan which makes me doubtful about this combination. All of these are well made pira. hard to say exactly where the blades and hilts were produced, or exactly when. My best guess is that they come from Mindanao some time within the last 20 years.

24th February 2005, 03:44 AM	#5
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Interesting stuff. Any word on the age? I would guess 20th century due to the proliferation of the hilt/blade style (well blade style without the interesting tips) on Ebay of similar modern pieces. Are the blades hefty? Regardless very neat stuff.

24th February 2005, 06:48 AM	#6
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	Are those now yours, Spunger? I've got three as well, and the only problem I have with them being automatically being put into the "contemporary class" is that they all seem to have older, heavy, patterned steel blades that are, for lack of a better term, too good for the other modern pieces that I've seen and handled, on a par with early to mid 20th century barung blades. For now, I'm content to just sit and watch for developements, but I, for one, am not turning loose of mine and am thrilled that something this nice is staying within my monetary reach, at least for now. Mike

25th February 2005, 05:36 AM	#9
Spunjer Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Witness Protection Program Posts: 1,730	ian, thanks for your honest opinion on these pieces and the panabas. i figured it was 20thc. but didn't know it was that recent. i was really hoping to find an older (19th century) piece, but it seems like all the good ones are already gone. i can see why you prefer to collect lumad and lesser known tribes' weapon...

25th February 2005, 12:28 PM	#10
Ian Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: The Aussie Bush Posts: 4,033	Spunger: I could be wrong about the age, but that's my best guess. Versions from the early 20th C. have much longer projections at the back of the hilt, with hilts that look just like documented 19th C pira. More recent hilts seem to have morphed into almost an exaggerated kakatua. Two of yours show this feature, with quite prominent forward-projecting "beaks." That forward projection is virtually absent (or very minimal) on older pieces. This kakatua appearance, and the designs on the brass, are two features that make me think these pira are not coming from Yakan sources.