Vibal launches Anting-Anting book

September 19th, 2017

http://vibalgroup.com/?p=830

https://shop.vibalgroup.com/products/you-shall-be-as-gods-anting-anting-and-the-filipino-quest-for-mystical-power

The anting-anting has always been a curious artifact for both the older and younger generations of Filipino. But what is the anting-anting, how did it come into significance, and what is its role in the Filipino culture?

Vibal Foundation attempts to guide the discussion of the anting-anting with the launch of You Shall Be as Gods: Anting-anting and the Filipino Quest for Power during the 38th Manila International Book Fair on September 16, 2017 at SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

Penned by author and scholar Dennis Santos Villegas, this thoroughly researched book examines the evolution of the anting-anting throughout history as an essential element of Filipino beliefs from the pre-colonial era. It goes on to discuss the anting-anting’s influence in the Filipino’s struggle against Spanish colonization and even its role in integrating the Judeo-Christian tradition with longstanding indigenous beliefs.

The book is the first title in Vibal Foundation’s new series, Voyager, which aims to expose readers into unchartered territories with academic discussions of intriguing topics that often elude formal academic conversations.

You Shall Be as Gods: Anting-anting and the Filipino Quest for Power is available at shop.vibalgroup.com. For more information, call 580-7400 or 1-800-1000-VIBAL (84225) or e-mail marketing@vibalgroup.com.

(Photo courtesy of the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society)

Illustration: Various Philippine Blades

Warrior’s Helmet (Oklop), Ifugao, 19th-early 20th c., National Gallery of Australia.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

Helmet, Masbate, 19th c., Museo Nacional de Antropología, Madrid.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

Shield, Bagobo, c 1900-1910, Penn Museum.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

Dagger Hilt, Butuan, 10th-13th c., Tony and Cecile Gutierrez Collection.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

Body Armor, Lanao del Sur, late 19th-early 20th c., British Museum.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

Bladed Weapons, Mindanao, 19th c., Museo Nacional De Antropología, Madrid.

Courtesy of http://pupuplatter.tumblr.com

The Trespicio medallion of the Infinito Dios and the Tres Personas

The trinitarian dogma which is the most important of all Catholic doctrines gave way to the mythology that God, a spirit being, is an eye contained in a triangle. The triangle (or in anting-anting parlance, trespico), is the perfect representation of God, as it contained three equal sides or three equal corners, consistent with God’s three equal personalities. The triangular medallion, therefore, becomes one of the most popular of all the anting-anting. It symbolizes the oneness of the Infinito Dios and the Santissima Trinidad. Those who keep and faithfully believe in the trespico anting-anting can achieve oneness with the Infinito Dios and the Santissima Trinidad.

The Trespico medallion, believed by anting-anting faithful as an effective protector against evil because it contains the image and names of God. The symbols in this medallion include the Eye, representing the Infinito Dios, and the initials A.A.A which are the initials of the names of the Santissima Trinidad: Avetillo, Avetemit, Avelator (other names of the Santissima Trinidad are Aram, Ardam, Adradam). The ROMA is the initial of the title and name of God which means Rex Omnipotentem Macmamitam Adonay.

The Trespico as seen in the altar of the religious sect Tres Personas Solo Dios in Mount Banahaw by the author in 2010.

God’s Plan of Salvation

God’s plan for the world is to save it from the clutches of the Devil. For this reason, one of the Santissima Trinidad has been assigned to go down to earth to save humankind. Only through his sacrifice and death can humankind be saved. But since God is immortal and cannot die, he must assume a human form, and before he must be born a human, he should be conceived by a woman.

God being born as a human by a human mother is again one of those concepts that cannot easily be understood, especially among the early Filipinos who have a simple pre-colonial belief in the existence of God who is the first being in the universe. But for God to become human, and for God to be born by a woman, is something complex, especially if Catholicism teaches that the woman is the Mother of God, instead of just a blessed human person assigned by God to bear his human form.

The woman–the Virgin Mary–conceived God in her womb. The official Catholic doctrine on her personality is stated clearly in the official Catholic book Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church published by the Vatican:

Mary is truly “Mother of God” since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.

The image of a Mother God therefore plays an important role in the theogony of the anting- anting. In Filipino society, the mother of the family is viewed as the “ilaw ng tahanan” who provides her children with proper care, upbringing and education. Moreover, the early Filipino society, although strongly patriarchal, viewed women as mediators to God. As proof, the early priests were women called babaylan.

The veneration of the Virgin Mary as the Mother of God is therefore consistent with the Filipino view of the important role played by the mother in Filipino family and society. The babaylan priesthood still exists at present in many folk Catholic religions in Southern Tagalog, most especially in the Ciudad Mistica de Dios and the Tres Personas Solo Dios in Mount Banahaw, where the religious leaders and priests are women.

The idea of a Mother God was accepted by the early Filipinos as a given. Thus the Virgin Mary eventually took her place as an important God in the pantheon of the Gods among Filipinos. Monotheistic though the Catholic religion is as claimed by the Vatican, to the simplistic views of the pre-colonial Filipinos, the Infinito Dios, the Santissima Trinidad, and now, the Virgin Mary constitute a polytheistic religion.

In the theogony of the anting-anting, the Virgin Mary must therefore be elevated from her role as a simple bearer of God in her womb to become the Infinita Dios, the female equality and counterpart of the Infinito Dios. The emergence of the Infinita Dios in anting-anting symbols also gave way to the belief that God does not have a sexual gender preference.

The medallion of the Infinita Dios. Author’s collection.

Thus the emergence of the myth of the Infinita Dios was established:

Before God created the universe, He decided to have someone help him in his task of creation. While thinking, five shining letters sprang forth from His mind that became the five petals of a beautiful flower (mayuming bulaklak). This flower is called the Gumamela Celis which means the Flower of Heaven or Flower of the Earth (Rosa Mundi). The five letters are none other than the beautiful name M-A-R-I-A, which in Syrian language is Miriam, which means the highest. The original name of Maria before God created the universe was Bulaklak.

Maria was thus the first being that emanated from God. In short, Maria was even first to appear than the 16 spirits, the seven Archangels, Luzbel (Lucifer), and the Santissima Trinidad. The Virgin Mary was thus elevated from her former status as bearer of God in the flesh, into a God that first sprang forth from the mind of God.

Then again, one should not be confused. The Infinito Dios, the Santissima Trinidad, and the Virgin Mary all share in the equality of their divinity. No one is more or less than the other. This is quite difficult to understand, so one can imagine how the early Filipinos had a hard time embracing this set of beliefs about God. Clearly, even a child can understand that there are five Gods being spoken here: the Infinito Dios, the Santissima Trinidad that is composed of three persons, and the Virgin Mary.

The medallion of the coronation of the Virgin Mary by the Santissima Trinidad. (Author’s collection)

Panyo ng Kabalistiko ng Infinita Dios. The sacred words spoken by the Infinita Dios forming her image.

However, to be consistent with the Catholic teaching that God is One even though there are clearly five of them sharing the One divinity, the early Filipinos simplified this complexity by inventing the God called Cinco Vocales: A-E-I-O-U.

A is Bathala/Infinito Dios

E is Mother God (Virgin Mary/Infinita Dios)

I is God the Father

O is Jesus Christ

U is the Holy Spirit.

The Cinco Vocales is the DAEIOUS AEIOU (daeious is pronounced as deus), the final enumeration of the pantheon of Filipino Gods as a result of the synthesis of the complex doctrine of the Roman Catholic religion and the simplistic pre-colonial religion of the Tagalogs. The Cinco Vocales, as all anting-anting faithfuls believe, is the highest God, because it is the complete composition of the five highest Gods.

Consistorio ng Kadeusan ng Anting-anting

The pantheon of the Gods “DAEIOUS AEIOU” or Cinco Vocales. From left to right: InfinitoDios, Infinita Dios, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This is believed by many folk Catholic millenarian sects and anting-anting believers as the true enumeration of the One True God, again consistent with the Catholic doctrine that there is only one God.

To this pantheon of Gods, however, we must add a newcomer: Amang Gat Dr. Jose Rizal, whose name among anting-anting believers is Jove Rex al, meaning, God King of All. To many anting-anting believers, Rizal is the second incarnation of God. The first was Jesus Christ. Most, if not all, Rizalistas are also believers in anting-anting. Inversely, many anting-anting believers are also Rizalistas.

Photo: Medalyon ng Amang Gat Dr. Jose Rizal. Author’s collection.

Colt Artillery Model 1873 Single Action Army(SAA) .45

- Barrel Length: 7″ and 5½”
- Weight: 2.3 lbs
- Cartridge Caliber: .45 Long Colt (255 grain)
- Muzzle Velocity: 830 fps
- Service: 1873–1902

The Colt SAA .45 became the side arm issued to US Army in 1873. The Colt .45 revolver was considered cutting edge technology at the time. The large caliber was believed to quell conflicts and bring peace. It became known as the “Peacemaker”. It would be the most popular revolver of the old west. Today it remains synonymous with the Cowboys of the western frontier.

The original Colt SAA issued to troops had the 7″ barrel. By early 1890s the US Army decided to downsize their force as well as find ways to save on spending. By 1893 many of the Colt SAA revolvers were replaced by the Colt DA .38. It should be noted the phasing out of the Colt SAA .45 was a long process and many still found use as the side arm of select few units. By 1898 the Colt revolvers were modified with a shorter 5½” and issued first to Artillery units. The altered Colts with 5½” barrels would be known and later called the “Artillery Model”. The most popular unit to carry the old Colt .45 SAA would be Teddy Roosevelts Rough Riders during the Cuban Campaign. The Colt SAA .45 would truly shine just as the the Philippine-American War was coming to a close and the beginning of the pacification through out the Philippines; most particularly during patrols and expeditions in the Visayan and Moroland(Mindanao) regions. The Colt .38 revolvers provided to be insufficient in stopping and dropping frantically charged assailants. Few regulars and volunteers still carried the older Colt SAA .45 and noted the significant stopping and knock-down power the revolver had over the newer .38s. Officers soon requested an immediate re-issue of old Colt SAA .45s to the Philippine Islands. Because the Colt SAA .45 would still be used in service all the way up to the end of the Philippine-American War, it would be safe to say the Colt .45 was never truly retired in 1893.

By the end of 1902 the Philippine-American War closed and the US volunteers began mustering out of service. As US troop presences began to drop in the Philippines, Tafts Philippine Commission would establish a native police force known as the Philippine Constabulary to fill the roll of bring law and order through out the islands. The Philippine Constabulary would be issued the old 1878 Colt Alaskan .45 revolver, which would be re-designated the Colt 1902 Philippine Model. Resulting from the effective use of the Colt Single Action Army .45.

Researched and written by Dnvzs Zjzllg

Colt 1902 Philippine Model Double Action .45LC
Originally issued as: 1878 Colt Alaskan Revolver

Barrel length: 6″
Capacity: 6 round swing out cylinder
Cartridge Caliber: .45 LC(Long Colt)
Weight: 2 lbs
Service: 1878-1892; 1902-1908

Adopted earlier in 1878 by US soldiers serving in Alaska, the pistol was nearly phased out by the new issued .38 revolvers. At the end of the Philippine-American War the Philippine Scouts, along with US military units, and the Philippine Constabulary(Native Police force) began expeditions and patrolling through Moroland and Visayan territory. There they found new adversaries waiting and lurking in the dense terrain of both regions, namely the Tad-Tad/Pulajanes of Samar/Leyte and the Juramentado Moros. The native police force were poorly equipped with Springfield Trapdoor “single shot” rifles, and a ill performing .38 Colt revolver side arm. Both proved to have insufficient stopping power of a hard charging swarm of combatants. A shot assailant does not necessarily make them incapacitated. Sword welding Moros and Filipinos were known to charge through heavy gun fire and still be capable of slashing and killing. Requests were quickly made for older issued .45 Colt revolvers, and the US government answered by reissuing out the older 1878 Alaskan Colt Revolvers to the Philippine Constabulary, re-designating them the 1902 Philippine Model. The .45 revolvers performed up to standard and as expected. The stopping power of the .45 cartridge against Filipinos during this era would result in the US government requesting their newly manufactured and issued sidearm to be chambered in .45. The end result is the M1911 Colt automatic pistol chambered in the newly engineered .45ACP cartridge.

The Model 1902 revolver is unique by the enlarged trigger guard. At the time the new smokeless powder cartridges also required new primers, which took more effort to ignite; and with it required a stronger trigger spring. The trigger pull became immense. Colt modified the trigger group by use of the enlarged trigger guard, which gave more leverage to pull the trigger.

Researched and written by Dnvzs Zjzllg

895 Gatling Gun

Weight: 395 lbs
Barrel length: 32″ (6-10 barrels)
Cartridge Caliber: .30 cal and 45-70
Range: +1000 yards
Rate fire: 600-1000 per minute
Service: 1873-1906

Invented by American Dr. Richard Jordan Gatling(neighbor of the Colt family in Hartford Connecticut), the Gatling gun is considered by many to be the first machine gun. It was first introduced during the Civil War in 1865. Several different models existed through out its advent. 6 to 10 barrels are positioned in a cylinder. Each barrel having its own chamber and firing mechanism. Ammunition is placed in a magazine canister and attached on top of the cylinder breech. A crank would be operated by the gunner, which would rotate the cylinder and barrels. The rotation loaded, cocked, fired, and ejected spent cartridges. The Gatling gun initially suffered many issues, as nearly all were hand built at the time and many parts were not uniform. By the 1890s, the Gatling gun had significantly improved, and in 1895 the US Army adopted the weapon.
The Gatling gun saw much action during the Spanish American War. It gained fame in Cuba giving support fire while Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders assaulted San Juan Hill. Several examples were later shipped and used in the war in the Philippines.

Researched and written by Dnvzs Zjzllg

M1899 Philippine Constabulary Krag-Jørgensen Carbine Rifle

- Bolt Action
- Capacity: 5 round internal box magazine
- Cartridge Caliber: .30-40 Krag (US Krags) Smokeless
- Service: 1906-1917

The Philippine Constabulary were the native police established in 1902 by Tafts Philippine Commission which oversaw civil affairs of the Philippine Islands. It should be noted the PC’s were not soldiers as many confused them to be; they were law enforcement officers paid the Civil Philippine Commission. The Philippine Constabulary were originally issued old US military stock Springfield Trapdoor single-shot 45 rifles from the Indian Wars. During the pacification of the islands after the Phil-Am War, the Trapdoor rifle proved to be inferior when fighting in the dense terrains of the Visayas and Mindanao regions where combatants would rush out in hoards. After the first initial shot, reloading another round became near impossible. As many PC inspectors complained: the Trapdoor rifle became a one shot club.
The Springfield Trapdoors were later replaced by the Krag Carbines in early 1906. Unique to only the Philippines, the Krag full length rifles were modified and cut down to a shorter size at the POD(Philippine Ordnance Depot) in Intramurous. The Krag Carbine was also short lived, they would later be replaced by Springfield M1903 rifles by 1910(but Krags would still be in service until 1917). Less than a handful of these Philippine Constabulary Krag Carbines exist today. Making them the mostly highly sought after and prized rifle of all Krag models by gun collectors and

Springfield Krag Jørgensen Rifle

- Manufactured: Springfield Armory(under license by Krag Jørgensen)
- Design: Norwegian
- Weight: 8.6lb
- Length: 49″
- Barrel length: 30″
- Cartridge Caliber: 30-40 Krag Smokeless
- Capacity: 5 round internal box magazine
- Service in US Army: 1892-1903
- Service in Philippine Constabulary: 1906-1917

The US Army adopted the Krag rifle in 1892. Springfield would produce several different variants of the Krag from 1892 to 1899 at their plant in Massachusetts. An estimated 500,000 rifles were produced at Springfield Armory. Production ceased in 1904. The Krag would be the rifle credited for winning the Spanish American War, as well as the Philippine American War. It still remains synonymous to the Span-Am War era.
The Krag how ever was very short lived. It only saw two short wars and was already proven to be outclassed, out matched, and obsolete during the first war. The Spanish Mauser proved to be a better all around performer, as well as being a more robust war rifle than the Krag. Loading the Krag was also tedious, as it required loading one round at a time in to the box magazine, where as the Spanish Mauser took 5 round stripper clips that allowed for extremely fast reload. The Mauser was the superior rifle of the two wars, but the American soldiers outnumbered and out-gunned the Spanish and Filipino soldiers armed with Mausers. By 1901 Springfield had developed a new and improved battle rifle that incorporated features and characteristics of both the Spanish Mauser as well as the Krag. The US Army soon adopted Springfields new rifle and named it the M1903. The M1903 were quickly mass produced and outfitted to US Regulars. The Krags however would still find a niche in service. By 1905 the Krags would be re-issued to the Philippine Constabulary and other provincial police departments around the Philippines.

Researched and written by Dnvzs Zjzllg

Spanish Mauser Model 1893 Bolt Action Rifle

- Manufactured: Loewe Berlin Germany
- Weight: 8.6lb
- Barrel length: 29″
- Cartridge Caliber: 7mm (7x57mm) Smokeless
- Service in Spanish Army: Since 1893

The 1893 Mauser bolt action rifle is considered by many to be one of the most revolutionary firearms in history and way ahead of it’s era. Accuracy of the rifle being unmatched during its time. The Mauser rifle saw little improvements to its design through out its service. It would be used by nearly all countries up to and during the second world war. Even by todays standards it is considered extremely accurate next to modern firearms. Nearly all bolt action rifles produced today take some design from the Mauser rifle. The 7mm round created a distinctive sound when whizzing by, the American soldiers called it the “Spanish Hornet”.

Spain contracted Mauser in Loewe Berlin to produce these rifles for their entire military in the early 1890s. The Mauser were to replace outdated rifles like the Remington Rolling Block. The Mauser later shined and gained an infamous reputation during the Spanish American War at Cuba. The Battle of San Juan Hill would be the most famous battle of the Spanish-American War, as well as being the turning point of the war. 800 Spanish soldiers held the hill against an opposing force made up of nearly 20,000 armed men. 15,000 being made of US Soldiers armed with Krags and Springfield Trapdoor rifles. Although the fight lasted only 2 days and the US gained control of the hill, the end result was near disastrous for the Americans. 200 US soldiers lay dead with 1,100 being wounded. The Spanish resulted in only 58 deaths and 170 wounded. The Spanish Mauser rifle was quickly noted by the US military and the US government for its lethality and superiority in this one battle.

At the same time in the Philippines, the 2nd phase of the Revolution was in motion and the Philippine Army trampled across the Spanish troops through out the islands. The Filipinos began to equip themselves with captured and left over Spanish firearms. They would also account for the superior performance in the Mauser. Each battalion would have a separate special unit of expert riflemen/snipers(known as Tiradors); and all were to be armed with nothing but Mauser rifles. The most popular Filipino riflemen unit being under the command of General Geronimo, whom he would name “Tiradores de la Muerte”(Shooters of Death). After the outbreak of the Philippine American War, the Tiradores de la Muerte would gain fame in Dec 1899 when the unit defended the town of San Mateo against 800 US troops under the command of Gen Henry Lawton. On the morning of the battle Lawton walked along the firing line in open field to gain a better view of his troops and the opposing force. The troops noted the distinct firing sound of the Mauser rifles and advised the general to take cover. The general ignored their warning and at that instant was struck in the chest by round fired by one of the tiradores Mauser rifle. Gen Lawton would die with in a few minutes. The rifle shot coming from a distance of 300 yards during a storm with rain.

Also during the Spanish American War in the Philippines, in the town of Baler a small detachment of 50 Spanish soldiers barracked themselves inside the towns fortified church. Lt Col Teodorico Luna(relative of Juan and Antonio Luna) would lead the attack against the Spaniards and surrounded the church. The Spaniards would hold this position from July 1898 to June 1899. During their stand, the Spanish American War would end, America would purchase the islands, and Philippine American War was in full swing. The Spanish troops finally surrendered to the Philippine Army and were received as friendly allies. The dominance of the Mauser rifle was accredited for the 11 month long stand off.

Due to the superiority and success of the Mauser rifle over the newly issued Krag rifles through out the Spanish American War, the US Government took captured Mausers and gave them to Springfield Armory for their own research and development. The US Government would give Springfield Armory the order to build their own Mauser type rifle. In 1900 Springfield had a prototype rifle with similar characteristics of both the Mauser and Krag rifle. The US Government approved the design, and the end result is the M1903 Springfield bolt action rifle in 30-06. It should be noted that Springfield Armory at the time was under government control, but in itself was still a separate entity as a firearms manufacturer. The US Government in a way did not purposely copy the designs, but being Springfield Armory fell under the control of the US Government, Mauser took action against the US government and not Springfield Armory. Both Mauser and the US Government realized the similar features and agreed it infringed on Mausers design patents. The US Government willfully agreed to pay royalties to Mauser for patent infringement with out trial.

Researched and written by Dnvzs Zjzllg

A new translation of the Calatangan Pot inscription

The Calatangan Pot is a prehispanic (14th-16th century) artifact containing an inscription around the neck. It is said to be one of the earliest expressions of prehispanic writing in the Philippines, and there have been several attempts at translating the inscription. Rolando Borrinaga is the latest person to offer an translation of the script, based on old Bisayan and old Tagalog alphabets. An earlier attempt to decipher the Calatangan Pot incription was made by University of the Philippines’ Ramon Guillerm

***

The mystery of the ancient inscription
The Inquirer, 23 May 2009

AFTER 50 years of enigma, the text inscribed around the shoulder of the Calatagan Pot, the country’s oldest cultural artifact with pre-Hispanic writing, may have been deciphered as written in the old Bisayan language.

Diggers discovered the pot in an archeological site in Calatagan, Batangas, in 1958. They sold it for P6 to a certain Alfredo Evangelista.

Later, the Anthropological Foundation of the Philippines purchased the find and donated it in 1961 to the National Museum, where it is displayed to this day.

The pot, measuring 12 centimeters high and 20.2 cm at its widest and weighing 872 grams, is considered one of the Philippines’ most valuable cultural and anthropological artifacts. It has been dated back to the 14th and 16th centuries.

***

The Calatagan Pot
by Hector Santos
© 1996 by Hector Santos
All rights reserved.

http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/mystery/pot.htm

In the early 1960′s, an artifact was offered by treasure hunters to National Museum staff as they were working on a nearby excavation. It was the Calatagan pot, the first pre-Hispanic artifact with writing to be found. As such, it is the best known and written about among all artifacts with writing. Even at that, it is still undeciphered.

Calatagan Pot The late Dr. Robert Fox brought the pot to the offices of the Manila Times to ask help from its editor, Chino Roces, in deciphering the writing around the mouth of the pot. The newspaper, as a result, commissioned the sculptor Guillermo Tolentino, an expert on Philippine syllabaries, to decipher the writing. Tolentino had a hard time with certain letters so he, as a spiritist, reportedly summoned his special powers to come up with a translation.

The authenticity of the pot has been questioned since it first showed up. For one thing, no other pot has been found decorated with writing. Carbon dating was reportedly done on the pot but the results pointed to such an extremely early date that it had to be rejected. Dr. Fox wanted to do some thermoluminescence testing but didn’t live to see it done.

Nevertheless, the pot may still be authentic. It would have been very easy for a forger to write something decipherable on the pot, especially text which made sense. Anyone attempting to create a phony artifact would probably have done so. As it was, the strangeness of the characters and the direction of writing (or to be more precise, the direction in which the artisan wrote the letters) gives us something to think about.

Juan Francisco, a respected Philippine paleographer, did some analysis of the letters in his 1973 book, Philippine Palaeography. He could not decipher the writing, however. His analysis mainly consisted of classifying the letters as curvilinear, lineo-angular, or a combination of the two. I cannot see the usefulness of such a classification because there is no benefit from its use, whether in trying to find the script’s heritage or in classifying it among the known scripts of the world. His book contains good sketches of all the letters though, which makes the section on the Calatagan pot in his book not entirely useless.

The writing on the pot goes around its mouth. The letters look similar to those of classic Philippine scripts (Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Buhid, and Hanunóo) but some appear to be oriented in strange ways. Some show a similarity to older scripts used in Indonesia, suggesting an earlier development of classic Philippine scripts.

The symbols are divided by stop marks into six groups (which may be phrases), each consisting of five or seven symbols.

Calatagan Writing

What is strange and maybe significant about the writing is the apparent direction in which the artisan wrote it. A look at the pot will show that the artisan engraved the letters into the soft clay in a direction going to the left looking at the pot as it stands right side up.

He apparently misjudged the length of the writing and ran out of space so that its last few letters go under the starting point. This gives us a clue as to the literacy of the artisan.

We know that ALL Southeast Asian scripts share a common ancestor and were meant to be read and written from left to right. (Forget what others have said about having observed Tagbanwans writing on bamboo slats in a direction away from their body. You have seen classmates in grade school writing on paper oriented at an angle with respect to their body so that they appeared to have been writing vertically, have you not?)

There are two possibilities:

1. The artisan could well have been from modern times and may have trying to create a phony artifact but had an authentic sample to copy from. He may not have been aware of the direction of writing and so copied the sample from right to left. The result would have been a phony pot with an authentic inscription.

2. Perhaps the pot was authentic but the artisan, illiterate. He had a favorite curse or prayer written on a strip of bamboo or palm leaf. He wanted to use that phrase to decorate the pot.

Being illiterate, he had a 50% chance of going the wrong way which unfortunately he did, verifying Murphy’s Law yet one more time. He also ended up misjudging the length of the writing and had to go under the starting point to get everything written down.

If he had held the written sample right side up while copying it, the letters would be shown in their correct orientation. However, if he held the sample upside down the letters can be viewed in their proper orientation by looking from above the pot.

There may be other possibilities but the fact remains that the successful decipherment of an unknown script requires enough samples to be available.

If the Calatagan pot turns out to be a fake, its creator may either have been a bumbling fool who did not know much about scripts or a very sophisticated forger who could have introduced mysterious symbols deliberately to send paleographers wondering what they represented. A fool may have been dumb enough to copy a written sample in the wrong direction but would a sophisticated forger do so?

In the end, it would be easier to assume that the pot is authentic because it is hard to understand why a forger would do things the way he did in making the pot. But it would also be terribly uncomfortable to work on something not knowing whether a fool or a sophisticate really put one over you.

The mystery of the pot can somewhat be cleared up by doing new tests today. But maybe the pot is like an old toy that was put away in the closet as one got older. Someday, a new family member will rediscover it and play with it again.

Additional Reading

1. Francisco, Juan R. “Philippine palaeography,” in Philippine Journal of Linguistics special monograph 3 (Quezon City, 1973).
2. Potet, Jean-Paul G. “Morphologie du Philippin.” Doctoral dissertation, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales. Paris, 1983.
3. Santos, Hector. “Artifacts with writing revisited” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 1.
4. —–. “Errors in earlier Calatagan material” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 1-2.
5. —–. “Other pre-Hispanic writing artifacts” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 1.
6. —–. “The Calatagan pot” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 4-5.
7. —–. “The writing on the Calatagan jar” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 3-5.

Original article by Hector Santos at: http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/mystery/pot.htm

Collectively known as “sandata,” the edged weapons of the Philippines displayed in this exhibit are more than mere artifacts. They present a tangible living connection with a culture and history that would otherwise have been forgotten. Edged weapons have played a pivotal role in the cultural development and survival of the Philippine people. For many Philippine ethnic groups, bladed weapons exist as more than just a tool of war; they are a key part of a man’s identity and daily attire.

While limited in its scope to general information, history, and a description of the types of weapons in this exhibit, this article in conjunction with the exhibited items provide a glimpse into the diverse world of Philippine weaponry. We start this discussion with the physical aspects of the Philippines within the greater context of the world. We then turn to the current population breakdown of the nation, illustrating the wide variety of ethnicities and cultures present throughout Philippine history. A brief discussion of Philippine history follows, focusing on general trends and events. Finally, we discuss the edged weapons displayed in this exhibit, with brief descriptions of the ethnic groups who developed these weapons.

Origins
According to archeological records, the Philippines was connected to mainland Asia during the last Ice Age. As glaciation lowered sea levels, newly exposed land in the China Sea created the Sunda Shelf, a land mass that covered an area of some 1,800,000 square kilometers. This land mass enabled the present day Philippines to act as a land bridge connecting mainland Asia to Borneo, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Australia. During this period the bulk of the flora and fauna of the Philippines were introduced. Approximately 250,000 years ago the glaciers melted, and the land bridges were submerged, creating the Philippine Archipelago.

Geography and Climate
The Philippine Archipelago consists of roughly 7,107 islands, many of volcanic origin. It is located between three major bodies of water: to the northwest the South China Sea, to the east the Pacific Ocean, and to the south the Celebes Sea. The archipelago lies between Southern China and North Borneo, in the latitudes of 4°23’N to 21°25’N and the longitudes of 116°E to 129°E. The total area of the Philippines has a total land area of about 300,000 square kilometers of which only 19% is arable. It has an extensive coastline of roughly 36,000 kilometers. Much of the terrain is mountainous, with narrow but extensive coastal lowlands. The highest point in the Philippines is Mt Apo, located on the southern island of Mindanao, rising 2,954 meters. The Philippines is divided into three geographic areas: Luzon in the north, the Visayas in the center, and Mindanao in the south. It is further divided into 17 regions and 79 provinces.

The climate of the Philippines is tropical and subject to an abundance of rain. It has three primary seasons: a rainy season during the months of June to October, a cool dry season during the months of November to February, and a hot dry season during the months of March to May. The archipelago is located astride the typhoon belt, and is normally affected by about 15 major storms each year, and hit directly by five or six typhoons. Local flooding and mud slides are major problems in the wet season.

Population
According to a July 2005 estimate, the Philippines currently has a population of 87,857,473 people, making it the fourteenth most populous nation. About 96% of the population is under the age of 65, with a median age of 22.7 years. The ethnic breakdown of the Filipino population, according to the latest census data, is: Tagalog 28%, Cebuano 13%, Ilocano 9%, Bisaya/Binisaya 7.6%, Hiligaynon Ilonggo 7.5%, Bicolano 6%, Waray 3.4%, and 25% are listed as “Other.” Despite the seeming dominance of Christian groups, within the category of “Other” there exist about 100 non-Christian tribal groups. According to the 2000 census, the religious makeup of the Philippines breaks down as follows: Roman Catholic 81%, Evangelical 2.8%, Iglesia ni Kristo 2.3%, Aglipayan 2%, other Christian 4.5%, Muslim 5%, Other 1.8%, Unspecified 0.6%, and None 0.1%. For various reasons it is possible that the numbers of non-Christians in the Philippines were underestimated.

Language is another source of diversity among the Philippine population. The Philippines has two official languages: Filipino (which is based on Tagalog) and English. Besides the official languages there are over 500 local dialects. The eight most common are Tagalog , Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon (Ilonggo), Bicolano, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan.

Pre-Colonial Cultural Influences
Cultural diffusion among the Filipino population has been due largely to effects of regional migration through trade and settlement. While there are currently no archaeological findings to support an explicit wave theory of population migration, we can trace some of the means by which migratory cultures have affected the Philippines.

Before Western colonization, the Philippines experienced the influences of two major cultural groups: Indian and Chinese. Through trade and settlement, cultural elements from both of these groups found their way into indigenous cultures.

Early Philippine history books stated that the Philippines were once part of the Indo-Malay South East Asian Empires of Sri Vijaya (which existed between 683 and 1377 CE) and Majapahit (which existed between 1293 CE and 1528 CE). The inclusion of the Philippines as a vassal state of these two empires has been refuted by recent archaeological and historical research. There is no proof that either of these empires ruled parts of the Philippines directly, although Indo-Malay cultural influences are certainly found in various parts of the Philippines. As early as 900 CE, Indian-influenced groups from mainland SE Asia may have settled in the southern Philippines. Through the arrival of traders and immigrants, elements of Indian religion, language, and literature were brought to the Philippines. These influences can be seen in the early use of Sanskrit by ancient Filipinos as well as the development of Indian based dress (such as head scarves) and the use of Indian techniques in the manufacturing of textiles. Furthermore, much of the folklore and superstitions of Filipino groups have definable Hindu roots.

The first recorded contact with China came in 982 CE when several Filipino traders arrived in Canton. Through the Sung, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, Chinese-Filipino trade continued to expand. Filipino traders brought to China native products such as gold, beeswax, pearls, and edible bird’s nests. Soon after, the trade in such lucrative goods began to attract Chinese immigrants to the Philippines, particularly to the cities of Jolo and Manila. These immigrant traders interweaved themselves into Philippine society, marrying local women, and today most Filipinos have some degree of Chinese genetic heritage. Such lively interaction between the two peoples brought many Chinese influences into Philippine culture. For example, Filipinos learned the manufacture of gunpowder, refined techniques of metallurgy, and the making of brass gongs from the Chinese. Furthermore, the Filipino diet was greatly transformed by Chinese culture, and the consumption of Chinese staples such as rice, buns and noodles became widespread. Yet, probably the largest Chinese contribution came in the form of language. Over 1,500 Chinese words are now found in the Filipino language, far surpassing the earlier Indian influences.

Contacts with Islam and the Western World
In the 14th century CE, Arab traders from Malay and Borneo introduced Islam into the southern islands and extended their influence as far north as Luzon. Subsequently, Muslims gained considerable presence in the southern Philippines, including the Sulu archipelago, southern and western Mindanao, and Palawan. Substantial numbers of Muslims still reside in these areas and in 1996 many finally obtained some measure of independence through creation of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The Muslims historically were organized in tribal groups, or Sultanates, which waxed and waned in strength and dominance. The Sulu Sultanate was founded in 1392 CE and was the strongest for a long while, rivaling the older Brunei Sultanate in North Borneo. The Maranao and Maguindanao Sultanates on Mindanao also enjoyed later periods of ascendancy. Throughout their history the Muslim groups (termed “Moros” by the Spanish) have been fiercely independent and resisted first the Spanish and later American colonial rule. Neither colonial powers completely subdued them.

The first Europeans to encounter the Philippines were a Spanish expedition led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan (1521 CE). Other Spanish expeditions followed, including one from New Spain (Mexico) under López de Villalobos, who in 1542 named the islands for the infante Philip, later Philip II. The conquest of the Philippines by Spain did not begin in earnest until 1564, when another expedition from New Spain, commanded by Miguel López de Legaspi, overwhelmed Cebu. Spanish leadership was soon established over many small independent communities that previously had known no central rule. By 1571, when López de Legaspi established the Spanish city of Manila on the site of a Moro town he had conquered the year before, the Spanish foothold in the Philippines was secure, despite opposition of the Portuguese who were eager to maintain their monopoly on the trade of East Asia.

By the end of the 16th century, Manila had become a leading commercial center of East Asia, conducting a flourishing trade with China, India, and the East Indies. The Philippines supplied some wealth (including gold) to Spain, and the richly laden galleons sailing between the islands and New Spain were often attacked by English pirates. From 1600 to 1663 there were frequent clashes with the Dutch, who were laying the foundations of their rich empire in the East Indies, and with Moro pirates.

Filipinos were frequently unhappy with Spanish rule and uprisings were common. As the power of the Spanish Empire waned in the late 19th century, the Jesuit orders became more influential in the Philippines and acquired great amounts of property and power. Opposition to the power of the clergy led in large measure to a rising nationalist sentiment for independence. Spanish injustices, bigotry, and economic oppressions fed the Propaganda Movement, which was greatly inspired by the writings of Dr José Rizal.

The arrest of Rizal by the Spanish in 1892 was followed immediately by formation of a secret society, the Katipunan, with the goal of overthrowing Spanish colonial rule. After Rizal’s execution in 1896, an armed revolt led by the Katipunan began in the province of Cavite and spread throughout the major islands. Emilio Aguinaldo achieved considerable success as leader of the Katipunan forces before a peace was patched up with Spain. The peace was short-lived, however, for neither side honored its agreements, and a new revolution was brewing when the Spanish-American War broke out in 1898.

After the U.S. naval victory in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, Commodore George Dewey supplied Aguinaldo with arms to pursue battle with the Spanish. When US land forces arrived, the Filipinos had taken the entire island of Luzon, except for the old walled city of Manila. The Filipinos had also declared their independence and established a democratic republic. Their dreams of independence were crushed when the Philippines were transferred from Spain to the United States in the Treaty of Paris (1898) that concluded the Spanish-American War.

In February 1899, Aguinaldo led a new revolt, this time against US rule. Defeated on the battlefield, the Filipinos turned to guerrilla warfare, and their subjugation became a mammoth project for the United States—one that cost far more money and took far more lives than the Spanish-American War. The insurrection was effectively ended with the capture of Aguinaldo in 1901, but the question of Philippine independence remained a burning issue in the politics of both the United States and the islands. The matter was complicated by the growing economic ties between the two countries. The advent of the Great Depression in the United States in the 1930s and the first aggressive moves by Japan in Asia (1931) shifted US sentiment sharply toward the granting of independence to the Philippines. Invasion and occupation of the Philippines by Japan (1941-1945) delayed independence until 1946. Since that time the Philippines has been an independent democratic nation.

Historical Timeline

250,000 BCE Melting glaciers cause land bridges connecting the Philippines to mainland Asia to disappear.
900 CE Settlement of Indian influenced Indochinese groups in the Southern Philippines.
982 First recorded contact between the Philippines and China.
1310 Islam first comes to the Sulu Archipelago
1390 First Sultanate in the Philippines founded in Sulu.
1521 Magellan is the first Westerner to land in the Philippines.
1542 During an expedition to the islands by Ruy Lopez de Villalobos the archipelago is named Islas Filipinas in honor of the Spanish Crown Prince Philip
1565 Conquest of Cebu by Spanish forces led by Miguel de Legaspi
1570 Defeat of Rajah Soliman by Spanish forces led by Miguel de Legaspi
1571 Manila established as main Spanish settlement on Luzon
1892 Rizal arrested and deported. Katipunan society founded by Bonifacio.
1896 Rizal executed. Armed insurrection against Spain organized by Katipunan under leadership of Aguinaldo
1898-1901 Philippine-American War
1901-1915 Moro-American armed conflicts
1941-1945 Japanese occupation
1946 Independence declared

Edged Weapons of the Muslim Regions

Kris
The kris is the most famous Moro weapon (#1-6). Variations are found in every Moro tribe and it was a key symbol of a man’s status and rank in society as well as being a powerful talisman. Kris blades are wide at the base, double-edged, and can be waved, half-waved half-straight, or straight (straight blades were more practical in combat). Older kris had fewer waves and the waves were deeper and wider (#2,6). Over time the waves became shallower, tighter, and more numerous and therefore required greater skill to prevent the blade bouncing off or being stuck in an enemy’s body. The higher number of waves meant the more potent the kris was in talismanic power. Sometimes engravings (often filled in with brass or silver inlay) are found on the blade in plant motifs (vines, foliage, etc.) or Arabic script. Many kris blades are forged with fullers. Moro kris are cutting and slashing swords versus the stabbing keris of the Malay and Indonesians. Kris range from 45 to 65 centimeters in length. Older kris before the 19th century tended to be smaller in size. Laminated steel patterns are sometimes evident. Opposite the hook like fretwork on the guard of the blade is a cavity in the form of an elephant, eagle, or mouth of a naga (a mythical snake).

Hilts of krises are either straight or slightly curved. Commonly the pommel is in the form of a horse hoof (#3,4,6), or a stylized cockatoo head with beak and crest (#2,5). Usually the pommel is made of hardwood burl with the handle being wrapped in lacquered fiber. Upper class kris pommels (#4,5,6) are often made of ivory, silver, brass, or other exotic materials with handles wrapped in chased bands of silver or swassa (copper-gold alloy) or braided wire. Large extravagant cockatoo pommels appeared toward the end of the 19th century and are called junggayan. Pommels before the 19th century were very small (#2,6).

Moro kris scabbards were made of wide grain native hardwoods like mahogany, teak, and narra, lashed together with rattan or metal strips (#3-6). Sometimes the crosspiece is separate from the bottom, but more often they are carved together. Around the mid-20th century mother-of-pearl was introduced to scabbard work and kris pommels. Scabbards of the nobility are bound with bands of plain or chased silver, brass, or swassa instead of rattan bindings (#4,6). Some nobility scabbards even have crosspieces made of ivory or horn.

Barung (Barong)
Barung are the favored weapon of the Sultanate of Sulu. This single-edged, leaf-shaped blade is an amazingly effective slicer and chopper, capable of cleaving a man in two. Barung blades are thick and heavy, ranging from 30 to 60 centimeters in length, and often laminated. Some barung blades were made by Chinese smiths and are of high quality. Decoration of the blade was rare, although there are examples with inlaid brass dots or chiseled plant designs inlaid with brass or silver.

Pommels were usually in the form of a stylized cockatoo (#7-12). Most handles had a silver (sometimes brass) sleeve and lacquered braided fiber rings that lie on top. Nobility hilts were made of ivory, carabao horn, or Philippine ebony. One example in the collection is made of fossilized elephant molar ivory (#10). These hilts were carved in large and elaborate junggayan styles (#8,11,12). Lower class and fighting barung had less elaborate hilts and were smaller in size (#7,9). In the mid-20th century, hilt forms changed where crests became triangular and beaks became more rectangular and massive.

Scabbards were made of wide grained hardwood boards lashed together with rattan (#9,10). Older barung scabbards are thinner whereas post-World War 2 examples are much thicker with a central ridgeline. Like kris scabbards of the post World War 2 era, mother-of-pearl inlays began to appear at the throat as well.

Panabas
Moros of Mindanao occasionally used the panabas, a fairly rare and large heavy chopping weapon that ranges from 60 to 120 centimeters in length (13-16). It can deliver horrible cleaving blows and was sometimes used for executions. As a weapon of execution, the panabas also came to symbolize the power and prestige of the chieftain (datu) in his ability to control violence. It was used as a combat weapon and as a display of power. Sometimes on the battlefield warriors wielding the panabas would follow the main group of warriors, mopping up any survivors after the first wave of attack.

Panabas blades are curved, being wider at the tip than at the hilt, and made of laminated steel. A rare form of panabas has an “S” shaped blade sharpened partially along the backside (#15,16). File work in the form of talismanic “X” are found on some of the spines (#15). Hilts are made of hardwood often wrapped in braided rattan (#13), although some are wrapped in metal bands (#14-16). Scabbards for this weapon were made of plain wood and are rare (#15). Warriors frequently discarded the scabbards prior to battle, contributing to their scarcity today. Sometimes panabas were carried into battle wrapped in cloth and slung across the back.

Kampilan
Warriors of Mindanao favored the kampilan (#17-20). This single-edged sword is noted for its fearsome look, ranging up to 110 centimeters in length, amongst the largest of Moro swords. The kampilan was a sword for war and the court. As a court sword it represented the datu’s prestige and power. Related to the klewang, the blade is narrow near the hilt gradually swelling in width into an almost trapezoidal profile at the end. The blades are often laminated with various styles of tip. Many have a spike at the tip (#18) that some believe was decorative, and others think was used as a distraction in countering an enemy blow. Kampilan blades often have holes near the tip sometimes filled with brass. Rarer still some kampilan tips have kris-like fretwork; others have engravings down the entire blade. Various hilt styles exist, but the most common is the bifurcated type that may be a stylized version of an open alligator mouth (#17,18,20), and some had horse hair decoration (#21). Although the kampilan can be used with one hand, it is primarily a two-handed sword. At times the hilt was bound to the hand by a talismanic piece of cloth to prevent slippage. Sometimes a chain mail covering was attached to prevent the hand from injury. Almost all kampilans originally had large metal staples protruding from the cross guard above the grip. Hilts were made of hardwood, but expensive datu examples may be covered in silver sheet or made of expensive materials like ivory or bone.

The scabbards are very simple (#20) and often would be discarded when going into battle. Scabbards were made in two pieces lashed together by rattan or fiber. The sword could be withdrawn quickly by cutting through the thin lashings. Some scabbards were also made of bamboo or were made with a handle that allowed half of the scabbard to serve as a small shield.

Bangkung
Considerably rarer than the panabas, the bangkung is a short, single-edged weapon that varies from 50 to 75 centimeters (#21,22). Close to the hilt, the laminated blade is thick and narrow increasing in width towards the tip. The cutting edge often has a slight upward curve. Hilts on older bangkung were of the cockatoo style with a metal sleeve similar to the barung. Those produced since the mid-20th century have horse hoof pommels wrapped with braided cord (#21,22). Scabbards are wide at the end to accommodate the broad end of the sword (#21).

Pira
Pira are uncommon Moro weapons that have thick curved single-edged blades (#23). This sword is a fighting weapon favored by the Yakan. The handle is a flamboyant version of the cockatoo hilt with a long up curving piece protruding from the pommel. Pommels are made of horn or hardwood with a silver or brass sleeve. Blades are laminated and from 30 to 50 centimeters in length. Modern pira have evolved into a plainer working blade with a horse hoof hilt. Scabbards are similar to the barung scabbards at the throat but with a flat rectangular bottom, all wrapped in rattan.

Gunong
The gunong (also known as a puñal or puñal de kris) is often worn at the back in a waist sash or hidden in various places. It is a dagger of last defense as well as a utility knife, carried by both sexes. Many gunong blades are double-edged and are either straight or wavy (#24,25). Older gunongs had straight hilts (#24), which changed to the bulbous form in the 20th century (#25,26). During this time gunong also started having more extravagant fittings with chased bands on scabbards, belt clips, guards, and bulbous ferrules.

US restrictions on the carrying of traditional edged weapons left a gap in daily attire for a culture that required the wearing of a bladed weapon. The gunong filled in this gap and did not arouse the fears of US colonial authorities. After World War 2 nickel and aluminum became prevalent along with thinner blades. Newer gunong became larger than old pieces. Some of the best Moro chasing work may be found on tourist versions, with some blades having copper, brass, or nickel inlay.

Edged Weapons of the Lumad
Lumad refers to indigenous groups that are neither Muslim nor Christian. There are 18 Lumad groups: Ata, Bagobo, Banwaon, B’laan, Bukidnon, Dibabawon, Higaonon, Mamanwa, Mandaya, Manguwangan, Manobo, Mansaka, Subanon, Tagakaolo, Tasaday, T’boli, Teduray, and Ubo. Lumad peoples comprise 18% of the Philippine population. They live in the hinterlands, forests, lowlands, and coastal areas. At the beginning of the 20th century Lumads controlled 17% of Mindanao but by 1980 they had 6%. Heavy migration from the Visayas and government sponsored resettlement turned Lumads into minorities. Unlike the Moros, Lumads did not resist but retreated into the mountains and forests. Edged weapons are varied and adapted from agricultural tools.

Mandaya
The Mandaya live on the eastern coast of Mindanao. Spears (#29), heavy bolos (#31,32), and a characteristic knife (#30) are their traditional weapons. The Moros and Bagobos influenced the style of spears. Mandaya spears are double edged with a central ridge and a distinct V-point. Spearheads are socketed to the shaft instead of a tang. Occasionally there is fine chiseling and paneling (#29).

Mandaya bolos have wide bellies that narrow toward the hilt. An odd appendage appears in this angle on older Mandaya bolos (#32). Older blades often had a diamond cross-section (#32) while newer blades were flat with a bevel.

Wooden hilts have stylized pommels that may represent the naga (mythical snake). Scabbards are wooden, wide, and heavy with an upturned toe. They were worn tied to the waist through a large wooden hanger midway down the scabbard and held together by rattan strips and cloth.

The Mandaya knife is unique (#30). The blade is double-edged, spear-shaped, and symmetrical with a central ridge. The pommel has two horns with part of the tang protruding as a spike for several centimeters between the two horns. Hilts are made of wood or horn and may be embellished with silver sheet and wire.

T’boli
The T’boli live in the southern part of Cotabato province around lake Sebu. There may be 100,000-150,000 T’boli who practice “slash and burn” agriculture, using the cleared land to raise rice, cassava and yams. Additional food comes from hunting and fishing.

Edged weapons of the T’boli include swords, knives, and spears. Two swords are described, called tok and kafilan. Metal smiths recycle old broken gongs or other metal objects and use outside sources of steel (for example, scavenging the steel springs from abandoned trucks). Blades are forged with skill and are heat-treated, usually being decorated with geometric patterns. At times these are even inlaid with brass or copper. T’boli blades are among the best in the Philippines, ranging from 40 to 60 centimeters in length, and sharp enough to shave. They are even used to cut down trees because they are nearly impossible to break. Similarities exist between these swords and Moro kampilans.

Hilts and guards are cast in one piece from brass or bronze and are covered in geometric designs. All of this is done using the lost wax method, making each one unique. The flared end of the hilt has two rows of rings with brass chains and hawk bells (#37).

Scabbards are rectangular, wooden, often carved in geometric designs, and wrapped in T’boli cloth. Recent scabbards may also have metal bands. Occasionally two to four projections of wood or metal come from the end of the scabbard, similar to Bagobo sheaths.

Bagobo
The Bagobo trace their origin to the first Hindus who came to Mindanao from the Sri Vijayan and Majapahit peoples. Through intermarriage with the locals a new society formed calling itself Bagobo (bago = “new” and obo = “growth”). The upland Bagobo traditionally lived east and south of Mount Apo and east of Cotabato. The population at 58,000 (1994) is now scattered in the interior beyond Davao City while those on the coastal plains have adapted to lowland life. Bagobo have a fondness for beadwork that adorns clothing and every day items. Edged weapons include swords, spears and knives. Older swords rivaled T’boli examples in quality, and were sought after by other Lumad tribes. Laminated steel blades ranged from 40 to 60 centimeters in length and occasionally showed complex patterns like twist core damascus (#38).

Sword hilts have a characteristic design: cast brass handle and guard in geometric designs (all made by the lost wax method) capped with a broad, carved hardwood hilt that is flat and down curved. Along the bottom edge of the wood pommel often hang brass chains with hawk bells. At the end of the pommel is a brass thimble filled with colored beads in black resin (#38). The guard is octagonal with a short brass extension that hooks over the scabbard to keep the sword in place.

Scabbards were made of wood with carved areas sometimes inlaid with various metals. The wood is wrapped with cloth and rattan strips. Bagobos made their scabbard toes square or pointed, often with two to four wood or brass protrusions.

Edged Weapons of the Visayas
The Visayas are the prominent group of islands in the central Philippines. Samar and Leyte comprise the eastern region, Cebu, Bohol, and Negros Orientale the central region, and Panay, Guimaros, and Negros Occidentale the western region. Edged weapons are strikingly different, reflecting different ethnic groups and cultures.

Eastern Visayas
The talibon is the characteristic knife and sword, with a range of local terms for this weapon. Blades often have a straight or concave spine that angles down abruptly near the handle and then widens in the middle before tapering to the point. Lengths vary and cutting edges are beveled on one side while the other side is flat. Handles on older talibon are hardwood with three-lobed pommels in the shape of a flower (#27,28). Rattan wrapping secures the handle and prevents the wood from cracking. Scabbards are also made of hardwood wrapped in rattan strips. Just below the throat there is a wooden protrusion for securing the scabbard with rope around the waist. The ends of these scabbards are often upturned (#27).

Older forms of talibon were called garab and were favored by various insurrectionist groups on Samar and Leyte when fighting the Spanish and US at the turn of the 20th century with great effect. Since this time, however, hilt shapes and styles have proliferated in number. These knives were popular with US servicemen returning form the Philippines after World War 2 and as souvenirs ever since.

Western Visayas
Panay and Negros have two distinctive sword types: “tenegre” with fat-bellied blades that come to a pronounced point (#42,43,44,46), and “binangon” with straight edges and curved spines (#45). Edges on these blades are beveled on one side and flat on the other, similar to talibon. Guards are common and older versions had wood or horn discs, or lacked a guard, but towards the end of the 19th century they started having metal disks, “S” or “D” shaped guards.

Handles are wood and early examples were bare (#42) or wrapped with rattan strips, but post 1900 they had a metal sleeve (#43-46). Most striking are the pommels. Many have beautifully carved demonic heads of deities that may have originated from Hindu influences in the 13th and 14th centuries. Several have elongated noses. Simpler handle forms began in the late 19th century with a round knob and small beak versus a deity. They lack a guard and have a metal sleeve.

Scabbards are wood and early examples resemble talibon scabbards with rattan wrappings and a wooden block as a hanger to suspend a rope belt (#42,44). Later versions used a leather flap at the throat for suspension with rattan or metal bands around the scabbard (#43,45).

There are elaborate versions of these swords decorated in silver or brass sheet on the handles, guards, and scabbards (#46). More embellished examples are sometimes called sanduko bolos.

Edged Weapons of Luzon
Luzon is the largest of the Philippine Islands, home to several ethnic groups like the Tagalog in the central area of Luzon, the Bicolano and Batanguano to the south, the Aeta (Negritos), Ilocano, and various Igorot tribes (head hunters) in the north. The Spanish controlled the southern and central areas of Luzon while the northern and mountainous regions were isolated from the West until the 20th century. Here head hunting persisted until after World War 2. Edged weapons of central and southern Luzon frequently show Spanish influence in style and construction, whereas weapons of the northern mountain peoples have retained their indigenous forms.

Central/Southern Luzon
Swords of these areas show marked Spanish influence. Late 19th century swords use by Katipunan fighters were often pointed, single-edged, straight or slightly curved, laminated, and had either “S” or “D” guards (#39,40,41,49). Their wood handles had full-length tangs peened over a small metal plate at the end. Scabbards were made of leather with a leather belt.

Other sword styles were produced such as the rare single-edged wavy blade swords (#47) and double-edged wavy blade daggers (#50) similar to those of the Moro but with Spanish style handles and guards. Some Katipunan bladed weapons had engraved talismanic figures or personal inscriptions.

More basic knives from the same area and period were called tabak (#51-53). These reflect the Spanish ban on sharp pointed knives. Their blades were either forged without a point or had the point removed. Handles are made of wood or horn with one or two metal sleeves. Again, the tangs pass through the handle and are peened over a metal plate at the end.

Northern Luzon
The characteristic weapon of many of the Igorot mountain tribes (Ifugao, Benguet, Bontoc, and Kalinga) is the head axe. Kalinga head axes have a deeply concave edge (#33,35) while Bontoc examples have a straighter edge (#34). Both types have a lightly convex spine and a narrow projection or spike (#33-35). A hardwood handle, about 2 to 4 centimeters in diameter and 20 to 50 centimeters long, is attached to a short tang just below the start of the rear spike. Included is a projection along the length of the shaft that acts as a resting-place for the forefinger. The head axe is so named because Igorot headhunters would use these for decapitating victims. Binaroy axes (#36) have a narrower blade and were used only for agriculture.

Igorot knives are exemplified by the pinahig and hinalung used by the Ifugao (#54-56). The pinahig (#54,55) is a heavy fat bellied single-edged bolo made of laminated steel. Bare steel or wood wrapped in heavy braided rattan comprise the handle. The knife is carried in an open-faced scabbard of wood hollowed out to the shape of the blade, and a retaining block lashed across the front with rattan strips. A woven belt attaches the scabbard to the waist. The hinalung has a double-edged blade with a spear point that is constructed in the same way as the pinahig. Sometimes the handle is hollow allowing it to be mounted on a pole and used as a spear. The scabbard is the same as the pinahig.

Igorots have distinctive shields for combat. The wooden shield of the Kalinga (#57) is similar to other Igorot shields in that it is long (about 100 to 130 centimeters), with prominent protrusions at each end, and held together by heavy rattan bindings.

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Warren, James Francis. The Sulu Zone 1768 – 1898 : The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery, and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State. Singapore University Press: Singapore, 1981.
Zaide, Sonia. The Philippines: A Unique Nation. All Nations Publishing: Manila, 1998.

Anting Anting

Shrouded in secrecy and mystery,
the anting-anting is a subject close to the
Filipino’s heart. It holds promise of
invincibility, of victory and of heroic deeds. Legends
have been born and men have died because of the
lure of the mysterious and powerful anting-anting.

The anting-anting made a resurgence into popularity in the early 70’s when the
film Nardong Putik chronicling the life of the
outlaw Leonardo Manecio made its debut. The
hero of the film, a local Robin Hood, credited his ability to survive and escape numerous
ambushes and gunfights to his anting-anting.

There is much dispute as to what his anting-anting really was. Some claim it was
a smooth pebble of rare and mysterious material that Nardong Putik kept under his tongue.
While others say it is a 66-day old fetus that he kept in a small crystal container. Whatever
his anting-anting was, Nardong Putik’s ability to elude the law and his enemies made him a
legend and a hero to many people.

Jikiri, the noted Muslim pirate,
eluded the Philippine Constabulary and U. S.
soldiers for over three years. Yet Jikiri boldly
operated in broad daylight. The legendary source
of his galing (gift) — an anting-anting,
of course.

These stories and more contribute to the growing number of legends and belief in
the efficacy of the anting-anting. Combined with the equally mysterious
Orascion (a special verse or prayer), warriors can be psyched
to become confident and daring to undertake suicidal missions.

There are many prescribed ways of acquiring an anting-anting. The easiest is to have
an existing, sacred anting-anting bestowed to
you as an inheritance or reward. This happens very rarely, for the
agimat (amulet) is usually buried with its owner and master for
continued protection against spirits from the
nether world.

Stealing an anting-anting makes it lose its power and is therefore a useless
alternative. An anting-anting loses its power when
it leaves its master’s possession without his knowledge or blessing. Various types of
anting-anting can be bought at holy places but
these are patay (dead/blanks) with no power
whatsoever.  These blanks have to undergo sacred
and secret rituals to become empowered and effective.

There are many different methods to make an anting-anting
sagrado (sacred). The most popular day for the anting-anting to
have birtud (power) is on Good Friday. This,
according to legend, is when God abandons His creation and the spirits roam freely and can
be lured, captured, harnessed and enslaved by the brave and mighty. Another popular occasion
is at midnight during a full moon with the ritual taking place at a cross road or a cemetery
with a sacrificial black cat as a bait or offering.

Another kind of anting-anting, known as
Mutya, comes from plants, such as a banana or
a palm tree. This requires a lot of patience and diligence for one has to wait until the
heart of the banana discharges its essence, a
crystal clear solid drop that must not be allowed
to touch the ground and must be swallowed immediately. With this captive prize, legends
say that a successful and prosperous life is guaranteed.

Some types of anting-anting or
orascion are meant as love charms. Most are for
protection — against the forces of darkness,
against one’s enemies, and even against sickness.
Others are for special gifts, such as the mysterious and esoteric art of
Hilot (massage and healing), Hula
(fortune telling) and Kulam (spells and witchcraft).

However, every anting-anting and every orascion carries with it an immutable
commitment. One must be prepared to perform the required rituals, the mandated daily
devotion, the annual pilgrimage, to keep the birtud
of the anting-anting.

Man will always be fascinated with this mysterious harbinger of success, victory
and protection. Many, though not all, of the Philippine Grand Masters and Masters of
martial arts believe in the power and protection of
the anting-anting and orascion.

And everyone of these believers, without exception, recognize the value and worth
of diligence, dedication and discipline in martial arts training. Like the anting-anting,
the easiest way to learn a martial art is to find
a good teacher, a worthy master. Someone who, like the anting-anting’s master,  will pass
on to you, the secret and power of his own knowledge and skills. Again, like the
anting-anting, this knowledge and skill must be nurtured
with diligent practice, with moral righteousness, discipline, devotion and dedication.

Written by Reynaldo S. Galang

Copyright © 1994, 1997 Bakbakan International

Balisong

A butterfly knife, called a balisong in the Philippines, and sometimes known as a Batangas knife, is a folding pocket knife with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles. In the hands of a trained user, the knife blade can be brought to bear quickly using one hand. Manipulations, called flipping, are performed for art or amusement.
Contents

Balisong
While the meaning of the term “balisong” is not entirely clear, a popular belief is that it is derived from the Tagalog Language words baling sungay (literally, “broken horn”as the original balisongs were made from carved animal horns. These knives are also referred to as “fan knives” or “click clacks.”

The use of the balisong is so popular in the Philippines that an urban legend exists about every Batangueño carrying it everywhere he goes. They are a pocket utility knife used by people of Filipino society. They have also been used to fight duels over matters of honor, although such practices have been discontinued decades ago.

History
The butterfly knife appears first documented in a 1710 French book, “Le Perret”, where an intricate and precise depiction of a butterfly knife is outlaid, explaining that the device was developed in the late 1600′s as a utility knife. It then most likely came into popular use in the Phillipines through transference intercontinentally to Spain, which coincides with the Spanish governance of the Phillipines during that period.
There is, however, myth and legend attending to the butterfly knife being an ‘ancient Filipino invention dating back to 800 AD’, stating it to be the most ancient of weapons of the Filipino fighting system of Eskrima but this is believed by academics and historians to be purely conjecture or urban legend.

Construction
There are two main types of butterfly knife construction: sandwich construction and channel construction.
Sandwich constructed butterfly knives are assembled in layers that are generally pinned or screwed together. They allow the pivot pins to be adjusted tighter without binding. When the knife is closed, the blade rests between the layers.

For a channel constructed butterfly knife, the main part of each handle is formed from one piece of material. In this handle, a groove is created (either by folding, milling, or being integrally cast) in which the blade rests when the knife is closed. This style is regarded as being stronger than sandwich construction.

Parts

Bite Handle
The handle that closes on the sharp edge of the blade.
Kicker (or Kick)  Area on the blade that prevents the sharp edge from contacting the inside of the handle and suffering damage.

Latch
The standard locking system, which holds the balisong closed. Magnets are occasionally used instead.

Latch, Batangas
A latch that is attached to the bite handle.

Latch, Manila
A latch that is attached to the safe handle.

Latch, Spring
A latch that utilizes a spring to propel the latch open when the handles are squeezed.

Safe Handle
The handle that closes on the non-sharpened edge of the blade.

Latch gate
A block inside the channel of the handles stopping the latch from impacting the blade

Tang
The base of the blade where the handles are attached with pivot pins.

Choil
Small curve found on some balisongs just above the kicker, that allows you to sharpen the blade more easily.

Swedge
Unsharpened spine of the blade that is angled to appear as if it were sharpened. (many spear point balis actually have an edged side and a swedge side instead of two sharpened sides)

Antique dueling balisong
Balisongs are still handmade in the traditional manner in the Philippines. Such knives are referred to as “Filipino handmade” (FHM), and their quality varies greatly. The typical FHM is a sandwich style balisong made from layers of brass or aluminum sheet assembled with pins. Frequently, the handles are inlayed with scales fashioned from rosewood, bone, horn, stag, or synthetic materials. Balisongs made for the tourist trade are typically of passable quality, but are mass-produced by semi-skilled workers and lack the durability and aesthetics of a knife fashioned by an apprentice to a master craftsman.
Balisongs are also called “vente nueve” (twenty-nine) for the standard twenty-nine-inch balisong.

Legal status

Because of its potential usage as a weapon, and possibly due to its intimidating nature and rapid deployment, it has been outlawed in several Western countries. The importation ban and widespread criminalization of the butterfly knife occurred shortly after the popular film, The Outsiders (film) (which prominently featured butterfly knives in the same manner that Rebel Without A Cause featured switchblades — coincidentally resulting in their rapid criminalization) was released.

* In Canada, the possession of a butterfly knife is illegal.
* In Scotland, England & Wales, The Butterfly Knife has been legally classified as an offensive weapon since January 1989. Possession of one is a criminal offence, and any imported are liable to be seized and prosecution may follow. The exception to this are knives of this type over 100 years old which are classed as antiques.
* In Germany, the butterfly knife was outlawed when the Waffengesetz (weapons law) was tightened in July 2003 in the aftermath of the Erfurt massacre. Thus buying, possessing, lending, using, carrying, crafting, altering and trading it is illegal and is prosecuted by up to five years imprisonment, confiscation of the knife and a fine of up to 10.000€. Using a butterfly knife for crime of any kind – as any illegal weapon – is prosecuted by from 1 to 10 years imprisonment.
* In Hong Kong, the sale of full-size butterfly knives is illegal, but miniature versions can be legally obtained.
* In the Philippines, the sale of a 39-inch balisong is illegal.
* In some U.S. states it is illegal to possess and/or carry such a knife in public. In certain jurisdictions, butterfly knives are categorized as a “gravity knife”, “switchblade”, or “dagger” although they are also occasionally outlawed by name (“butterfly knife”). The knife is illegal in California if blade length exceeds three inches.
* In New York, the butterfly knife has been determined to not be a gravity knife.
* Butterfly knife trainers feature a special blunt and unsharpened “blade,” and are legal in areas where butterfly knives are not.

From: WikiPilipinas: The Hip ‘n Free Philippine Encyclopedia

Balisong History by www.balisong.com

For centuries, the filipino warrior has been noted in the handling of clubs, spear, and bladed weapons. In the Southern Philippines, the Muslims were known not only for the courage and ferocity in battle, but also in their craftsmanship of bladed weaponry. The Kris, Kampilan, Barong and the likes were held in synoynym with Muslim warriors.

When one thinks of Muslim warriors one automatically equates them as warriors with Kris in their hands. In general cannotation, this is true as no Southern warriors would feel properly dressed without this weapon:

In the Northern and Visayan provinces, the same is true. The itak (Chopping Knife) is part of the daily life. In the Philippines, being a primarily agricultural country, this is an essential farming implement and when the situation calls for it, can be utilized for it’s primary being, i,e,, as a deadly weapon. The craftsmen who created this bladed weapons appeared at various times and places. In Batangas province, Philippines, there developed an industry that concentrate on making of deadly weapons like balisong knives.

It is claimed that “Perfecto de Leon” is the father of Balisong i the Philippines and records have it that the first one was made in 1905. With the advent of the Industrial revolution, requirements for the lowly “Itak” or bolo decreased and Perfecto de Leon turned to manufacturing knives and eventually to development and propagation of the balisong as a weapon truly Filipino Barrio Balisong shares the industry with the other near by barrios such as Pook, Buli, and Tolo.

After World War II, during what is known as the liberation period, balisong knives became popular among the American soldiers who bought them back with them to the Western World.Today, the balisong is again receiving an even greater popularity with the revival of martial arts and the impact of modern communications media such as print publications and features films. In some cases, the balisong is even referred to as “Ninja Knife”, possibly the product of western creative mind, attributing to the right application but the wrong country of origin.

Balisong Anatomy

The traditional Filipino Handmade Balisong is composed of many parts. The blade are usally made from hign carbon spring steel and the handles are made of brass with inserts from natural materials. The Inserts are usually horse bone, kamagong or malayan iron wood, narra wood, and the rare visayan spotted deer.

The Sansibar Sword, sometimes mistakenly known as the Zanzibar Sword. The Zanzibar sword, which is an African sword, mainly from around the Saudi Arabian/African border line area. If there is a historical connection between the Filipino version of the Sansibar and the Zanzibar, it is presently unknown!

The Sansibar was officially born in Leyte in 1881 before Spain sold the Philippines to America through a treaty. Mainly the sansibar was and still is used by the river men who cut bamboos and use it as floaters for their “bangka” or boats for local traveling. These same boatmen also travel the seas to cross to the other islands in the Philippines. That is the reason why the Sansibar design reached other islands within the Philippines. You will see various popular designs of the Sansibar sword…approximately 5 different designs in the various islands where the Sansibar had found a home.
The name Sansibar was first called “pang sibak”, which “pang” means “for” and “sibak” means “chop” in Filipino term. So pang sibak means “for chopping,” later the term evolved into “pang sibar” which means the same in Tagalog. Other explanations are ”san sibak,” meaning “one” (san or isan or isang) and “chop” (sibak) so to put them two words together “san-sibak” means “one chop!” Then much later on the name sansibar was adopted even though every Filipino dialect differs in almost every island. The hearing and the pronunciation of the word “Sansibar” changed until the occupation of America began…and then the word Sansibar was used as the standard name for this particular sword design.

This history is one strong theory supported by strong beliefs of the Filipino people. Any other history of this sword is not well known because a more popular swords like the “Katipunan” and “Pinute” were used by the katipuneros. Those swords are widely used in everyday tasks as tools of survival, and the Sansibar whose image, shape and style was temporality put aside. But then again, the Sansibar was also used by many of the katipuneros for all out combat purposes due to its perfectly engineered balance.

According to Punong Guro Edgar Sulite the Sansibar and Barong swords were the favorites of his teacher, the legendary Master Antonio Ilustrisimo.

The Butuan Silver Strip
by Hector Santos
© 1996 by Hector Santos
All rights reserved.

http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/mystery/silver.htm

The Butuan area has been a rich source of material from ancient Philippines for both treasure hunters and trained archaeologists. So it was in the mid-seventies when a team from the National Museum of the Philippines excavating a site was told that a strip of metal with some kind of writing had been found by a treasure hunter.

Fortunately, the artifact was already in the hands of Proceso Gonzales, the city engineer of Butuan. He understood the importance of the find and took possession of it.

Butuan Silver Strip

The metal strip was found inside a wooden coffin by treasure hunters who were looking for ceramic and gold objects that could be sold for high prices to private collectors. According to Dr. Jesus Peralta, similar burials in wooden coffins in the vicinity of Butuan had previously been found to contain human remains with skulls that have been artificially deformed. This practice was apparently limited to Southern Philippines, the beauty standard for such head shapes never finding its way to Luzon.

Ceramics and ornaments were usually placed in the coffins, the ceramic pieces dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. If the metal strip was found within a typical coffin, it would have logically come from the same era.

While the metal piece could have come from foreign shores, the safest and most conservative position one can take is that an artifact belongs in the place where it was found unless it can be proven otherwise.

The letters were cut into the piece of metal with a knife. The difficulty of making curved lines on metal with a knife is apparent in the clumsy shapes of the letters. The strip measures 17.8 x 1.3 cm.

Peralta reports that the late Dr. Boechari of Indonesia identified the script as “similar to a Javanese script that had been in use from the 12th to the 15th century” (late Kavi?).

At this time, the writing has not been convincingly deciphered nor have the letters in the strip been identified. A successful transliteration would not guarantee a decipherment because of the brevity of the sample, though.

A companion piece with similar writing was also reportedly found in the same coffin. However, the owner refused to part with it because he believed it held the key to the location of a treasure hoard. How he hoped to use that piece to locate the treasure without translating the message is not known. Neither do we know why it is that piece and not the one he gave up that holds the secret.

That second piece will play an important role in solving the mystery of the Butuan silver strip.

Additional Reading

1. Peralta, Jesus T. “The Butuan palaeograph: ethnographic implications of an ancient script,” in Archipelago 6:A-55 (1979): 31-33.
2. Santos, Hector. “Artifacts with writing revisited” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 1.
3. —–. “Other pre-Hispanic writing artifacts” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 1.
4. —–. “The Butuan Silver Strip” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 3.

Butuan Silver Strip Deciphered?
by Hector Santos
© 1996 by Hector Santos
All rights reserved.

“Butuan paleograph deciphered using Eskaya script” by Jes Tirol (in UB Update) attempts to show that a “translation” of the Butuan silver strip had been done by using the Eskaya script. A clipping of this article was provided by Antoon Postma of Mindoro, who in turn obtained it from the late William Henry Scott of Mountain Province. This proves that “real” scholars do share information.

Eskaya is a secret organization based on the island of Bohol. Its members claim that their ancestors arrived on the island in 677 A.D. from Sumatra. Tirol writes:

One of the books of the Eskaya of Bohol is entitled Unang Katawhan Sa Bohol (First People of Bohol). According to the book, Dangko and his 12 children of 11 boys and one girl and his men arrived in Bohol in 677 A.D. They started from Sumatra-Manselis which is the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia on board a “Lutsa.” (See: “Lorcha,” Webster Int’l Dictionary, Unabridged.)

The only daughter of Dangko got married to a chieftain of Butuan. From that time on until the present, the inner psyche of an Eskaya is geared towards Butuan. Since the center of Eskaya culture is now at Biyabas, Guindulman, Bohol, the migrant Eskaya in Butuan maintain close contact with the Eskaya of Bohol.

Further on, Tirol continues:

The Butuan Kingdom is no more. Its literature and writings are gone, except for the Butuan paleograph. But the Eskaya of Bohol is still existing with their system of writing. It is logographic system not alphabetic, and therefore older than the Malayan-Bisayan recorded by the Spanish writers. The Eskaya scrupulously transmitted their system of writing and literature by conducting classes. At present, classes are conducted every Saturday and Sunday.

The Eskaya were once part of the Butuan thalossocracy. There is therefore no reason to doubt that the system of writing of the present Eskaya is the same as that of Butuan of olden times. But due to passage of time and cultural intrusions there will be variations, but basically it should be the same.

A chart showing values for the symbols of the Eskaya script provided by Jesus T. Peralta of the National Museum is shown on the Eskaya page. There are many interesting things in the chart. One is that Eskaya writing system includes symbols for numerals, even one for “zero.” It also includes symbols for consonant clusters, a characteristic that was not a feature of old Philippine languages. However, the most interesting thing for me was that some of the symbols can be seen on the Calatagan jar.

A cursory look at the script chart shows that similarities between symbols whose values are closely related are not there. I get the impression that this was an artificially created script, perhaps devised by one individual. It does not seem to be a writing system that had evolved over several generations.

Be that as it may, let us now examine the translation provided by Tirol. The figure below relates the symbols on the silver strip to those of Eskaya and their corresponding phonetic values and meanings.

Translation Chart

The translation reads as follows:

This 821 year when Liyuxie (Les Ece) traveled, I accompanied the trip and returned the next year. I was in good condition.

I will repeat the Eskaya sound and Meaning columns from the above chart below for those who find them hard to read.

1    Ce        “His , Her, This”
2    Ual       “eight (8)”
3    Tre       “2″
4    Oy        “1″
5    Pong      “Apong” means “year”
6    De        “De Ra” means
7    Ra        “When he left”
8    Les       “Les Ece” same as
9    Ece       “Liyuxie” the ambassador of Butuan Kingdom to China in 1011 A.D.
10   Ciuo      “Ciou Cod Col Ning”
11   Cod        means
12   Col       “I accompanied the trip”
13   Ning
14   Gue       “Gue Apong” means
15   Pong      “Return the next year”
16             The period punctuation mark
17   Co        “I or me”
18   Gre       “Co Greyalo” means “I was in good condition or I am well

Quoting W.H. Scott (Filipinos in China Before 1500; Manila, 1989, p. 4.), Tirol explains:

In the year 1003 A.D., King Kiling of Butuan sent his ambassadors, Liyihan and Jiaminan to the Sung Court of China. In 1011 A.D., another king of Butuan, Sri Bata Shaja (Xi-li-ba-da-sha-zhi) sent Liyu-xie to china with a memorial engraved on a gold tablet. Liyu-xie obtained a recognition from China that Butuan had equal status with Vietnam (Champa) as China’s tributary.

Regarding the date, Tirol does not explain 821 but says:

The experts of the National Museum estimated the date of the paleograph between the 12th to 15th century. The date of the trip of Liyuxie which is being referred to, occurred in the 11th century. This difference of one century is acceptable in archeology. The paleograph was found in Butuan and the inscriptions refer to an important person of Butuan.

The silver strip was found with material dated 14/15th century not as early as the 12th century as Tirol wrote. While it is true that 821 in the Islamic calendar would be the equivalent of our 15th century, the characters of the proposed translation would have lived four centuries before the artifact came into existence. That certainly is too much water under the bridge to establish a connection.

More studies on the Eskaya can verify whether there is truth to their claimed connection to an ancient group of people from Sumatra or whether they came up in recent times and developed an artificial script for secret messages.

Additional Reading

1. Peralta, Jesus T. “The Butuan palaeograph: ethnographic implications of an ancient script,” in Archipelago 6:A-55 (1979): 31-33.
2. Santos, Hector. “Artifacts with writing revisited” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 1.
3. —–. “Butuan silver strip deciphered?” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:5 (June 1995), 6-7.
4. —–. “Other pre-Hispanic writing artifacts” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 1.
5. —–. “The Butuan Silver Strip” in Sulat sa Tansô, 2:2 (February 1995), 3.
6. Tirol, Jes B. “Butuan paleograph deciphered using Eskaya script,” in UB Update 1:4 (1990): 6 ff. (Note: A University of Bohol publication.)
7. —–. “ESKAYA OF BOHOL: Origin of Its System of Writing” in The Bohol Chronicle XL: 10 (July 11, 1993), 3 ff.

Original Article at: http://www.bibingka.com/dahon/mystery/silver.htm

The Moro Kris

The kris is the most famous Moro weapon. Variations are found in every Moro tribe and it was a key symbol of a man’s status and rank in society as well as being a powerful talisman. Kris blades are wide at the base, double-edged, and can be waved, half-waved half-straight, or straight (straight blades were more practical in combat). Older kris had fewer waves and the waves were deeper and wider. Over time the waves became shallower, tighter, and more numerous and therefore required greater skill to prevent the blade bouncing off or being stuck in an enemy’s body. The higher number of waves meant the more potent the kris was in talismanic power. Sometimes engravings (often filled in with brass or silver inlay) are found on the blade in plant motifs (vines, foliage, etc.) or Arabic script. Many kris blades are forged with fullers. Moro kris are cutting and slashing swords versus the stabbing keris of the Malay and Indonesians. Kris range from 45 to 65 centimeters (18 to 26 inches) in length. Older kris before the 19th century tended to be smaller in size. Laminated steel patterns are sometimes evident. Opposite the hook like fretwork on the guard of the blade is a cavity in the form of an elephant, eagle, or mouth of a naga (a mythical snake).

Hilts of krises are either straight or slightly curved. Commonly the pommel is in the form of a horse hoof, or a stylized cockatoo head with beak and crest. Usually the pommel is made of hardwood burl with the handle being wrapped in lacquered fiber. Upper-class kris pommels are often made of ivory, silver, brass, or other exotic materials with handles wrapped in chased bands of silver or swassa (copper-gold alloy) or braided wire. Large extravagant cockatoo pommels appeared toward the end of the 19th century and are called junggayan. Pommels before the 19th century were very small.

Moro kris scabbards were made of wide grain native hardwoods like mahogany, teak, and narra, lashed together with rattan or metal strips. Sometimes the crosspiece is separate from the bottom, but more often they are carved together. Around the mid-20th century mother-of-pearl was introduced to scabbard work and kris pommels. Scabbards of the nobility are bound with bands of plain or chased silver, brass, or swassa instead of rattan bindings. Some nobility scabbards even have crosspieces made of ivory or horn.

—–

There are two types of kris used by the Moros of the Philippines. Kalis is the name used by the Tausugs, Samals and Yakans. In the Mindanao it is called Sundang and is used by the Maranaos, Maguindanos and others. The Moro kris belongs to larger family of kris found in South East Asia: Indonesia, Borneo, Malaysia and part of Thailand. Its origin is mostly likely East Java near Yogya and Solo. The Moro kris has the most varied design and style amongst the bladed weapons found in the Philippines.

The Moro Kris evolved from use in combat. The double edge blade is an advantage where there are numerous opponents, the blade can be used to cut in an upward stroke. A single edge blade in contrast , needs to be turned in the opposite direction to do the same cut.

The Moro kris is highly regarded by the people of Mindanao and Sulu. It is used as a symbol of authority and prestige.

Kris
From Wikipedia

The kris or keris is an asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei. It is known as kalis in the southern Philippines. The kris is famous for its distinctive wavy blade, but many have straight blades as well. Both a weapon and spiritual object, kris are often considered to have an essence or presence, with some blades possessing good luck and others possessing bad.

In 2005, UNESCO gave the title Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity to the kris of Indonesia. In return, UNESCO urged Indonesia to preserve their heritage

Etymology

The origin of the word kris derived from the old Javanese term ngiris which means to stab, wedge or sliver. “Kris” is the more frequently-used spelling in the West, but “keris” is more popular in the dagger’s native lands,[2] as exemplified by the late Bambang Harsrinuksmo’s popular book entitled Ensiklopedi Keris (Keris Encyclopedia). Two notable exceptions are the Philippines, where it is usually called kalis or kris, and Thailand where it is always spelled and pronounced as kris. Other spellings used by European colonists include “cryse”, “crise”, “criss”, “kriss” and “creese”.

Origins
Kris depicted on Borobudur bas-relief.
Kris display

Kris history is generally traced through the study of carvings and bas-relief panels found in Southeast Asia. It is widely believed by archaeologists that the earliest kris prototype can be traced to Dong Son in Vietnam circa 300 BC. From there, the design would have been brought into present-day Malaysia by Cham migrants who made their way into the Malay Peninsula twenty centuries ago. Another theory is that the kris was based on daggers from India.[3] Frey (2003) concludes from Raffles’ (1817) study of the Candi Sukuh that the kris recognized today came into existence around 1361 AD in the kingdom of Majapahit. There exist claims of earlier forms predating the Majapahit kris but none are verifiable. In the past, the majority of kris had straight blades but this became less frequent over time. Some of the most famous renderings of a kris appear on the Borobudur temple (825 CE) and Prambanan temple (850CE). Tome Pires, in early 16th century, describe the importance of Kris to the Javanese [4]:

Kris were worn on a daily basis, especially when travelling because it might be needed for self-defense. Heirloom blades were handed down through successive generations and worn during special events such as weddings. Men usually wore only one kris but the famous admiral Hang Tuah is said in the Hikayat Hang Tuah to have armed himself with one short and one long kris. As women were also permitted to learn silat, they sometimes also wore kris, though of a smaller size than a man’s.

Kris were often broken in battle and required repairs. Yearly cleanings, required as part of the spirituality and mythology surrounding the weapon, often left ancient blades worn and thin. The repair materials depended on location and it is quite usual to find a weapon with fittings from several areas. For example, a kris may have a blade from Java, a hilt from Bali and a sheath from Madura.

In many parts of Indonesia, the kris was the choice weapon for execution. The executioner’s kris had a long, straight, slender blade. The condemned knelt before the executioner, who placed a wad of cotton or similar material on the subject’s shoulder or clavicle area. The blade was thrust through the padding, piercing the subclavian artery and the heart. Upon withdrawal, the cotton wiped the blade clean. Death came within seconds.

***
… every man in Java, whether he is rich or poor, must have a kris in his house .. and no man between the ages of 12 and 80 may go out of doors without a kris in his belt. They carry them at the back, as daggers used to be in Portugal…

— Tome Pires, Suma Oriental

Tausug Man with Kris