I've checked in with a few contacts. This is the first one to get back to me. "Hello Traditionally barongs were never used as farming tools. As far as I know, they are not used that way today by those who still traditionally bare them. That being said, given the tourist market, there are many who make barong like weapons (Ive seen plenty of barong like pieces made in Panay and Mindanao), and have no connection to the tradition. However, at least among those who would still use the barong as a traditional item, it would be a big no-no to use it as a farming tool. There are special farming bolo that are made, and used by these people such as the Janap. Sincerely Federico Malibago http://home.earthlink.net/~federicomalibago/ "
This in response to the question, "Do you know what moro's use as farmering bolo's?" "Depends which group. The term "Moro" is used to describe over 20 distinct tribes, each with their own language, customs, and history. Today there are also many many Christian immigrants in Moroland, and they bring with them their tools and traditions. Not being a stangnant culture, there is often lots of interaction and trade between the two groups. So, it is not un-heard of a "Moro" farmer using a Visayan immigrant made bolo, for often the simple reason the Visayan smith was closer and cheaper. There has been some change in weaponry as well, the modern Pira in Sulu has become more simple and work oriented (I have not seen this change in barong or kris). However, if you look at a weapons of Moroland plaque, and notice the variety of strange weapon names, the reason for this is that to make the plaque more exciting. The reality is the majority of the odd named weapons, such as the Janap, are in fact farm tools and were added in more modern times. Older plaques have fewer weapons (barong, kris, kampilan, pira), and are more realistic in appearance. And then there are also those Moro smiths, who copy Christian forms as well. There has been a heavy Christian migration to the area for over 100 years, and considering the restrictions placed during the American occupation on traditional manufacture of weapons, it would often be Christian forms of bolo that would be the only acceptable ones for usage."
I'll continue snooping and let you know what else I find out. Thanks to Federico Malibago @ http://home.earthlink.net/~federicomalibago/ for letting me quote him.
incerdible information concerning barungs... i take it that a barung as a spatula is now out of the question?... wow...my thanks to you all for all your input! let's see if we can keep this going shall we? for all you bolo/itak/tabak/sundang players... in your opinions, regionally speaking-where do the best bolos currently come from? and if possible what are the most popular design? thanks!
Actually they're broad enough that if you watched the tip and were careful about the edge you could probably flip a pancake
I have a bolo question, anyone know what the type of bolo's used in the bolo battalions in WW2 were? Were they pretty much any bolo you had lying around the house or were they specificly designed for the bolo battalions? Thanks!
I love Barongs but prefer Pira, those are the weapons of my Yakan brothers These weapons are ideal for heavy choping/beheading strikes.... I own one Pira that was used to take a few armalites down south.
krys, are pira and barung commercially available or special order?-modern pira and barung are hard to come by and antique models are in the high monetary range for many..thank you for your response!
Krys, Just curious, are there marks or indentations from where the pira cut through the armalites? How thick is the blade?
I can order kriss-pira-barung-bankongs from the southern Philippines.... antiques and new ones made by traditional muslim blacksmiths . The cost of the weapons increases if it was already used to kill as it is more valuable for the owner. These are weapons of finest quality and they are not cheap....I have to find a way to ship them out of the country...it is even difficult to bring them to Manila.
the pira didn't cut through through the armalites but through the necks of their owners....They aren't indentations, I don't have it here in the Philippines .... I don't want to talk about the history of my pira but a friend of mine got a kriss that also saw blood. It's owner was in the forest and was spotted by two soldiers who chased him.... he was able to hide... later he fell asleep and was awaken by the same two soldiers who were very near. He jumped at them cutting one right away through the neck, the other was also surprised,too close to use his armalite and decided to run away, but he also got cut down.
no. none at all. they were half leafs, puting guhits, tabacs, etc. no one standard thing. you'll see some pictures at the mt. samat memorial in bataan. my grandfathers have vivid memories of those batallions. they were "a brave and desperate bunch of men" as my maternal grandpa used to say with a fond tone and a far away look (he was an intelligence officer for the resistance).
thanks for the greets! glad to be back! it's a boy! wife is recovering quite well (thank God). she tried natural child birth but at a certain point, the labor wouldn't progress (stuck on 7 cm and -2 for 2 hrs.) so they decided to open her up. talk about double black eyes. but she's doing well. we just haven't had much sleep really. it's like my boy is in a different time zone. thanks pat!
I've always had a preference for the talibon (or talibong--I've seen it spelled both ways). The angle between the blade and the grip creates a "leading edge", which increasing chopping power, and that same angle also allows one to make thrusts that are "within compass" (i.e., with the blade in-line with the arm), without resorting to the "saber" grip. It's also a very pretty sword--an example of form following function. I also like the bilbo (Spanish cup-hilted military sword--NOT a rapier) which would serve well for larga mano work. In fact, Pampangan troops in Spanish service were equipped with this weapon.