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tribal knife from Philipines
- Thread starter Santi
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Very nice!
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There's bit more info on this blade that I have to quote Spyken. 
spyken said:here's some background info
I got this blade whilst on a whitewater kayaking trip on Chico River up in the central cordilleras in Northern Luzon, Philippines in 2002. I bought the knife from the village of Buscalan, a small village accessible only by foot after a 3 hour hike from the dirt road that meanders up in the mountainous region. The style of rattan weave is rarely seen elsewhere...
The "Buscalan" knife is used as a simple utility knife - for harvesting paddy, slaughtering livestock and yes, for harvesting marijuana as well. Santi's memory is correct...I mentioned marijuana to him, cos there are lots of fields of gold up there around Buscalan.
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very nice example...this knife is common edc for the Igorot tribes of the high mountains. they still use and carry their spears and bolos and sometimes an axe. Igorot is the general name given to several indian tribes that live up there. and yes they are very famous for the weaving, fabrics, and the national sport of headhunting, which was band maybe about 1 hundred years ago. but you can still meet famous headhunters today...you can clearly identify them because they are marked by their "patocs" or tribal tattoos on their chest and arms. 
the marijuana is mostly for medicinal purpose (riiiight...?!?) since access in the mountains is very difficult and these people don't usually mingle with the city dwellers except maybe to trade cigarettes or lighters for their MJ's and mushrooms (for medicinal purposes also) and whatever they happen to have with them.
the marijuana is mostly for medicinal purpose (riiiight...?!?) since access in the mountains is very difficult and these people don't usually mingle with the city dwellers except maybe to trade cigarettes or lighters for their MJ's and mushrooms (for medicinal purposes also) and whatever they happen to have with them.
spyken
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saint o'killers said:very nice example...this knife is common edc for the Igorot tribes of the high mountains. they still use and carry their spears and bolos and sometimes an axe. Igorot is the general name given to several indian tribes that live up there. and yes they are very famous for the weaving, fabrics, and the national sport of headhunting, which was band maybe about 1 hundred years ago. but you can still meet famous headhunters today...you can clearly identify them because they are marked by their "patocs" or tribal tattoos on their chest and arms.
the marijuana is mostly for medicinal purpose (riiiight...?!?) since access in the mountains is very difficult and these people don't usually mingle with the city dwellers except maybe to trade cigarettes or lighters for their MJ's and mushrooms (for medicinal purposes also) and whatever they happen to have with them.
Igorot - correct. related also to the tribes in Borneo. Yes, they were all former headhunters.
As for MJ, it was actually introduced by Italians in the 70s, and carried through by the Americans when they maintained their Subic and Clark bases in Luzon
....Yes, they do not mingle with city dwellers but other peoples, say from the bigger towns would purchase the MJs from the tribal peoples then sell it in the big cities.
yes, they use bolos too (I couldn't find one that they were willing to part with). The Buscalan people I met were very simple and poor - no electricity, medicine or proper sewage. Also, a lot of the traditional homes were build completely out of timber, attap leaves, bamboo etc. Not a single nail is used. The whole house can be disassembled.
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hi Spyken...very interesting group indeed. sadly they are also a dying breed as their children are moving to the city to get education. they used to not even inter marry with their rival tribes, so they were known to be a "more" pure blooded Filipinos.
unlike some northern and central regions, their weapon designs were unaffected by foreign invaders and have stayed true to this day. antique pieces are getting harder to come by. the bolos are not a problem because they still make them by the dozens. but true examples of the spears, axe, and shields are pretty rare and fetch a pretty penny these days. so that knife there is a pretty good example of their skill. they don't make that type often, especially with the woven sheath. they're sheaths are usually half sheaths (one side is left open to expose the blade) much like some of the tribal knives Tai Goo made.
unlike some northern and central regions, their weapon designs were unaffected by foreign invaders and have stayed true to this day. antique pieces are getting harder to come by. the bolos are not a problem because they still make them by the dozens. but true examples of the spears, axe, and shields are pretty rare and fetch a pretty penny these days. so that knife there is a pretty good example of their skill. they don't make that type often, especially with the woven sheath. they're sheaths are usually half sheaths (one side is left open to expose the blade) much like some of the tribal knives Tai Goo made.
silenthunterstudios
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Nice. I look forward to National Geographic every month for the traditional cutlery, especially the really old stuff!
kamagong
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"Igorot is the general name given to several indian tribes that live up there."
Not to burst your bubble, but Igorots are not Indians. They are an indigenous people of the Philippines. And while they may be culturally distinct from other Filipinos, they are still closer to their Filipinos brethren than they are to Indians from the subcontinent or Native Americans.
Not to burst your bubble, but Igorots are not Indians. They are an indigenous people of the Philippines. And while they may be culturally distinct from other Filipinos, they are still closer to their Filipinos brethren than they are to Indians from the subcontinent or Native Americans.
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kamagong said:
no bubble bursted here
...of course, i knew that, i used the word "indian" to mean "indigenous". indian was a lot easier to spell than indigenous...but now look. you've made me spell it twice. i guess that wasn't so bad. forgive my laziness.besides it was Chris Columbus who misused the name Indios...we Filipinos are more closely related to the Indians of India than the native American Indians.