Hello again Yves,
The scabbard is Palawano. I have checked some aspects of the carving at the throat and it is certainly Palawano. A further picture is attached of this area. There are horizontal linear elements of triangle and diamond shapes (black arrows) intersected by similar vertical lines (white arrows) that segment the carvings into squares containing similarly carved motifs. Above that are further carved vines and leaves, but if one looks closely the carving is asymmetrical.
The segmented elements are typical Palawano work, as shown by the second attached picture which is from a Palawano bangkung scabbard. My sword and scabbard are of mid-late 20th C. manufacture and the carving is not as detailed as on your barung scabbard.
The asymmetric areas on the barung scabbard are not typical of Sulu carvings, so I don't think this scabbard started out as Sulu. Yakan carvings can be asymmetrical, as can those from Zamboanga. However, given the other features that I described earlier that clearly point to Palawano work, I think we can say that the entire scabbard is Palawano work.
As I mentioned previously, I am confident the blade is Sulu (most likely Tausug) in origin and made by a Chinese smith. There are numerous examples of such blades, some of which appear to be from the 19th C. or even earlier. The pommel is made from banati wood, with its typical "striped" appearance. This is a common and prestigious wood used for pommels on Sulu barung, and I have not seen it used on Palawano weapons. The carved kakatua hilt also strikes me as Sulu, probably Tausug, although there may have been some recarving of the beak and crest--hard to say. The punto looks typical Sulu work: silver or silver wash over brass, uniform width, and simple circumferential line decoration. Many Palawano ferrules are brass and have a fluted "bell" shape at either or both ends. There appears to be a plaited silver wire ring at the end of the punto, again a common finding on higher quality Sulu barung. Plaited rings on Palawano hilts tend to be hemp or rattan, although I imagine silver could be anticipated also on higher quality pieces.
So, I come back to my original thoughts--a Sulu (Tausug) barung in a Palawano scabbard. The barung is a higher end piece, datu quality perhaps, and the blade may be 100 years or so old. It's small size may mean it was a child's or woman's barung, or perhaps made for concealment.
Thanks for showing this interesting piece.
Ian.
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