BAGOBO DATU CLASS

[Marbel]

Hi Ian,

I feel like quite a few of these lumad scabbards (like the one you showed, not the nice old Bagobo and sometimes Blaan/Tagakaolo examples with great ‘mounds’ of textiles and sometimes beads wrapped at the tops of the scabbard) had textiles added to them later on in their lives. Maybe they were added to make them appear more interesting or indigenous. As you know, the old wooden Tboli and Blaan scabbards can often be beautifully carved. I suppose it’s a bit blasphemous on some level (maybe not), but I’m often tempted to cut the textile off what appears to likely be an old scabbard just to see what’s underneath.