PIRA

xasterix · 10th December 2023, 11:25 AM

Hello,

What you have there is a 1920s or later Maranao rendition of the Yakan pira. The hilt is Maranao-made, same with the blade. The blade doesn't have distinct signatures of the original pre-1900 Yakan version (no delineated square/rectangular ricasso before the edge curves down, among other indicators). Furthermore, the hilt extension of your sample is already positioned in a way that it can be struck without the extension getting in the way of the wielding hand (the original pira has this distinct problem/feature).

The Maranao copied the pre-1900 version, along with other Moro blades such as barung, because these were popular among American GIs.

Hope that info helps!

10th December 2023, 11:25 AM	#5
xasterix Member Join Date: Oct 2018 Posts: 598	Hello, What you have there is a 1920s or later Maranao rendition of the Yakan pira. The hilt is Maranao-made, same with the blade. The blade doesn't have distinct signatures of the original pre-1900 Yakan version (no delineated square/rectangular ricasso before the edge curves down, among other indicators). Furthermore, the hilt extension of your sample is already positioned in a way that it can be struck without the extension getting in the way of the wielding hand (the original pira has this distinct problem/feature). The Maranao copied the pre-1900 version, along with other Moro blades such as barung, because these were popular among American GIs. Hope that info helps!