Moro Spearhead, but from what Battle?

[kai]

If one wants to speculate, the Lake Danao area seems to be a phonetically better match.


Regards,
Kai

[Rick]

The fastenings of the spear head have a 'last ditch' look to them.
I'd guess that the shaft was cut to facilitate either easier transport from the Philippines or for hand-to-hand combat.
I have seen Budiak with an iron loop at the butt end and I believe this was to facilitate retrieval of the spear by an attached cord.

[drac2k]

Thanks to all for your excellent comments.Yes, I believe that the spear was cut down for easier transport home.
20 years ago I found a very similar spear, with comparable wire bindings which I will post this weekend. My theory is that these were siege spears for either attacking a fortified location or defending it;one would not want to lose a lance head thrusting it into something.Maybe the thick wire wrapping would ward off a blow from a sword that might sever the blade from the shaft.
I have two other Moro spears,with similar heads, and heavy 8' bamboo shafts ,not suitable for throwing : more like a pike.They do not have the wire binding.

[Lee]

Always nice seeing another of these budiak spears! Here is an old thread with a few more examples where the head is wired to the shaft, though less robustly than the current example.

[drac2k]

Thanks , Lee for providing those examples;it is nice to know that it isn't just a random "one of."Do these "baled examples come from a particular area and do you have a theory as to why the exta wire is added?
The spearheads are not crude,but rather sophisticated,so is the wire an afterthought based on necessity or maybe just added during times of war?

[David]

Bud Dajo (Tausug: Būd Dahu; Spanish: Monte Dajó)
In the photos it looks like the tag might have been Daho, not Dano and that the stem of the "h" wore away. If we consider the Tausug spelling and that the name is pronounced DA-ho, it would not surprise me that someone hearing the name would spell it "Daho". Remember that in Spanish, a "j" is pronounced as an "h".
If this is correct, there were two acknowledged Battles of Bud Dajo, the first in March, 1906 and the second December, 1911.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Bud_Dajo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Bud_Dajo

There may have been fighting around Lake Danao, but i am not familiar with any battles that name the place specifically, so that seems less likely.

[Lee]

I think David is correct in reading the tag Daho.

I found two more in my brace of Southeast Asian spears that have a reinforcing tie of the head to the pole, one is again wire but the other is twine. Most of these lances have come from gun shows, so likely they are war souvenirs from the turn of the 20th century and, now that I am looking, at least a third in the collection have these reinforcements.

I'll agree in speculating that sometimes the heads were getting detached and that this would have been a "field modification" to prevent such failure. Next below are a couple of spearheads where the tang is visible and may be seen to not be especially long.

I have never been able to work out the chronology or geography of the various blade styles. I very strongly suspect that many are significantly older than is generally accepted and documented. Look at the dark brown patina on the exposed tangs: one uncovered over a hundred years ago while the blade remained bright and the other protected by resin until I dissolved it off. Then consider the patinated appearances of the tangs of Japanese swords which may be dated from signatures.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by David

... There may have been fighting around Lake Danao, but i am not familiar with any battles that name the place specifically, so that seems less likely.

David, the only Lake Danao I can find in the Philippines is in Leyte (a popular tourist resort). Perhaps Kai was thinking of Lake Lanao on Mindanao, where the Maranao live. JJ Pershing conducted some actions in that area. I agree that Bud Dajo is the more likely origin for this piece based on the tag.