MANILA, Philippines — The iconic double-edged sword of the Bangsamoro people is polyonymous.
To Spanish and American colonizers, it’s kreese, creese, cris, caris, “Malay sword,” “Malay broadsword.” To Mindanao Moro tribes (Maguindanao and Maranao), it’s kris, with subtypes such as kris ranti (wavy blade) and kris sundang (straight blade). To Sulu Moro tribes (Tausug, Yakan, and Sama), it’s kalis with subtypes such as kalis siko (wavy blade) and kalis buntul (straight blade). To most Filipinos, it’s “kris ng Moro” or “Moro kris.” To the Bornean Malays, it’s sundang, keris sundang, or keris sulok. The terminology variance is an indicator of the weapon’s widespread usage and fame.
The form of the kris evolved from pre-colonial to colonial eras because of successive foreign influences that shaped Philippine archipelago blade forms. Herbert Krieger, renowned archeologist and curator of the Smithsonian Museum, asserted that the arrival of Islam in the 14th century revolutionized Mindanao and Sulu bladesmithing and partisanship.
Blade expert Zel Umali proposed that the Moro kris is strongly related and should be studied side-by-side with another famous blade: the Indomalay keris, traditionally made in several areas such as Java, Bali, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula. Parallelisms in blade build and historical interactions between Moro and Indomalay polities provide strong support for this theory. The cultural functions of the two blades are also similar — both indicate the owner’s social class, used in religious and esoteric rituals, or offered as a valuable bride price.
Modular weapon
A typical kris has a blade, scabbard, hilt, and hilt-to-blade fittings (the latter three are collectively known as “dress”). The blade, traditionally of laminated steel construction, may be wavy or straight, and can be used for cutting and thrusting. The guard is separate yet seamlessly integrated to the blade, and secured by hilt-to-blade fittings. The scabbard is composed of two slabs of wood lashed together with rope or metal, and may have carved ukkil, okir or esoteric patterns at the scabbard throat and foot.
The hilt has a metal ferrule (although absent in some kris), followed by a grip covered with braided hemp, rattan, or metal rings. The pommel may be bunti wood, silver, ivory, carabao horn, brass, or seashell. The hilt-to-blade fittings consist of one or two clamps that are affixed to the hilt with metal bolsters, to keep the kris blade and guard secured.
The kris has a wide range of possible blade builds and dress aesthetics. Production area plays a large role in determining how a kris is built and presented. Kris sundang found in Mindanao, for example, differs from Sulu’s kalis buntul. There is variety in blade profile, carvings, dimensions, weight, and weight distribution.
There is wider variety in dress components: hilt type, hilt wrap, pommel type, scabbard type, and accompanying textile. These reflect the preferences and cultural expressions of the various Moro tribes. Outside of the Philippine archipelago, there are Malay keris sundang or keris sulok from Borneo, where Moro blacksmiths and artisans mingled with Malay ones to develop even more blade and dress permutations.
The identity complex of the kris is increased by its modular construction, which allows for the replacement of its parts.
It’s common for pusaka or heirloom kris to have had several “re-dress” operations as it was handed down through the generations. Re-dressing was necessary to replace damaged parts, or to upgrade aesthetics as the family’s social class improved.
Foremost blade expert and Tausug elder Sali Nagarajen considers the kris as the most difficult Philippine archipelago sword to accurately identify, as each of its parts could have been made in different production areas and eras. Researching the identity of each kris part is a rewarding exercise. Deduction can be used to trace the sword’s career as it survived times of war and peace, carried by warriors or statesmen, acquired via trade or marriage.
Strike and sever
From the American colonizers’ point of view, the Moro warrior was a berserker specializing in close-quarters fighting. They noted how the Moros fought irregularly, with postures and movements that seemed unnatural. With his kris extended, the Moro crouches, leaps, turns, then leaps again- seemingly in retreat, then suddenly charging back furiously to deliver a powerful blow. These martial movements are attributed to the Moro Fighting Arts (MFA), wholly different from the Filipino Martial Arts (FMA).
Early 1900s newspaper articles provided blow-by-blow accounts of what transpired as Western guns and bayonets clashed with the kris. A Moro datu who was being pursued in the jungle by American soldiers, suddenly rushed towards an officer, “head down, bellowing like a mad bull, kris flying.” A rain of bullets from Krag rifles and the officer’s .38-caliber brought the datu down, but not before he inflicted fatal wounds with his kris. In another account, two officers of the Tenth Infantry were approached near Camp Vickers in Lake Lanao by a Moro holding a flag of truce. As the latter approached, he suddenly drew a kris, amputated the arm of the nearest officer, and then escaped into the tall grass.
Magical tether
Aside from being a battle weapon, the Moro kris is a talisman that reflects pre-Islamic magical beliefs. The acceptance of Islam in areas such as Sulu did not eradicate pre-Islamic, pre-Sultanate era of ancestral and stone worship. Philippine Folk Christianity with its geometrical symbols, anting-anting, and oraciones has a counterpart in Philippine Folk Islam with its magical runes, ajimat objects, and divination rituals. A kris may be engraved with esoteric symbols such as the Ring of Solomon, divination star, and the Zulfiqar (a holy Islamic sword). A combination of these symbols may protect against Christian magic, grant enlightenment, or increase ferocity in battle.
Beliefs regarding Indomalay keris have counterparts in Moro kris. For example, both weapons supposedly rattle in their sheaths to warn of danger. A keris’ value is enhanced with each person it slays, and a “veteran” keris is regarded as sacred (Frey, 1988). In a similar manner, a Moro kris which has a high number of kills commands a high selling price. Certain keris and kris blades are engraved with either religious (Qu’ran) or esoteric (Folk Islam) passages in Jawi, Arabic, Suryani, or variations of the Lontara script.
The kris is respected, feared, and coveted by other ethnolinguistic groups in the Philippines. There are antique kris blades refurbished with Tagalog, Ilokano, Waray, Ilonggo, or Lumad dress. Non-Moro groups re-dress a Moro kris for many possible reasons. The most common is to claim ownership of the weapon. For Spanish and American colonizers (including Filipino soldiers under their command), bringing back a kris equates to prestige in having fought and survived in Moroland. For esoteric practitioners, taking over a kris also means accessing its power. A Pulahanes leader and Masbate folk hero, Pedro Quipte, supposedly vanquished a Moro datu in a duel and took his kris, which further boosted his esoteric power.
Badge of nobility
At the end of the Spanish colonial era, members of Filipino nobility commissioned kris swords to be made by Filipino artisans. The resulting Luzon and Visayan kris, while markedly different from the Moro original, functioned as symbols of high rank under the Philippine First Republic.
Despite the availability and craftsmanship of Filipino-made kris, certain members of the nobility still preferred to acquire the real thing. A First Republic officer, Brigadier General Cardeñas, posed in a photo with a kris provisioned with a Luzon scabbard. Cardeñas distinguished himself from other First Republic officers who customarily wore European sabers or nobility daggers.
While the era of the kris has long faded, much remains to be learned of its multifaceted story and value as a cultural artifact. In the quest for elusive independence and peace for Mindanao and Sulu, the Moro warrior and his kris left a deep mark in Philippine history. — Rappler.com
Author’s Note: Special thanks to the my collector-friends, for sharing their pieces; to elders, for sharing their oral traditions; to traditional blade luminaries, for sharing their research. I dedicate this article to the culture-bearers of the various Philippine indigenous people groups (IPs), especially those who preserve their weapons and fighting arts for future generations.
