Sawfish weapon in FMA?

R

ruel

Joined
Nov 22, 1999
Messages
532
Hi everyone,

Thought I'd ask this here, as I've heard it alluded to more than once (eg. Demetrio's Encyclopedia of Philippine Folk Customs and Beliefs). Do any of you know if the rostra of sawfish were historically used as striking weapons in any FMA system? I have one but have always wondered about its authenticity,and whether it really came from the Philippines:

pristisclavata.jpg


Any help solving this mystery would be appreciated. Thanks,

ruel
 
If anything, I would finding it more likely to be from Indonesia. They have some pretty funky and oddball weapons used and developed from there.

Try checking with some of the arts originating from the Polynesian tribes. Natives of Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island may have such weapons in their culture.

Last place you might inquire with is some of the more serious FMA forums.

Good luck in your search.
 
Thanks. Yeah, I've been looking fairly hard over the last couple years, and have pretty much narrowed it down to either the Philippines or New Guinea. Suggestions that these things may have come from Polynesia can be safely dismissed because sawfish aren't deep-ocean animals, inhabiting rather coasts and rivers.

I lean toward the Philippines simply because I've seen absolutely nothing in any ethnographic work to suggest NG, and the availability of these things points much more toward the PI because objects from there are much more accessible and abundant.
 
i know the traditional filipino civilian weapons other than the bolo are the following:

1. rattan stick
2. latigo (whip) - a horsewhip with a wood or leather handle and a gentle tapering length of either braided leather or rope (abaca). horse cart drivers in downtown manila today make theirs of nylon rope.
3. buntot page (sting ray's tail) - the tail is cured and with a leather or rope filling
4. ahas (tr. snake) - a short tube made of leather filled with lead shot. similar to the english cosh.
5. baston - your regular walking stick
 
Ruel,

I do know that rostra weapons are indigenous to the Philippines but I doubt that they were ever used in any of the FMA as we might know them today. I believe that the Aetas or Atis (pre-Malay, pre-Muslim inhabitants of the southern archipelago) were best known for thier non-metal weapons and remember seeing something similar to what you posted during an Ati-Atihan festival when I was a child. Such weapons were eventually phased out as the influx of Malays and Muslims introduced them to metal and metalworking in the late 14th and early 15th century.

I have no doubt that such a weapon surely had specific techniques that best utilized its attributes. Though the implement still exists and is well capable of inflicting damage, the accompanying system or style has been lost. Those techniques, which were more than likely passed along as they were instructed, were forgotten as metal became the preference.

Dakila
 
Thanks guys.

Dayuhan -- We're neighbors! I'm next door in Arlington... :cool:

I hadn't even thought of the Aetas; they tend to be overlooked in discussions of Filipino ethnicities, and I guess I'm guilty of that too. That would certainly explain why these things aren't common, and why they don't appear among the usual (or even unusual) list of FMA weapons.

Hey, drop me a line if you have a chance -- I have some other weapons (metal ones this time!) that you might have some insight on. ruelm2@yahoo.com

Thanks again, ruel
 
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