The kris as a weapon has been the fixture and emblem of Filipino Martial Arts but what is not mentioned often is that original production of this edged weapon came from Java, Indonesia. It has reached the Philippine islands through Sulu and the Muslim populated tribes of Southern Philippines. The blades found in Luzon were from Muslim settlements also. In modern times (American period to present), there are no known reproduction centers that would approximate the quality and the cultural design of the pre-Spanish and early Spanish era blades.
Copies of the original designs proliferate in the Philippines but the steel quality or the metallurgy is not even comparable to those found in Java, Sumatra. The original has this damascene blade which is missing in the local copies made from discarded steel, much like the steel made into balisong knives in Batangas.
The kris is a Malay heritage. And "Filipino" not being a race but a political term must not be affixed to the identification of the said sword. Indeed ancient samples can be found throughout the islands but this came about through trade from the Indonesian archipelago to the Southern Philippines and the Muslim settlements in Luzon like Seludong or Maynila. It was never reproduced in considerable quantities after colonization by Spain and America. The center for the technology in creating the finer kris swords had always been Java.
We only connect the kris to the Philippines because the Muslim tribes, having cultural and racial connection to Borneo and Sumatra, imported this type of sword and was the weapon of choice of its warrior class.
It is interesting also to note that Sulu was never conquered by Spain and was not part of the Philippine islands. It was an independent Sultanate during Spanish colonial times. Originally when the US gave the Philippines its independence, Sulu was not part in the original document and only in the revision of that declaration was the Sultanate included.
This is the bone of contention of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in claiming their statehood in the South. This fact has been raised by the late MILF Chief Hashim Salamat to then US President George W. Bush and was the raison d'etre of the US -backed autonomy declaration of the MILF.
Suffice to say that given these historical considerations, the kris is a Malay cultural emblem and should be appropriately identified with Java and the tribes of Southern Philippines and not with the Tagalogs and other ethnic denominations in Luzon and Central Visayas.
The kris is a Malay heritage. And "Filipino" not being a race but a political term must not be affixed to the identification of the said sword. Indeed ancient samples can be found throughout the islands but this came about through trade from the Indonesian archipelago to the Southern Philippines and the Muslim settlements in Luzon like Seludong or Maynila. It was never reproduced in considerable quantities after colonization by Spain and America. The center for the technology in creating the finer kris swords had always been Java.
We only connect the kris to the Philippines because the Muslim tribes, having cultural and racial connection to Borneo and Sumatra, imported this type of sword and was the weapon of choice of its warrior class.
It is interesting also to note that Sulu was never conquered by Spain and was not part of the Philippine islands. It was an independent Sultanate during Spanish colonial times. Originally when the US gave the Philippines its independence, Sulu was not part in the original document and only in the revision of that declaration was the Sultanate included.
This is the bone of contention of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in claiming their statehood in the South. This fact has been raised by the late MILF Chief Hashim Salamat to then US President George W. Bush and was the raison d'etre of the US -backed autonomy declaration of the MILF.
Suffice to say that given these historical considerations, the kris is a Malay cultural emblem and should be appropriately identified with Java and the tribes of Southern Philippines and not with the Tagalogs and other ethnic denominations in Luzon and Central Visayas.
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