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Lot 711
Axe "sinawit"
Estimated Value:
900 € - 1.500 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Philippines, central Cordilleras (North Luzon), kalinga, 19th cent.L. 63 cm, B. 43 cm
Steel, wood. Large, formally appealing battle axe from the central Cordillera (northern Philippines). The axe shape is usually associated with the Kalinga (not to be confused with the historical Kalinga empire of the same name in India), who settled along the Chiko River. The axe has a concave cutting edge with an elongated toe, which forms a visual counterweight to the long back element. The back is unsharpened. The blade is inserted into a long, waisted steel socket, which in turn is slid onto a hardwood shaft with an ergonomic shape. The base of the shaft is also protected by an overlapping forged steel socket. The sinawit (other names for such axes: pinang, gaman, ligua, aliwa) is held in this middle section, with the lower part serving as a counterweight. Weapons like this are usually used one-handed in combination with the shield. Their effectiveness is beyond question and was widely feared. For everyday use, the long spine can be rammed into the ground and the upright blade then used as a tool, for example for splicing rattan or cutting fruit, meat and other foods, which can be passed up and down the blade with both hands.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
Axes and hatchets are largely uncommon as weapons in Southeast Asia, with the exception of the Kalinga, Bontoc and Tinggian of the Cordillera, who all use similar axes (sometimes of a more moderate form). These groups are collectively and ethnogenetically referred to as “Igorot” (“mountain people”). The difficult terrain and the warlike attitude of the Igorot have contributed to the fact that they have never been conquered and have been able to maintain their customs and traditions to this day. The inhabitants of the central Cordillera have successfully resisted Spanish colonization, fought effectively against the Japanese occupation forces in World War II and today enjoy certain autonomy rights, which includes maintaining their own adat, customary law. The axe probably originated from the ancient Chinese ge weapon, one of the most important and widely used forms of weapon in Asia, which fell into disuse after the Han dynasty (until about 220 CE) and the army reforms that accompanied it, but is still widely known today. The shape has had a lasting influence on a large number of blade shapes in the Southeast Asian region. Ge blades were highly prized heirlooms for many centuries; over 2000 years of exponents can be found as local shrines in some areas of eastern Indonesia to this day
