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Lot 691
Sword knife "pira"
Estimated Value:
1.200 € - 1.800 €
Result:
incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
Yakan, Sulu Islands, Basilan, Southern Philippines, 19th cent.L. 59,5 cm
Steel, horn, non-ferrous metal. A very rare, elegant sword knife of the Yakan on Sulu. The protruding pommel on the smooth, honey-colored horn handle, which is protected on the blade side by a soft metal ferrule, is unmistakable. The heavy, curved blade has a striking grain that reveals the pattern welding or lamination technique as a design feature. A hard steel edge is inserted. Pira are swords designed for use; they therefore manage with a minimum of decoration and are very robust in construction. The handle is kakatua-shaped and is supposed to represent a cockatoo, but probably goes back to the mythically significant hornbill. The protruding shape serves as a counterweight for the blade and can also have a protective function for the forearm.
Collected from an old German private collection since the 1950s
It is said that even young boys wore pira; the blades served as both weapons and tools and were primarily intended to prepare them for warrior life. It is also likely that the hornbill symbolism was considered essential for boys who had not yet been initiated. When a pira was commissioned, the blade and handle length were precisely defined, perfect proportions were considered to bring good luck. A comparable piece, but with a wooden handle, can be found in “Steel & Magic”, exhibition catalog on Southeast Asian bladed weapons, of the Solingen Blade Museum 2020, p. 181. The Yakan, the majority of whom are Muslims, are one of the most important ethnolinguistic groups in the Sulu archipelago. They mainly settle in parts of Basilan and in Zamboanga City. Their language and culture are closely related to that of the Tausug. The pira is still used today as a tool and machete and is still produced in good quality
