PANDAY: Forging Weapons, Symbols of Life and Death

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The Context of Tools in the Philippine Past The panday are celebrated members of society, who Salazar (1999) considers one of the important pillars of a community. Alongside the datu (political leader), the babaylan (religious leader), and the bagani (warrior imposing peace and order), the panday or the blacksmith is the artisan who can wield metal and other mediums such as wood. The end result, finely-constructed materials such as spears for hunting, or wooden poles for houses, all of which are part of the community's needs.

The materials, techniques of production, and use are all partly determined by their situatedness in cultural landscapes and biospheres. Utilization may be associated with the environment of the users, their lifestyle, and even their cultural beliefs. Each tool embodies the abilities of the maker and lifeways of communities.

The evolution of tool styles and methods of use, while similar, do not necessarily follow a comparable linear path throughout communities. While material evidence in permanent collections suggests the increasing sophistication and importance of tools in communities, some are produced for various purposes ranging from everyday use to commodities for the connoisseur.

Questions often revolve around the method in which these were used, the trajectory of the tool evolution, and eventually focusing on the concept of the users' identity.

Tools, thoughtfully and wonderfully crafted by the human hand, are embedded in the living traditions of each heritage place. In the Philippines, the makers of tools are often those who also use them since it is imperative that makers bear intrinsic knowledge on how these materials will be used in order to ensure ease and continuity of practice.

The importance of these materials lies not only in their utilization but also in their association to power and beliefs.

Stone tools are some of the most important tools for thousands of years even in the Philippines, yet by around 5000 BC, shell tools were being used by people in Mindoro (Pawlik et al., 2015). Similar forms were found in Tawi-Tawi (Ronquillo et al., 1993) and in Quezon, Palawan (Fox, 1970), indicating that there was a widespread presence of these shell tools. It may point to a changing practice of use from stone to shell or utilization of local resources; however, the shell adze found in Duyong Cave, Quezon, Palawan was thought to be associated with a burial during this period. We can interpret this tool either as a device for manufacturing another material or simply as a burial good.

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Shell adze (left) and cone shell ear ornaments (right) associated to the Neolithic burial in Duyong Cave, Quezon, Palawan. (Fox, R. B. (1970). The Tabon Caves: Archaeological Explorations and Excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila, Philippines: Monograph of the National Museum. Figure 19, p. 63)

Wood, on the other hand, is a raw material that is almost often overlooked. The number of tools crafted out of wood is numerous, including the wooden spears or the bows and arrows used by many groups even to this day. However, due to their organic nature, evidence of their use is hardly found in the archaeological data and must be found through proxy. And yet, considering the tropical environment of the Philippines, we can understand that wood is an intrinsic part of every community's everyday life, to the point that it is entrenched in all of the people's life: the wooden houses where people live, the boats used to fish, the spears used to hunt, the baskets used for carrying, the barks used for producing textiles and the trees' fruits used for dyes, and many more. The skill to manipulate wood is central to the lives of the Filipinos, to the point that when metal eventually found its way into the Philippines, these two elements wove together and metamorphosed into various weapons that still utilize wooden handles, and where the blade is placed inside wooden sheaths.

To understand the skill in making these materials, we look into the panday or the craftsmen themselves. It is they who honed this skill and passed this on to generations, eventually making meaning out of the objects by understanding the intended use.

Crafting Metal Tools for the Community While Salazar (1999) introduced the four pillars of society, Achanzar-Labor (2006) elaborated on the concept of the panday and the role they play in the community. Tracing the various connotations of the word throughout Philippine and other Austronesian languages, she pointed out that the panday is generally considered one who does craftwork. In Samar, for example, the panday can be associated with metal-working, but may also refer to carpenters who are knowledgeable in making boats or houses. They are always male, with their skills passed down by apprenticeship. However, she notes that among the Tausug and the Sama, the panday may refer to a female midwife, inferring that their craft of healing and providing help during maternal labor as a specialized skill.

When it comes to metal-working, the panday is generally known for their ability to manipulate the malleable iron metal into its strong form. Scott (1994, 54-55) pointed out that among the Bisaya, the panday who works on iron is highly respected and constantly sought-after.

In an observation of the Bisaya during the 17th century, rich and powerful leaders would seek out a skilled blacksmith to trade weapons. Iron and metal is a commodity that only few can afford, and the familiarity in which the panday can work the raw material often ensures that other leaders would essentially seek their knowledge (Alcina 1668 [2004]). Knowing that the raw material is rare and hard to come by, the metals on each end of the spear, arrow, or even blade comes with a hefty price.

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The blacksmith's working area is commonly near his dwelling. Scott (1994) described that the bellows (hasohas) are commonly made of tree trunks that were hollowed to accommodate the escaping smoke. The piston (tamborok) is manned by the blacksmith's apprentice (masaop), who is in charge of ensuring that the smoke escapes in a timely manner. Large bamboo poles are also attached to the forges, generally called the Malay forge (Legarda, 1998). Casts made of earthenware may be used to mold the metal tool, but these were only found in Quezon, Palawan (Fox,1970), and it is generally thought that the blacksmiths learned how to shape the desired tool.

This Malay forge is the commonly-used method of metal forming in the Philippines. Cole (1913) noted among the Bagobo in Mindanao that aside from weapons, metal ornaments such as brass bells and bracelets were also made by these skilled craftspeople. When it comes to weapons, iron and steel are tempered to make daggers and knives that the Bagobo will use for their everyday tasks. He noted that this was the same method of metal production among the Bukidnon of Mindanao (Cole, 1956) although, by the time he managed to observe the area, the group was mostly getting their supplies of metal weapons from the Muslim groups scattered throughout Lake Lanao.

Christie (1909) also observed a similar method of forging among the Subanen of Zamboanga.

As for the northern Philippines, the weapons of the Cordillera groups were also highly studied. Even up to the early 1900s, ethnographers in Ifugao referred to the two manual bellows made of bamboo as the way for controlling heat (Jenks, 1905).

The anvils are made of large rocks while the hammers are also made of stones. Specific areas may make a specific type of weapon, and as Jenks (1905, 129) points out in Ifugao, it is only the smiths of Baliwang who make the axe used for headhunting.

The users of these axes would barter for good whetstones to keep their weapons sharp. The iron, meanwhile, can be bartered from lowlanders, specifically from Chinese traders who would provide the metals in exchange for raw materials. While these include the cauldrons and bars of irons, any other scrap metals were also acquired and melted for their use. This may have also been true with trades they would conduct with lowlander communities.

Cole, F.-C. (1913). The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Anthropological Series, 12(2), 49-203.

Plate XXVII (27), Bagobo group. "I-o, the brass and copper worker of Cibolan (Sibulan), while he shaped bells, bracelets, and betel boxes at his forge on the outskirts of the village…. Feathered plungers, which worked up and down in two bamboo cylinders, forced air through a small clay-topped tube into a charcoal fire." (p. 81)

Once the blade is finished, the blacksmith will insert the tang into the wooden shafts or handles. These may be highly decorated, but the metal panday may hand this off to another expert since woodwork is a separate craft. Alternatively, the wooden parts may be carved by the users themselves, who are also experts in their own rights. They may attach the metal works to delicately carved hilts or may house them in intricately carved sheaths—all depending on their use and their demand. The more utilitarian the blade, the fewer designs it will likely have. The metal ends of spears may be attached in wooden spears through the ferrules.

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This craft of making these implements persisted for centuries, presently aided by modern machinery that allows for the quicker sharpening of the blades. However, the tradition of hafting and use continues even today. This enduring practice hints at a tradition among the panday, who bear the knowledge of this craft through every weapon or tool they produce.

The Blacksmith and Blacksmithing: pag-panday Such a tradition of craftsmanship indicates the continued support of the community and the contribution of the panday to the rest of society. Metal and wood put together provide craftsmanship that is easily understood as an art, honed by years of observation and practice through apprenticeship.

This knowledge, passed down from one master to another, points to the importance of community relations, an education tied to cultural familiarity.

Thus, we turn to the persons themselves, the keepers of this knowledge, whose craftsmanship was always studied.

Despite the keen interest in the metal sources, the method of making, and even the use of the final product, very little has been done on the actual panday themselves. It was only through Lars Ubaldo's book "Mun-udi: Ang Panday na Ifugao bilang Tagapag-ingat ng Taal na Kaalaman" (2016) that the blacksmiths themselves became the focus of the study. Here, he not only provided a wealth of information on the end products that were the blades, but also shed light on the mun-udi or the blacksmith as a bearer of intangible heritage situated within a cultural landscape. This included delving into myths of the Ifugao regarding the importance of forging metal as well as the symbols of their work, thus firmly establishing the role of the mun-udi within the community not just as makers of tools used for headhunting, but also as stewards of knowledge that continues to be sought after even today. Despite the industrialization of metal workings, the fine works of the mun-udi show that the community continues to recognize the leadership role they take through the work that they pour over their projects.

The salient ideas in the book affirm Achanzar-Labor's proposition that pagpapanday is not only about producing the tangible object itself but is also a highly ritualized task. For the Tagabawa Bagobo of Davao, Mindanao, for example, the panday is guided by the spirit of the forge. The chosen panday is highly recognized, and while the skill may be passed, the guiding spirit may not necessarily choose the apprentice. This is symbolized through the possession of the only panday's forge; others may work in it, but they may only do so in the presence of the panday. In Taal, Batangas, a place widely considered in making superior metal blades, the panday is bestowed with the blessing of the babaylan or ritual leader. This ensures that the forge will produce an efficient blade.

In both cases cited, the blacksmith is not only a singular individual enjoying prestige but one expected to transmit knowledge and guide others, while also depending on the rest of the community who supply and share the resources needed to enable the production of tools.

Meyer, Adolf B. and Alexander Schadenberg. 1997. Unidentified Ifugao smiths demonstrating use of bellows and stones in metal working, Luzon, Philippines] [PIC Album 1220/1 #P1030/2]. Taken from the Otley Beyer Collection of Photographs (National Library of Australia). https://nla.gov.au:443/tarkine/nla.obj-142911066

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Finally, Ubaldo pointed out that the blacksmith is, of course, tied to the warfare that the Cordillera groups may have. While they may produce metals used for spears or bows for hunting, or even make the blades for knives used in rituals, so do they produce the blades used for axes used in head-hunting. Achanzar-Labor also remarked on this dichotomy where the panday is tasked to make the decorative blades of the datus in Mindanao, recalling the 17th Century texts regarding the Bisaya and their sought-after skills. As they ensure that their works are reliable, the panday secures their place in the community, providing materials within the context of both ritual and necessity.

The Specialized and Interwoven Tools This interweaving of social spheres—utilitarian and ritual use—is a repeating theme in Philippine communities. So as the panday equips the hunter and the farmer, the symbol of their labor becomes an important representation of power in relation to subsistence and food security.

Weapons may also have more than one purpose: from the necessary agricultural and hunting (Combis, 2019) to the societal tensions resulting in power relations and warfare (Coballes and De la Cruz, 2021). Combis (2019) enumerated the numerous agricultural implements forged by the panday—important materials to the livelihood of farmers. Tools such as the sickle familiar among the rice farmers, and the plough made of metal and wood pulled by the carabao, are all backbones of the community's daily life. Spears may be used to catch fishes and squids in rivers or at the sea during the dead of night. Aside from this, blowguns and bows and arrows used by various groups—and especially by the Negritos—are wielded only during hunting for food. Oftentimes, these are used only for small animals such as birds or large reptiles.

Bartsch, P. (1917). Pirates of the Deep - Stories of the

It is interesting to see the same material utilized for both subSquid and Octopus. In Annual Report of the Board of Regents of The Smithsonian Institution Showing the sistence and weaponry, or a tool for sustaining lives at once Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year Ending June 30 1916 (pp. having the power to take away life. Dacanay (1979) discusses 347-376). Washington DC, USA: Washington Governthat weapons vary their uses in the Philippines, expressing ment Printing Press. (Figure 3, p. 359) the changing occasions when particular forms of knives, swords, and shields will be used. The kalis or kris, referring to the Islamic sword commonly found in Southern Mindanao, may be used to simply show that the wielder is a powerful or rich person simply by their design; nevertheless, this is not intended to deceive those who see it since the kalis can be a deadly weapon when wielded properly and with intent (Casiño, 1978). Dagger forms may be divided according to specific work, which is also divided among genders. The shields—made either of rattan or wood at the south, and mostly wood at the north—showcase the fierce warfare that groups face and must use in the event of raids or headhunting.

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Ethnohistoric details on various groups back this as Cole (1913) described some of the various knives used by the Bagobo group, but without elaborating on the local names of the weapons. Nevertheless, this gives us an idea of the manner in which these metal implements are used and treated. For example, the wooden sheaths wrapped with rattan and bamboo may also have decorative beads around them, which Cole described as ways to adorn the material for their own satisfaction. This is not to say that the metal implements are not important to their daily lives, only that it is possible that information regarding their particular use need to be extrapolated and sourced further. However, this similar duality was observed among the Bukidnons of Mindanao (Cole, 1956) where blades may be used for both warfare but mostly for the clearing of land, or to gather wood and fruits from the forests.

Krieger (1926) also hinted at this duality when discussing the various weapons collected by the Smithsonian Museum during the early 1900s. Each of the various weapons—made up of swords, spears, headhunting axes, and shields—are discussed according to the various group's context. In true colonialist museum fashion, the kalis or kris (swords) from Mindanao, often used by leaders and may be used Jenks, A. E. (1905). The Bontoc Igorot (Vol. Bureau of Public Printing. Figure for execution, raids, or as a show of power are groups with the spears 1). Manila: 102: "Bontoc battle-axes, with bajuco ferrules." and blowguns. Lasco (2020) expands this by looking at the designs on blades, which are often made of wood or bamboo. Some of these include the snakes (naga) or other reptiles present in the wooden handles, intricately carved presumably by the panday. He notes the commonality of many symbols throughout history and through geographic distribution from the Philippines to other Austronesian-speaking communities in Island Southeast Asia, which showcases a possible belief system embedded upon the weapon and the sword. By going through the meaning of the sword for many wielders, understanding the myth, and taking the panday into account, he argues that swords like the talibong or kampilan not only showcase ingenuity in craftsmanship and power but that the swords themselves have embedded designs that subtly refers to the worldview of the communities.

Cole, F.-C. (1913). The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Anthropological Series, 12(2), 49-203. Plate LV (55).

Whether the tool is decorative or simplistic, these implements have multiple meanings embedded in them. Molded and guided by the panday through their craft, shared among the rest of the community, and throughout time and space, we can try to trace how these implements for agriculture can transform and become materials for warfare and ritual.

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Tools and Implements as Links to Beliefs Given the various backdrops of all these tools, then it is no wonder that these tools are also featured heavily in many rituals. Knives and daggers, of course, may be a ubiquitous force and are often utilized for ceremonies involving warfare. The gaman are only used for beheading and never for anything else. In discussing the rituals of the Tinguian in northern Philippines, these gaman may also beat the shields or kalasag, blessed during a ritual to ensure that the anitus or spirits will continue to bestow their blessings upon the materials.

Keeping these changing social spheres of weapons in mind, we can now rethink the use of tools and how they find their way alongside burials as an associated good. This was true in the shell adzes given as examples above, yet this practice continued on to the metals and possibly wood fragments found associated with jar burials in Casiguran, Sorsogon (Dizon, 1979), in Tabon (Fox, 1970), and other archaeological sites within the Philippines. It would seem that metals only replaced the other earlier tools and continued to be practiced throughout the Metal Age of the Philippines at tentatively 500 BC (Dizon, 1983), continuing on the Contact Period (Locsin, Ongpin, and Paterno, 2008), possibly even during the Colonial Period. For now, we can only speculate whether these tools accompanying the burials may be associated with the role of the person who died, or may have been a pabaon or gift for the dead as they make their way to the next world.

Whatever the answer is, the tool that the panday has labored over is now not merely a utilitarian tool, it has now become a commodity that embodies identity and power of the wielder, and is also used to negotiate with the anitu through ritual and the transformative nature of death—guided by the weapons wielded by the users, and forged in fire throughout the life of the blacksmith.

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References Achanzar-Labor, Honey Libertine R. 2006. The Philippine Panday: From the Historical Past to the Ethnographic Present. The Journal of History 52 (1).

Alcina, Ignacio Fransisco. 1668 [2004]. History of the Bisayan People in the Philippine Islands.

Translated by C. J. Kobak and L. Gutierrez. Edited by C. J. Kobak and L. Gutiérrez. 4 vols.

Vol. 2. Manila, Philippines: UST Publishing House. Original edition, 1668.

Casiño, Eric S. 1978. The Old Trusty Blade: Traditional Mindanao Bladed Weapons. In Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation, edited by A. P. Roces, G. Cordero-Fernando and C. Quirino, pp. 1703-1708. Quezon City, PH: Lahing Pilipino Publishing.

Christie, Emerson Brewer. 1909. The Subanuns of Sindangan Bay. Manila: Bureau of Printing.

Coballes, Jan Karl C., and Harold De la Cruz. 2021. An Ethnography of Ibanag Warfare and Weaponry Based on Spanish Colonial Records. Tala 4 (1):78-140.

Cole, Fay-Cooper. 1913. The Wild Tribes of Davao District, Mindanao. Anthropological Series 12 (2):49-203.

Cole, Fay-Cooper. 1956. The Bukidnon of Mindanao. Vol. 46, Fieldiana: Anthropology. Chicago, USA: Chicago Natural History Museum Press.

Combis, Sherry A. 2019. Documenting the Agricultural Tools and Implements at the Museo de Isarog of Partido State University.

Dacanay, Julian E. 1979. A Weapon for Every Occasion. In Filipino Heritage: The Making of a Nation, edited by A. P. Roces, G. Cordero-Fernando and C. Quirino, pp. 916-924. Quezon City, PH: Lahing Pilipino Publishing.

Dizon, Eusebio Z. 1979. Binisitahan Site: A Jar Burial Complex in Boton, Casiguran, Sorsogon (Code: V-79-L5). A Preliminary Report on the Archaeological Excavation from April to May, 1979. Unpublished Manuscript. National Museum of the Philippines, Manila Dizon, Eusebio Z. 1983. The Metal Age in the Philippines: An Archaeometallurgical Investigation.

Vol. 12, Anthropological Papers. Manila, Philippines: National Museum.

Fox, Robert B. 1970. The Tabon Caves: Archaeological Explorations and Excavations on Palawan Island, Philippines. Manila, Philippines: Monograph of the National Museum.

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Jenks, Albert Ernest. 1905. The Bontoc Igorot. Vol. 1. Manila: Bureau of Public Printing.

Krieger, Herbert W. 1926. The Collection of Primitive Weapons and Armor of the Philippine Islands in the United States National Museum. Washington DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution.

Lasco, Lorenz. 2020. Otherworldly Ornamentation - The Bladed Weapons of Southern Luzon and the Visayas and Their Symbolisms. In A Warrior's Armament and Ornament: The Edwin R. Bautista Collection of Philippine Bladed Weapons, edited by E. R. Bautista, pp. 142-203.

Mandaluyong, PH: Museo ng Kaalamang Katutubo.

Legarda, Angelita G. 1998. Small Change. In Kasaysayan: The Story of the Filipino People, edited

by J. Y. Dalisay. Singapore: Asia Publishing Company Limited.

Locsin, Cecilia Y., Maria Isabel G. Ongpin, and Socorro Paz P. Paterno. 2008. A Lemery Archaeo logical Sequence. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Pawlik, Alfred F., Philip J. Piper, Rachel E. Wood, Kristine Kate A. Lim, Marie Grace Pamela G. Faylona, Armand Salvador B. Mijares, and Martin Porr. 2015. Shell tool technology in Island Southeast Asia: an early Middle Holocene Tridacna adze from Ilin Island, Mindoro, Philippines. Antiquity 89 (344):292-308.

Ronquillo, Wilfredo P., Rey A. Santiago, Shijun Asato, and Kazuhiko Tanaka. 1993. The 1992 Archaeological Reexcavation of the Balobok Rockshelter, Sanga Sanga, Tawi Tawi Prov ince, Philippines: A Preliminary Report. Okinawa, Japan: Okinawa Prefectural Library.

Salazar, Zeus. 1999. Ang Babaylan sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Quezon City, PH: Palimbagan ng Lahi.

Scott, William Henry. 1994. Barangay: Sixteenth-Century Philippine Culture and Society. Quezon City, Philippines: Ateneo de Manila University Press.

Ubaldo, Lars Raymund C. 2016. Mun-Udi: Ang Panday na Ifugao bilang Tagapag-ingat ng Taal na Kaalaman. Baguio City, Philippines: Cordillera Studies Center, University of the Philippines Baguio.

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