PRIMITIVE WEAPONS AND AKMOR OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ol 



Tagalor^ of the central Luzon plains, all of the pagan tribes of the 

 mountainous region of northern Luzon, as also the civilized Ilocano ; 

 the pagan tribes of Mindanao, the Mangyan of Mindoro, the Batak 

 of Palawan, the civilized Bikol of southern Luzon ; the Visayan, and 

 Moro — in fact, all tribes, peoples, and nationalities with which con- 

 tact was established and whose culture consequently became known 

 to the civilized world. The Moro, like many of the other Filipino 

 peoples, continue to use the bow and arrow even at the present time. 

 Formerly, arrows and lances were presented as ceremonial offerings 

 to their deity and were hurled into the waters surrounding Jolo and 

 Zamboanga Avhen the Moro were embarking on an expedition. Some 

 Filipino peoples that have adopted other weapons or that have 

 allowed the use of the bo^v and arrow to lapse into a subordinate 

 position still use the bow as a toy or in shooting birds or other small 

 game. Dr. A. E. Jenks refers to such secondary use of the bow 

 amons the Bontok Igorot. 



Small boys in Boiitok pueblo make for themselves tiny bows 11^4 feet or 2 

 foet long with which they snap light arrows a few feet. But the instrument 

 is of the crudest, merely a toy, and is a thing of the day, being acquired from 

 the culture of the Ilocano who live in the pueblo. The Igorot claim they 

 never employed the bow and arrow, and to-day, at least consider the question 

 as 10 their ever using it as very foolish, since, they say, pointing to the child's 

 toy. it js nothing. * * * The Ibalao of the southeastern Nueva Vizcaya, 

 Nueva Ecija, and adjacent Isabelle employ the bow constantly. 



In an account by Dr. John Frances Careri dating back to 1693- 

 1697, the Zambales nationality is reported as using the bow and 

 arrow, a short spear, and a short hand weapon or knife which was 

 worn at the girdle. The use of poisoned arrows was noted. These 

 arrows were pointed with iron or sharp stones. A peculiarity of 

 the iron arrow heads was in the boring of the head so that it would 

 break off when entering the victim's body. A wooden shield that 

 was twice as long as broad was attached to the arm by horizontal 

 wooden supports at the back of the shield. This shield was em- 

 ployed both for parrying and as a target. 



Some of the older types of war arrows of the Moro are quite 

 similar to ancient Zambales arrows in that the head, consisting 

 either of stone, metal, bone, or ivory, comes off in the wound made 

 by the ari'ow. The arrowhead is sunlcen into or socketed over the 

 foreshaft so that the shaft may become detached while the arroAv 

 head remains in the wound. 



The Malaysian self how; 'parts^ function^ materials. — The type 

 of bow used in the Philippine Islands is the self-bow ; it is not rein- 

 forced. The flat bows of the southern islands are often wrapped 

 with ornamental transverse windings of rattan splints and the over- 

 lay is then waxed with a black gummy cement. As the bow stave 



