96 BULLETIN 137, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



ventionalized projections. The flattened lateral surfaces are plain, 

 except for a chased floral design along margin near the back of 

 blade. Handle formed of a hardwood and shod with ferruled iron 

 bands. 



Lenoth of blade, 48.4 centimeters (19 inches). Collected by Dr. 

 Eobert B. Griibbs. (PI. 9. No. 3.) Cat. No. 3496, U.S.N.M. 



WEAPONS OF DEFENSE: SHIELDS AND ARMOR 



Distribution of Phili'p'pine shield types; function and materials 

 employed. — The use of shields as a protective cover for the body to 

 intercept a weapon and as a parrying instrument is generally prac- 

 ticed by all primitive peoples. Materials used in shield construction 

 may be wood, hide, grass, basketr}^ material, such as rattan, or of 

 metal. The shields of the Philippines are usually of wood, though 

 some are made of rattan and other basketr}^ material, or of carabao 

 hide. Small metal body shields of tin and iron, such as are made by 

 the Nias Islanders in western Malaysia, do not occur in the Philip- 

 pines. The shield there constitutes the principal defensive weapon, 

 as armor composed of horn, shell, and metal, is in use only among 

 the Moro and does not find application among the northern island 

 nationalities. There are three types of Filipino shields — the round 

 target shield, the oblong rectangular shield with prongs, and the 

 oblong shield without prongs and usually with tasseled decorations 

 along the lateral edges. 



The most common type of Filipino shield as fashioned by the 

 primitive Indonesians of northern Luzon is the oblong rectangular 

 pronged parrjdng shield. The Tinggian, Kalinga, and other north- 

 ern tribes use the shield in combat at close quarters. The three upper 

 prong projections are brought down violently against the enemy's 

 legs so that he is tripped; when he is prostrate, the other or looser 

 shield end with the two projecting prongs is brought down over his 

 neck. The victim can then be effectively decapitated with the head 

 ax that the head-hunter always carries with him. Other tribes, such 

 as the Bontolc Igorot, have ceased to use the prongs, but still make 

 their shields with short, blunt projections that have become merely 

 a conventionalized outline. In this respect the Bontok show a de- 

 cadence apparent also in their nonuse of the bow. Other tribes, such 

 as the Ifugao, have suffered the shield to undergo still further 

 changes, so that the outline is without the wavy end protuberances. 

 Another northern Luzon tribe, the Apayao, makes an oblong shield 

 having one long heavy prong at each end; this shows a local devel- 

 ojDment of design of value in lending effectiveness to the shield as a 

 club. Various oblong types with prongs occur elsewhere in Malaysia. 



