Cleveland Museum of Art

Sword (Barong)

Date

before 1916

Medium

Blade: metal inlaid with brass; handle: metal with silver foil, braided wire, and repoussé work; pommel: kamagong hardwood with bone inlay

Culture

Philippines, Sulu or Basilan

Department

Oceania

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This sword’s hilt is carved from a dense Philippine hardwood known as kamagong and takes the form of a stylized cockatoo ( kakatua ), a motif characteristic of Tausug and Yakan sword hilts. Its broad, leaf-shaped steel blade is single-edged at the base and double-edged near the tip, making it ideal for thrusting in both warfare and ceremony. The cockatoo-shaped pommel symbolizes vigilance and status among the Moro people of the southern Philippines.

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