Talibong

talibong
Talibong | @thenegrosmuseum

Talibong

Several names like bolo or binangon in Hiligaynon, bunéng in Ilocano; tabák, iták and gulok in Tagalog; uták in Bicol; padang or parang among some Mindanao communities; and, palang in Proto-Philippine and Pampango.

The Talibong is a large heavy chopping tool, commonly plain, without decoration on hardwood (or carabao horn) handle and hammered carburized blade.

Versatile, it is efficient for agricultural and forestal chores, the Talibong is still a symbol of the Filipino people. On some of the islands in the Philippines, people walk around with their Talibong as a symbol of pride or even just employment, signifying that they work with it in the fields or jungles.

It was written that the Talibong was the weapon of choice of Philippine revolucionarios during the Revolution and the Philippine-American War at the turn of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth. Perhaps this was not only a case of choice, but also a matter of availability, when the call to take up arms against the colonizers was sounded.

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