The Third Blade: Hinalung - Handheld Speartip

The Third Blade: Hinalung - Handheld Speartip

Five days left to go before the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter campaign! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG that allows you to play as warrior Kadungganan in the Sword Isles, a fantasy setting as colorful and intricate as the Southeast Asian cultures from which it draws inspiration.

I've been posting the weapons I've been drawing for the game as kind of a countdown, leading up to the launch on October 10. I was planning to do this for Swordtember, but sometimes you gotta shift the goalpost a little bit. 3/7 blades down, behold the HINALUNG

This multi-purpose blade comes in a few different shapes and sizes, but in general they are symmetrical and double-edged. They don't get much longer than one's forearm, and more often than not have handles wrapped in rattan lashings.

(Blades by Tatang HImanggo and one of his students- a certain Arnold; As shared by Biboy's Sharp Edges) If I'm not mistaken, the term "hinalung" is Ifugao- referring to a certain group of indigenous peoples in the Philippine Cordilleras- though the usage of the blade itself was widespread across the mountains of north Luzon. Nowadays, it isn't just Ifugao smiths making them, and a number of contemporary smiths from across the region seem to lay claim to the blade. In any case, the blade is of the Cordilleras, unconquered by Spain.

(Blades by Ifugao Traditional Blades) One more thing of note is the open scabbard, which seems to be common among blades in that region- not just the hinalung. Some of them boast enough space for more than one blade to be sheathed, and are often sold as novelties. The first example below has a large hinalung in the middle, joined by a pair of pinahig. It can very quickly get out of hand. These X-in-1 sets are usually sold as novelties.

(Blades by Orinn Mongalini/Panday Anitu Mumbaki)

(Photo from Orinn Mongalini)

(Photo from Ifugao Artistic Blade)

Now for the fun part! You may be wondering why the handle is shaped the way it is, with that triangular opening near the base of the blade? Or perhaps you read the title of this post and you already know where this is going?

They double as spearheads! The handle itself is steel folded in to create a hollow socket, allowing the hinalung to be mounted on a wooden shaft, turning it into a spear. Supposedly, this spear-form was used for hunting. You can see the hollow socket more clearly here:

(Blade by HanYan Blades)

(Screencap from a video by AJ Blade Reviews testing the blade as a spear; Blade by Lakay Paul Dulnuan Sr.) As mentioned previously, the Philippine Cordilleras were never conquered by Spain, and as such were able to carry their traditions with a little more ease into the present day. It is very much apparent in the blade culture. Present-day smiths in the Cordilleras still forge hinalung, some of them stating they do it in the traditional way, others admitting to hewing to more modern methods.

(Antique from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology)

(Modern build by Lakay Pabian, photo by Ramon Bathan) Like I said before: Blade culture is alive and still developing. One of the Five Major Mahamandalas of Gubat Banwa pays homage to and gleans inspiration from living cultures like those I mentioned here. If you want to know what the first half of that sentence means, check out the game and its Kickstarter!

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 5 days! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

I've watched this game be started, written, and developed by like- one guy, who just managed to drum up enough interest and meet enough people willing to help shape the dream, and make it what it is today. It could not have gotten this far without all of them. Still, it remains a very small team of creators from the global south, with very limited resources. We would dearly appreciate any and all help in getting the word out about the game!

Seven Blades Until Glory

Gubat Banwa launches on Kickstarter TODAY! Just a few more hours before the highly-anticipated launch of this award-winning, SEA fantasy-based, tactical martial arts TTRPG. Godsfuck, that's a lotta adjectives.

I've been posting the weapons I've drawn for the game to count down the final week before the launch. These were supposed to be for Swordtember but we had to move it back a little bit.

Below are links to all the individual threads, providing details on each of these individual blades, including which cultures they belong to and how they might have been (and still are) used.

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The First Blade: Balaraw - Winged Dagger

I realize I haven't been explicit about it on here yet (mostly because I'm not the best at keeping all my social media profiles up to date),

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The Second Blade: Diplata - Extinct Bolo

Continuing the countdown to the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter coming up on the 10th of October- 6 days to go! Gubat Banwa is a tact

Tumblr

The Third Blade: Hinalung - Handheld Speartip

Five days left to go before the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter campaign! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG that allows you to play as warrior K

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The Fourth Blade: Panabas - "For Chopping"

Four days to the launch of the white-hot lightning that is the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG supported by the twin pillar

Tumblr

The Fifth Blade: Kampilan - Warrior Made

Down to the last three days before Gubat Banwa launches on Kickstarter! Moon-eating titans, sword-souls and bullet devils, giant flying cro

Tumblr

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 2 days! Check it out here:

Forging onwards! It certainly doesn't help when blades are found far from home and are labelled with confusing specific terms or useless ge

Tumblr

The Seventh Blade: Kalis - Bleeding Edge

And so- in the end- the wheel must turn, and a new day must usurp the old. Perhaps then, these long-fallen flowers will feed the soil, and

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in a few hours! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

Hello again! I know this account is mostly my art and weapon designs, but I think it's about time I actually post about the games I write (since Tumblr allows me to make long text posts, as opposed to the burning bluebird site).

I designed this little game built around memories some time ago. You play with one (1) other person, working together to build a stack of rocks, and recalling your past together.

You take turns recalling your memories of each other, and adding a rock to your stack. The more it grows, the more precarious things become.

It's a bit of a wistful one, for those who like to lounge in daydreams, and those who lie bothered by small heartaches at night.

Is it- strange to say that it's a game that I, myself, am afraid to play?

River, mountain, field, or sea- no one knows where a rock may have come from or where it may end up, before and after it crosses your hands.

I don't- I can't- know where I reside in the memories of those I hold dear. Do we hold the same things close to heart? Do the memories we share, which I cherish in my mind, languish and fade in theirs? What is it that keeps people together? What is it that "we" are built upon?

What would it take to break things apart?

You can get it for free (it's pay what you want) on my itch page, here:

itch.io

i remember you. by R- (Tawen)

a game of memories, relationships, and falling apart.

The Fourth Blade: Panabas - "For Chopping"

Four days to the launch of the white-hot lightning that is the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG supported by the twin pillars of tactical martial arts and contemplative war drama. Meditate upon love and violence as warriors of a burning world. Will you stem the tide of blades? Or is it rising by your will?

I'll be posting the weapons I've drawn for the game as a countdown until the launch on October 10. This was supposed to be a Swordtember series, but we needed a little more time to gain momentum. 4/7 blades, past the halfway point, let us proceed with the PANABAS

Towering amongst what blade collectors categorize as "Moro weaponry", the panabas is quite possibly the largest blade I've ever drawn. Like- I'm not lying, I drew all the blades in this series to scale relative to each other, and the panabas has by and large been the one determining how big my canvas needs to be. The edge is on the longer curve, the spine of the blade is thicker near the handle, and the handle is about as long as the blade (if not longer).

(Photo from Kristian Josef Acedo)

The form belies the function; it isn't difficult to guess how this blade is used just by looking at it. The name- if I'm not mistaken- is an even bigger giveaway. Panabas supposedly comes from "pang-tabas" which literally means "for chopping". It also goes by the name of nawi.

(Photos from Raymundo Lucero) As large as its reputation might be, the choppers aren't always massive. Their utility ranges from agricultural to combative to ceremonial, and the size and shape usually matched the nature of the work.

(Tools from Datu Paglas, Maguindanao)

(Photo from Dondon Dimpas)

(Exhibit at Museum of the Filipino People- biggest one) The panabas is most often attributed to the peoples of Maguindanao, though the range of its use and the variants of its make span across large portions of the Mindanao area.

(Antiques from the collection of Richard Hudson, size comparison with a kalis) A popular tale (especially amongst Filipino Martial Artists) states that the US Marines wore leather collars to protect their necks during the American Occupation in Mindanao, due to blades like these that gave the troops pause, and feel that the extra protection was necessary. Supposedly, this is where the term "leatherneck" came from. Although the veracity of this latter claim is a bit on par with the claim that the Colt .45 was invented specifically to stop the same Moro warriors, the story has already stuck.

(Antique from Lake Lanao)

(Photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art) We touched upon "Traditional" blades last time, referring to blades made by the same people to whose cultures those blades belong. This time we look at the other side of the coin. "Modern" is the term collectors here often use to refer to reinterpretations, usually by modern smiths who are separate from where a blade traditionally belongs. The point of reference I used for "Traditional" blades before is a katana forged by a traditional Japanese swordsmith. If- instead- a white blacksmith in America were to forge a katana using their own smithing methods, that would be considered as a "Modern" blade under this categorization. I'll leave it to you to spot the differences in these next few photos:

Traditional panabas with a rattan ferrule (Photo from Lorenz Lasco)

Modern blades by Jun Deuna (Espanola) and RE Pandayan (Quezon) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Traditional blades (Marawi and Maguindanao) (Photo from Dennis Andrew Golez)

Modern full-tang build by Traditional Filipino Weapons (I know who forged this but I won't doxx their location) (Photo from the TFW website)

Modern full-tang build by Batangas Armory (Batangas) (Photo from Job Abat)

Pair of panabas and a binuaya (leftmost) by Traditional Moro Blade, Maguindanaon (Maguindanao)

Say it with me this time! Blade culture is alive and still developing. Mindanao was never conquered by Spain- the fierce resistance of the Moros made sure of that- and again it shows in the blade cultures. Though the panabas is now popular enough to have modern reinterpretations made by smiths across the Philippines, the traditional panabas and the people who make them are still around.

(Photo from Iniingatang Talim at Kaluban, taken by Ramon H. Bathan)

One of the Five Major Mahamandalas of Gubat Banwa pays homage to and gleans inspiration from living cultures like those I mentioned here. Yes- I repeated the text from the previous installment, because it's equally true, here. Additionally, the panabas shows up as the iconic weapon of the Martyr- one of the 25 Disciplines (read: "character classes") whose moon-bright martial techniques you could pick up in-game. Anyway, go check out the Kickstarter!

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 4 days! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

Not long now- this is a very small team of creators from the global south knocking on your doors asking for help to get the word out. I truly cannot understate how small this team is, and how amazing it is that they've come this far- we just need a little bit of a boost! With your help, this grand ambition can be realized. We would greatly appreciate any help rendered towards getting more eyes on this game!

And we're live!

Seven Blades Until Glory

Gubat Banwa launches on Kickstarter TODAY! Just a few more hours before the highly-anticipated launch of this award-winning, SEA fantasy-based, tactical martial arts TTRPG. Godsfuck, that's a lotta adjectives.

I've been posting the weapons I've drawn for the game to count down the final week before the launch. These were supposed to be for Swordtember but we had to move it back a little bit.

Below are links to all the individual threads, providing details on each of these individual blades, including which cultures they belong to and how they might have been (and still are) used.

Tumblr

The First Blade: Balaraw - Winged Dagger

I realize I haven't been explicit about it on here yet (mostly because I'm not the best at keeping all my social media profiles up to date),

Tumblr

The Second Blade: Diplata - Extinct Bolo

Continuing the countdown to the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter coming up on the 10th of October- 6 days to go! Gubat Banwa is a tact

Tumblr

The Third Blade: Hinalung - Handheld Speartip

Five days left to go before the launch of the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter campaign! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG that allows you to play as warrior K

Tumblr

The Fourth Blade: Panabas - "For Chopping"

Four days to the launch of the white-hot lightning that is the Gubat Banwa Kickstarter! Gubat Banwa is a TTRPG supported by the twin pillar

Tumblr

The Fifth Blade: Kampilan - Warrior Made

Down to the last three days before Gubat Banwa launches on Kickstarter! Moon-eating titans, sword-souls and bullet devils, giant flying cro

Tumblr

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in 2 days! Check it out here:

Forging onwards! It certainly doesn't help when blades are found far from home and are labelled with confusing specific terms or useless ge

Tumblr

The Seventh Blade: Kalis - Bleeding Edge

And so- in the end- the wheel must turn, and a new day must usurp the old. Perhaps then, these long-fallen flowers will feed the soil, and

The Gubat Banwa Kickstarter launches in a few hours! Check it out here:

Kickstarter

Coming soon: Gubat Banwa - SEAsian Martial Arts Tactics Fantasy RPG

A Drama and Martial Arts Tactics RPG set in the Sword Isles: a Fantasy setting inspired by the refulgent history of Southeast Asia.

Off-hand tangent that I feel is related enough to mention: If you're doing professional work, you deserve professional pay, even if you personally don't count yourself as A Professionalᵀᴹ

"I don't really count you know since I'm not formally trai-" Shut up and price your art what it's worth.

"But it's not fair to those people who actually do this as a source of livelihood-" What's not fair is you setting a precedent for clients lowballing artists, by letting the same clients lowball you. Demand fair compensation.

"I mean it's not like I'm an expert or that I actually know what I'm doing or anything-" If they are HIRING YOU to do something, they clearly recognize your expertise relative to them. You know enough, fucking own it.

"I can just do this for free, I only do this as a hobby anyw-" A hobby? Fine- a hobby is still pieces of yourself expended; how little do you value your own time and love and labor? Are you nothing?? Do you cost nothing to trample underfoot like a ragged threadbare rag of wet lies and filthy insecurities??? Take the pay, goddammit.

There's got to be some merit in formal and professional training in the pursuit of the arts, but formal and professional training is no less "real" than the beauty of a random child of any age picking up a pen or a brush or a stylus for the first time and finding so much joy and wonder and catharsis to explore in what they allow themselves to create that they just- keep doing it, and eventually blunder ass-backwards into competence that they can't seem to fucking accept just because they don't have a degree for it. Enough of that, now. Do not ever lose sight of the fact that art should be accessible to everyone, in consumption and creation both.

art tips

don't call what you create "content". regardless of what it is. that's the devil talking. call it art, call it writing, call it music, call it analysis, call it editing, literally just call it what it is

I was going to put other things but oh my god please just don't call yourself a "content creator". you are a person you are making art / writing / music / etc you are an artist an author a musician

you are not an Image Generator For Clicks And Views. please. allow yourself to connect with your work by naming it properly and acknowledging yourself in kind