A bolo (, , , , , , , , , ) is a general term for traditional pre-colonial small- to medium-sized single-edged

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

s or large knives of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

that function both as tools and weapons. Bolos are characterized by a wide curved blade that narrows down to the hilt, and that comes with a pointed or a blunt tip. Bolos are used as tools in the Philippines and are sometimes compared to machetes.

Description

Bolos are differentiated from other Filipino swords and bladed implements by their dual use as both tools and weapons. They are characterized by a curved (usually convex) wide blade that narrows towards the hilt, with pointed or blunt tips. There are various types of bolos differing by

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

and purpose, ranging from large knives to short swords to specialized agricultural equipment. They had a wide range of use, from hunting to scything grass, opening coconuts, harvesting crops, or clearing dense brush. Most bolos are cheap and unornamented, with the handle usually made from plain carabao horn or wood. Bolos with finely carved handles with precious materials were used as

status symbol A status symbol is a visible, external symbol of one's social position, an indicator of Wealth, economic or social status. Many luxury goods are often considered status symbols. ''Status symbol'' is also a Sociology, sociological term – as part ...

s of high social rank.

Common uses

The bolo is common in the countryside due to its use as a farming implement. As such, it was used extensively during Spanish colonial rule as a manual alternative to ploughing with a carabao. Normally used for cutting coconuts, it was also a common tool for harvesting narrow row crops found on terraces such as

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

, mungbean,

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

, and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

Use in warfare

During the American period in the Philippines, Filipino fighters armed with bolos were known as "bolomen". They were used as auxiliary troops by the Americans during the various battles with Moros, and others. They were often placed in front of riflemen, as beliefs in '' anting-anting''. The bolo men were effective in close combat with riflemen using

bayonets A bayonet (from Old French , now spelt ) is a knife, dagger, sword, or Spike bayonet, spike-shaped melee weapon designed to be mounted on the end of the gun barrel, barrel of a rifle, carbine, musket or similar long gun, long firearm, allowing t ...

but were easily defeated if riflemen opened fire on them. The bolo was adopted by the US Military as the bolo knife. Produced from 1897 to 1918, they remained in service both as a tool for clearing brush and for combat until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The bolo is also used in Filipino martial arts or Arnis as part of training.

Design

A bolo is characterized by having a native

hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...

or animal horn handle (such as from the carabao), a full tang, and a

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

blade that both curves and widens, often considerably so, towards its tip. This moves the centre of gravity as far forward as possible, giving the bolo extra momentum for chopping. So-called "jungle bolos", intended for

combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

rather than agricultural work, tend to be longer and less wide at the tip. Bolos for gardening usually have rounded tips.

Types

The term "bolo" has also expanded to include other traditional blades that primarily or secondarily function as agricultural implements. They include: * Barong - a leaf-shaped sword or knife favored by the Tausug people. * Batangas - a single-edged bolo of the

Tagalog people The Tagalog people are an Austronesian Ethnic groups in the Philippines, ethnic group native to the Philippines, particularly the Metro Manila and Calabarzon regions and Marinduque province of southern Luzon, and comprise the majority in the p ...

that widens at the tip. * Garab - a sickle used for harvesting

. * Guna or Bolo-guna - A weeding knife with a very short, wide, dull blade and a perpendicular blunt end. It is used mainly for digging roots and weeding gardens. * Iták - a narrow sword used for combat and self-defense in the Tagalog regions. Like the ''súndang'', it is also known as the "jungle bolo" or "tip bolo", and was a popular weapon during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine Insurrection. * Haras - a

scythe A scythe (, rhyming with ''writhe'') is an agriculture, agricultural hand-tool for mowing grass or Harvest, harvesting Crop, crops. It was historically used to cut down or reaping, reap edible grain, grains before they underwent the process of ...

used for cutting tall grass. It is called "''Lampas''" by people from Mindanao. * Pinutî - a narrow sword traditionally carried as a personal weapon for combat or self-defense. * Pirah or Pira - a wide-tipped sword or knife favored by the Yakan people, it is also common in the Sulu Archipelago,

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

, and the Visayas. * Punyál or Gunong - a dagger derivative of the '' kalis''. Used as a side-weapon in combat, or to kill and bleed pigs during slaughter. Also known under the more generic term ''kutsilyo'' (Spanish ''cuchillo'', "knife"). *Súndang - the most common personal weapon used for combat and self-defense in the Visayas. Also known as the "jungle bolo" or "tip bolo". It was a popular weapon of choice in the Philippine Revolution against the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

and during the subsequent Philippine Insurrection. **Binangon - A form of súndang used in Western Visayas and Negros Island.

Historical significance

The bolo was the primary weapon used by the Katipunan during the Philippine Revolution. It was also used by some Filipino guerrillas and bolomen during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, United States Army soldier Henry Johnson gained international fame repelling a German raid in hand-to-hand combat using a bolo. During

, members of the 1st Filipino Regiment and the 81st Division used bolos for close quarters combat, earning them the distinctive title "Moro Bolo Battalion". On 7 December 1972, would-be assassin Carlito Dimahilig used a bolo to attack former First Lady Imelda Marcos as she appeared onstage at a live televised awards ceremony. Dimahilig stabbed Marcos in the abdomen several times, and she parried the blows with her arms. He was shot dead by security forces while she was taken to a hospital.

Symbolism

The bolo serves as a symbol for the Katipunan and the Philippine Revolution, particularly the Cry of Pugad Lawin. Several monuments of Andres Bonifacio, as with other notable Katipuneros, depict him holding a bolo in one hand and the Katipunan flag in the other.

Other uses of the term

In the United States Military, the

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

term "to bolo" – to fail a test, exam or evaluation, originated from the combined Philippine-American military forces including recognized guerrillas during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and the Philippine Insurrection; those local soldiers and guerrillas who failed to demonstrate proficiency in marksmanship were issued bolos instead of firearms so as not to waste scarce ammunition. The lowest level of qualification for the Army Marksmanship Qualification Badge ( Marksmanship badges (United States)), ‘marksman’, is unofficially known as a ‘bolo’ badge. In hand-to-hand

combat sport A combat sport, or fighting sport, is a contact sport that usually involves one-on-one combat. In many combat sports, a contestant wins by scoring more points than the opponent, submitting the opponent with a hold, disabling the opponent (''knock ...

s, especially

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

, the term "

bolo punch A bolo punch is a punch used in martial arts. The bolo punch is not among the traditional boxing punches (jab, uppercut, Hook (boxing), hook and Cross (boxing), cross). ''Bolo knife, Bolo'' is a Filipino single-edged knife similar to the machete ...

" is used to describe an uppercut thrown in a manner mimicking the arcing motion of a bolo while in use.

Gallery

File:Pambansang Bantayog ni Andres Bonifacio (Bonifacio National Monument).jpg, The

Bonifacio Monument The Andrés Bonifacio Monument, commonly known simply as Bonifacio Monument or Monumento, is a memorial monument in Caloocan, Philippines, which was designed by National Artist Guillermo Tolentino to commemorate the Philippine revolutionary ...

in Caloocan depicting the Katipunan and the Philippine Revolution File:2011-11-1 Bolo Knife (5375014869).jpg, Bolo given to Captain Lewis A. Kimberly, Commander of USS ''Beneica'' by the Governor of Cebu File:Luzon igorot pinahig.JPG, A ''pinahig'' utility bolo of the Ifugao people File:Two Man Bolo Knife.jpg, A modern bolo File:Traditional 'bolo' (cutting knife) making (9275225915).jpg, Traditional blacksmiths forging a bolo File:Basih weapons.jpg, War bolos from Basilan, including gunong (center) and pirah (right) File:Tagalog sungot hipon.jpg, A sinungot hipon from Rizal (province), a common traditional bolo or ''itak'' of the

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 Edged and bladed weapons Knives Military knives Single-edged swords Filipino swords Philippine martial arts Weapons of the Philippines Weapons of the Philippine Army Philippine Revolution Philippine–American War World War II infantry weapons