''Pirah'' or ''pira'' is a type of
Philippine
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 ...
bolo sword or knife characterized by a heavy blade and a wide tip. It superficially resembles a
falchion
A falchion (; Old French: ''fauchon''; Latin: ''falx'', "sickle") is a one-handed, backsword, single-edged sword of European origin. Falchions are found in different forms from around the 13th century up to and including the 16th century. In so ...
but is much heavier. It is the traditional weapon favored by the
Yakan people
The Yakan people are among the major Filipino ethnolinguistic groups in the Sulu Archipelago. Having a significant number of followers of Islam, it is considered one of the 13 Muslim groups in the Philippines. The Yakans mainly reside in Basila ...
of
Basilan Island
Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...
. It usually features a ''kakatua'' ("
cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 species of parrots belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea ( true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up t ...
") hilt, which among the Yakan is distinctively elongated to function as arm support. Among
Cebuano people
The Cebuano people () are the largest subgroup of the larger ethnolinguistic group Visayans, who constitute the largest Filipino ethnolinguistic group in the country. They originated in the province of Cebu in the region of Central Visayas, ...
and other
Visayans
Visayans ( Cebuano: ''mga Bisayà'' ) are a Philippine ethnolinguistic family group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, to the southernmost islands south of Luzon, and to a significant portion of Mindanao. They are composed of numerous d ...
, a similar sword is also known as the ''pira'' (the ''
talibong''), but differs in that it has an acutely pointed tip. Like other bolos, ''pirah'' were commonly used as farm implements, in addition to being used in combat.
Gallery
See also
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Filipino martial arts
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Bolo
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Kampilan
The kampilan (Baybayin: ) is a type of single-edged sword, traditionally used by various Ethnic groups in the Philippines, ethnic groups in the Philippine archipelago. It has a distinct profile, with the tapered Sword#Blade, blade being much broa ...
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Kalis
A kalis (Baybayin: or ; Jawi script: كاليس ;Filipino orthography, Abecedario: ''cáli'', ''cális'') is a type of Philippines, Philippine sword. The kalis has a double-edged blade, which is commonly straight from the tip but wavy near th ...
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Klewang
The klewang or kelewang is a category of traditional single-edged sword that can be found throughout the Malay Archipelago. Usually it is shorter than a ''pedang'' (sword) but longer than a '' golok'' (machete). There are straight bladed types ...
*
Panabas
References
Edged and bladed weapons
Filipino swords
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