Filipino Aeta bow & arrows

[tombo]

These were inherited from an old family friend who spent time in the Philippines in the'30s.
They are early 20th century made by Aeta Negrito Indians. The bow is palm wood, arrows are bamboo hafted with sinew and plant fiber.
The iron points are very ornate and detailed. These are not "tourist" artifacts but were actual working weapons.
Tom

[Del the cat]

Wow, excellent does that bow have reflex or is that a bit of set? How long is it, is it shootable? Any idea of draw weight?
Del

[tombo]

Del, the bow is 69" and has some set. The wood seems in good shape, very dense and it would probably be OK to shoot. From the little I've flexed it, it is pretty stout, maybe 50# or more.?? Crazy for a bow that's <1" wide and 1/2" thick. The belly is slightly concave.
I'm afraid to string it, sure don't want to break it. I put a little Danish oil on it. I'm going to try and order some palm wood and maybe replicate this bow.
Tom

[ohma]

man those are some beautifull arrows, what a great piece of archery history.congrats.

[HatchA]

Looks like those arrows were designed to cause the utmost "discomfort" in what/whoever they were shot at...

Any chance of a pic of the nock end of the arrows please?

[Parnell]

That's really cool.  I lived in the Phillippines as a kid in the 70's so especially interesting for me.  Apparently there are some people growing those black palms this far south in Florida.  I'd love to get my hands on some of the coconuts and start some of them.  That'd be interesting.  Very intersting pics, thanks for posting'em.

[tombo]

HatchA-
Nocks are unremarkable.....Tom

[Kitsu]

wow, that is amazing, beautiful craftsmanship on the arrows... looks like majority of those points were meant to cause pain, not just for the kill, not only would it suck to be shot with it,  would probably suck more to take it out.

great bow, amazing arrows, pretty much sums it up

[Aries]

Looks like those arrows were designed to cause the utmost "discomfort" in what/whoever they were shot at...

Any chance of a pic of the nock end of the arrows please?

Thats what i was thinking, Those are MEAN arrows!!!

[Postman]

Thanks for sharing this fascinating equipment. Those points are sublimely insane!  Good luck getting palm and doing a bow in that style.

[LEGIONNAIRE]

very cool! some beutiful equipment.

[Del the cat]

Del, the bow is 69" and has some set. The wood seems in good shape, very dense and it would probably be OK to shoot. From the little I've flexed it, it is pretty stout, maybe 50# or more.?? Crazy for a bow that's <1" wide and 1/2" thick. The belly is slightly concave.
I'm afraid to string it, sure don't want to break it. I put a little Danish oil on it. I'm going to try and order some palm wood and maybe replicate this bow.
Tom

Cheers, yes, I can see why you wouldn't want to risk breaking it.
Maybe if you wanted to investigate it further, you could string it and plot a force/draw curve upto say 10" of draw and interpolate the rest of the curve from there.
However, you are probably like the rest of us with too many projects and too little time! Thanks for posting, it's great to see genuine old bows.
Del

[tombo]

Thanks for all the comments, glad you enjoyed the photos (as bad as they are!).
I will post my results on any experiment I try with the palm wood.    Tom.

[okiecountryboy]

Unreal!
That is some serious weapondry. As everyone else, I think those points are brutal!
They definitely were made to not come out. If only wounded by one, pulling it out would probably cause a fatal injury.
Can we get more pics of the bow?!?
Thanks for sharing
Ron

[Deo]

Awesome set of bows and arrows, I bet that those arrows are quiet heavy. do you know if those arrows are for hunting or war, I would guess war since a lot of the tribes in that area I believe were head hunters.