Collection

Generally speaking, the Tao had two main kinds of knife: one was the “pazazoway” which did not have a hilt and had a blade about 40 cm long, another was the “takres” with a blade about 33 m long. When attending important ceremonies, Tao men would wear the short sword. On its hilt would often be carved traditional geometric patterns and human figures. It was hung on a thin rattan string and was very exquisite. When attending a funeral, night fishing or visiting other villages, men would carry a long spear “cinalolo” or a shot knife, “takres”, to protect them from the evil spirit “anito”. This kind of short knife was not used for fighting but used to ward off evil spirits. All spirits were seen by the Tao as evil sprits, showing at the Tao were very scared of being possessed by evil sprits.