# Gunong

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{{Short description|Short knife from the Philippines}}
thumb|350px|An antique gunong from Mindanao.
The '''gunong''' is a knife from [Mindanao](/source/Mindanao) and the [Visayas](/source/Visayas) islands of the [Philippines](/source/Philippines). In ancient past, it was called '''bunong''' by the Tagalog people. It is essentially a diminutive form of the larger [kalis](/source/kalis) or [kris](/source/kris). The gunong serves both as a utility knife and as a thrusting weapon used for close quarter fighting—usually as a last defense. It is most often associated with the [Maranao](/source/Maranao), among whom the gunong was traditionally carried by both sexes, although it exists in other cultures throughout Mindanao and the [Visayas](/source/Visayas). The weapon is generally tucked into the back of a waist sash.

The gunong is one of many bladed weapons portrayed in the "[Weapons of Moroland](/source/Weapons_of_Moroland)" plaque that has become a common souvenir item and pop culture icon in the Philippines.  It is also known as '''gulok''' among the [Maranao](/source/Maranao_people) and [Maguindanao people](/source/Maguindanao_people);<ref name="Pendatun">{{cite news |last1=Pendatun |first1=Datu Shariff, III |title=Notes on Maguindanao |url=https://www.gridmagazine.ph/story/maguindanao |access-date=18 November 2023 |work=Grid |volume=3}}</ref> '''punyal''' (also known as ''puñal de kris'' or ''kris knife'') among [Visayans](/source/Visayans) and the [Yakan people](/source/Yakan_people); and '''badao''' among the [Lumad](/source/Lumad) people (which also applies to the [balarao](/source/balarao) daggers).

== History ==
[[File:Lumad (Mandaya and T'boli) badao daggers.jpg|thumb|[T'boli](/source/T'boli_people) and [Mandaya](/source/Mandaya_people) ''badao'' daggers with sheaths in the [National Museum of Anthropology](/source/National_Museum_of_Anthropology_(Manila))]]
[[File:Iranun pirate.png|thumb|An [Iranun](/source/Iranun_people) [pirate](/source/Piracy_in_the_Sulu_Sea) from [Sabah](/source/Sabah) (formerly part of the [Sultanate of Sulu](/source/Sultanate_of_Sulu)), with a [kampilan](/source/kampilan), a gunong dagger tucked in his sash, and a [budjak](/source/sibat) (spear)]]
The gunong is a dagger variant of the [kalis](/source/kalis), a Philippine sword derived from the [Indonesia](/source/Indonesia)n [kris](/source/kris) dagger. The gunong is most commonly found in the ethnic groups of Mindanao. The tribes carried blades as part of their regular attire, both as a precaution for self-defense and for accomplishing daily tasks.

While the gunong dates back centuries before colonial times, it became more prevalent in 1915 when [General John J. Pershing](/source/General_John_J._Pershing) issued an order outlawing the wearing of swords. Now unable to carry traditional machetes or broadswords, people turned to the gunong to fill the gap without arousing the fears of the American colonial authorities. Around this time, the gunong became larger and was crafted with a pistol-grip handle rather than the old straight hilts. More extravagant fittings with chased bands on scabbards, belt clips, guards, and bulbous ferrules also became common. After World War II, thinner-bladed gunong were made from newer materials like nickel and aluminium.

The name punyal may be traced to ''puñal'', the Spanish word for "dagger".<ref>{{cite web | title =Translate Puñal to English | url=http://www.spanishdict.com/translate?word=pu%C3%B1al | access-date = 2008-12-26}}</ref>

== Anatomy ==
As with its larger relative, the [kris](/source/kris) or [kalis](/source/kalis), gunong can be either straight or wavy-bladed. The blade may be single or double-edged<ref>{{cite web | title =Punyal | url =http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Punyal.html | access-date =2008-12-26 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20081216144804/http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Punyal.html | archive-date =2008-12-16 | url-status =dead }}</ref> and broadens towards the hilt to protect the bearer's fingers. The sheath and the handle can be made from either wood or metal. The style of the hilt can be used to differentiate modern pieces from those made before the American occupation.

==See also==
*[Balarao](/source/Balarao)
*[Kalis](/source/Kalis)
*[Guna](/source/Guna_(knife))

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
*{{cite web
  | last = Greaves
  | first = Ian
  | author-link = Ian A. Greaves |author2=Jose Albovias Jr. |author3=Federico Malibago
  | title = Sandata: The Edged Weapons of the Philippines
  | work = History of Steel in East Asia
  | publisher = Macau Museum of Art
  | url = http://www.arscives.com/historysteel/philippines.introduction.htm
  | access-date = 2008-07-30 }}
*{{cite web
  | title = Gunong
  | work = Sandata: Traditional Filipino Weapons
  | publisher = Traditional Filipino Weapons, LLC
  | url = http://www.traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Gunong.html
  | access-date = 2008-07-30
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080924025314/http://traditionalfilipinoweapons.com/Gunong.html
  | archive-date = 2008-09-24
  | url-status = dead
  }}

{{Filipino weapons}}
{{Knives}}

Category:Edged and bladed weapons
Category:Knives
Category:Philippine martial arts
Category:Weapons of the Philippines

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gunong](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunong) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunong?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.