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 harvesting tool for narrow row crops found on terraces such as rice, mungbeans, soybeans, and peanuts. Because of its availability, the bolo became a common choice of improvised weaponry to the everyday peasant.
Design
Bolos are characterized by having a native hardwood or animal horn handle, a full tang, and by a steel blade that both curves and widens, often considerably so, at 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 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 from the Tagalog people that widens at the tip.
Guna or Bolo-guna - A weeding knife with a very short and wide dull blade with a perpendicular blunt end. It is used mainly for digging roots and weeding gardens
Kampilan or Talibong - a tapering long sword found throughout the Philippines
Iták - a narrow sword used for 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-American War.
Haras - a scythe used for cutting tall grass. It is called "Lampas" by people from Mindanao.
Pinuti - 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, but is also found throughout the Sulu Archipelago, Mindanao, and the Visayas.
Punyal 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 general term kutsilyo.
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 and during the subsequent Philippine–American War.
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 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 and the Philippine–American War; 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. In hand-to-hand combat sports, especially boxing, the term "bolo punch" is used to describe an uppercut thrown in a manner mimicking the arcing motion of a bolo while in use.
