Philippines

[Buy this title]

Swish of the Kris: The Story of the Moros by Vic Hurley 2009. 304 pp., 21.5 x 14 cm., softcover. ISBN-10: 974-524-115-6 $30.00 ISBN-13: 978-974-524-115-2 An early, first–hand account of the Moros, the fierce Islamic warriors of the islands of Mindanao, Sulu, Jolo and other territories in the southern Philippines. The Moros, long renowned as the ‘Malay Pirates’, waged a highly effective 377 year war against the Spanish, as well as a host of other would–be subjugators, including the British, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese and Dutch among others—all of whom suffered slaughter and ignominious defeat. The Moros accomplished this armed only with their legendary bravery and their kris—a weapon of both practical and magic dimensions. The American occupiers who replaced the Spanish at the end of the 19th century, equipped as they were with modern rifles, managed to wrestle the Moros to an uneasy truce; however, the same people are still an immense headache to the Filipinos and their American ‘advisors’ to the present day.    The author, who lived and worked some seven years among the Moros, provides the reader with a colorful and well researched account of the people, their history, laws, customs and culture. The present account, first published in 1936 in an edition now extremely rare, remains the most detailed portrait of this incredibly brave and resilient people. Forthcoming