Couple of new takouba for those that enjoy them...
 

Just a couple new additions. Both with nice pommels and one with unusual leather work on the grip.

Congrats Iain, I really like the crossguard on the first one!

Nice pick-ups Iain, congratulations :)

Both with nice old style pommels and I think both are fairly old as takoubas go. I'm guessing Hausa with some age for the top one? The bottom one is interesting, looks like Hausa work on the scabbard and the flat profile of the blade with no markings fits, but the leather wrapped hilt is a bit unusual isn't it?

An interesting pair of older swords... What do you think about the blades, in terms of being trade or native-made ? The second one seems to be of sheet iron ?

Regards.

Thanks for the comments guys.

In terms of assigning these to an ethnic group Hausa would be my first response. However stylistically that seems to extend quite a ways including Northern Cameroon where I am more familiar with the leather work seen on the second example.

Generally speaking the more I get into these rather than classification becoming easier its getting harder! Unfortunately there is a lot of overlap in the motifs used by different ethnic groups and the dominance of the Hausa across the region, later the Fulani, I think makes the styles somewhat homogenous. I might start going with the label "Hausaland" I think since its more of a geographical and cultural thing that way.

Colin - Both are native blades I think. The triple fullered blade is a bit on the soft side, certainly not like marked European blades of this style I've seen. The second one seems to fit into a category of takouba with wide flat blades that are, as far as I can tell native forged, this one looks the same with some of the usual pitting and surface that I have seen on others - could be wrong but doesn't seem like the sheet steel I've seen on newer takouba.