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"MOONS" on Kaskara blades
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I have a Kaskara in my collection with a blade that looks of above average quality. I believe it's European. I am looking at the four "moons" stamped on both sides of the blade and it seems to me that they are of much finer quality that those found on the run of the mill Sudanese locally made blades with "imitation" moons. The stamps are sharp, well designed and detailed. Any comments?
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Hi Roanoa,
The moon markings (known as 'dukari' as I understand) do seem much crisper than many of the rough images typically seen, primarily of course on the takoubas of the Sahara. It appears that the opposing moons are counter positioned however, that is upside down from each other. My four moons I presume there are two on each side of the blade. While the man in the moon figure does appear on many talismanic European blades, I am not aware of the figure ever appearing as a stamp, especially in the opposed position, on European blades. The native stamping is presumed to have been adopted as a pronouncement of quality on the native blades. While kaskaras do occasionally carry the moons, it is more common to the Tuareq blades on takoubas. I believe that in illustrations in Briggs, it is suggested that those carrying moon markings may have come from the Hausa. All the best, Jim |
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there is a town (?) in eastern Nigeria called Dukari
I have one with realistic moons rather than the abstracted ones most often found on takoubas. Whoever stamped them had a separate stamp for left and right - the first one in the thread is the same repeated. I have heard it said that no European maker used opposed moons - however we have all seen eyelash/eyebrow or other semicircular/elliptical marks upon blades from Europe and India, have we not? If a blade were worn and sharpened over time the faces of the moons would disappear leaving...the semi-elliptical backs. http://www.traveljournals.net/explor...45/dukari.html |
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What a complete coincidence and perfect timing!!! I was just writing on this very topic on Fernando's takouba thread. Excellent observations you have made, and thank you for the information on the Nigerian city Dukari, which I have added to my notes. Actually in further research I did discover that the parallel moons did indeed appear on some European blades, I believe German, and I think the reference was in Wallace collection catalog. You are absolutely right, the parallel marking system was a European practice, particularly with the 'sickle' markings typically attributed to Genoan origins, then into Styrian and Caucasian centers, later adopted in Indian regions. There remains a great deal of debate on the origins of these markings, which remain a conundrum of course, as they occur primarily on trade blades. In "European Blades in Tuareg Blades and Daggers" (Dr.Lloyd Cabot Briggs, Vol.V #2, 1965, p.58) the author notes that these moons stamped apparantly with specific dies are known in Eastern Sudan, associated with Hausa swords. All very best regards, Jim P.S.Thank you very much for responding to my earlier post here!!! |
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