Hi Fernando,
Im glad I could add something to the great input already in on these. Its always amazing how much knowledge is out there and much of it very specialized. I was lucky to recollect seeing these nasty looking things in a Sudanese collection during intense research on kaskaras a while back.
The concepts presented concerning hunting weapons is well placed, and I believe I recall some very long 'arrows' with such features used in the Philippines, possibly Igorot, but I cannot claim that with any certainty. I leave that to those in that field of study.
The use of barbs on projectile weapons has been discussed before on harpoons, which were mentioned here also, and they were indeed a means of securing the prey. In study of American Indian arrows, it is noted that heads on hunting arrows were deliberately loosely mounted as described .
The comments on elaborate design or intimidating features on African weapons is certainly well placed also. In many instances there are weapons in many tribal regions intended to appear terrifying or threatening. Such 'psychological warfare' was often an important element of tribal warfare and traditional culture in the assertion of power and control.
Really nice pieces, and indeed might have belonged to a single warrior, so I can agree with wanting to keep them together.
I would be very surprised if these were not 19th c. and as noted, of the Mahdist period.
All the best,
Jim
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