[George Armstrong Custer]

Like Jeff I find some of the responses to the usage of these kaskaras interesting. I'd point out firstly, though, that my intention when posting the extracts was certainly not to offend anyone's sensibilities.

It seems to me that an important part of the collecting and ownership of historic weapons ought to be an absolute awareness of the purpose for which they were first produced. It is, perhaps, easy to become so engrossed in the artistic, decorative and manufacturing processes surrounding these weapons, as well as their ethnic and cultural attributes, that one overlooks - or perhaps chooses not to dwell upon - the fact that they were made to be used. And in the vast majority of cases, that use was the killing of other human beings. In my humble opinion it is only by fully appreciating what these weapons were intended to be used for that one can fully understand the nuances of their technical design - that is, they each incorporate specific design features which were intended to enhance their ability to kill by various means. I would go further, and say that it is only by appreciating that these were state-of-the-art killing tools that one can begin to accord them the respect that is perhaps their due - anything else is to trivialise them as mere ornamental objects. By this process also, collectors can begin to understand the reverence with which so many societies imbued these weapons - the creators of these weapons, of course, understood better than anyone their deadly function as an arbiter between life and death, and as a consequence often saw in them an almost mystical quality. The detail of how the weapons in our collections inflicted death does not, of course, make pleasant reading. But I do believe that we lose some of our integrity as collectors and interpreters of the past if we 'conveniently' overlook these unpalatable details - the end purpose of a weapon should be aired and discussed as openly as the decoration applied to it.

As to the methodology of killing elephants with the kaskara, when I first read Smith's account I was myself taken aback at the shocking and mortal blow which was inflicted upon the most iconic part of an elephant's anatomy. As I said in my introduction to the piece, the modus operandi of these hunders was truly astonishing. But as I've tried to explain above, I do not believe that we, as collectors, should shrink from such graphic knowledge as to how the weapons in our collections were deployed by their original owners.

Bluerf condemns the slaughter of the elephants by these nomadic tribesmen as being merely for the 'vanity of man'. With the greatest of respect, I would beg to differ, and point out that the trade of ivory underpinned the fragile trading economies of these peoples. And there is also the fact that the hunders took on their prey on a one to one basis; they could - and many did - perish in the encounter rather than the elephant. In my personal view it is absolutely pointless to try to impose our 21st-century mores and ethics when trying to understand the way of life of past societies. To try to do so will inevitably distort and obscure a true understanding of their concept of honor and their understanding of the cycle of life and death.

Jeff's obsevation on the fact that human gore on a blade can be discussed with apparent equanimity, whilst the bloody slaughter of an elephant can raise declarations of abhorrence is indeed an interesting one, and no doubt a psychologist could give a better explanation of this than I. But it is a curious apparent paradox which I've noticed before. The most extreme example of this phenomenon was probably Hitler, who directed the extermination of millions of human beings without a qualm, and yet was a vegetarian who vocally condemned any cruelty to animals........

Finally, I'd be interested to hear comment on Smith's reiteration of the idea that the kaskara were decended from the swords of European knights in the Crusades. I know that the feature on the kaskara on this site supports the 'revisionist' view that there is little or no connection. But I always feel that so many hundreds of thousands of European warriors went to the Holy Land on Crusade, and so many of these Crusades ended in disaster for them, that there must have been a vast body of European weaponry left in the region. The arid atmosphere was, of course, conducive to their long term survival thereafter. I therefore tend to the idea that it is more likely than not that the form of the kaskaras owed something to the swords of the Crusaders - and also that it is likely to be more than a hoary Victorian myth that a few original European Crusading blades were being carried as cherished heirlooms into the colonial wars of the 19th-century, and used against the decendants of their original owners. Any thoughts on this?

Ciao,
GAC