Mandara (???) dagger

[Araña_del_Sol]

Hi,

I recently acquired this dagger that is giving me Northern Nigeria/Cameroon Mandara mountains vibes but I'm not entirely certain. If anyone can provide a more definitive ID that would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any insights.

- ADS

[milandro]

it looks like you have an Hausa dagger, it may be an early 20th century piece or later, very difficult to date such things.


they come from a number of countries where the Hausa culture has spread

see a similar piece

http://www.vikingsword.com/lew/w0048/w0048.html

[Araña_del_Sol]

Originally Posted by milandro

it looks like you have an Hausa dagger, it may be an early 20th century piece or later, very difficult to date such things.


they come from a number of countries where the Hausa culture has spread

see a similar piece

http://www.vikingsword.com/lew/w0048/w0048.html

Hi, thanks for your reply and resource, the Hausa are a good suggestion, it would not surprise me if this dagger is of Hausa origin. Yet, the dagger has a number of differences with typical Hausa daggers most notably in the scabbard and in the design of the hilt which gives me pause.

- ADS

[Sajen]

Hello ADS,

You are correct IMHO, it's a Mandara dagger, see the attached picture taken from this link: https://african-weapons.com/gallery?...-cameroon-32cm

It's for sure not Hausa, sorry Milandro.

Regards,
Detlef

[Ian]

Detlef and AdS,


Two very similar knives. Double-edged blade, central rib, and the presence of a waist. Same style of hilt. Looks like a strong ID. Thanks Detlef.

[Martin Lubojacky]

Hi,

I bought cca in 2009 in a small town Rhumsiki in the Mandara mountains in northern Cameroon very simmilar knife (not only central rib, but also the lower part of the sheath). http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=Mandara+knife

[Sajen]

Originally Posted by Ian

Detlef and AdS,


Two very similar knives. Double-edged blade, central rib, and the presence of a waist. Same style of hilt. Looks like a strong ID. Thanks Detlef.

Hi Ian,
Thank you but the thank has to go to our member Wodimi, he is the owner of a great research site: https://african-weapons.com/gallery?...word-and-knife
I only have seen that the Hausa attribution was not correct and have searched a little bit on his site and found that the Mandara attribution seems to be correct.

Regards,
Detlef