Spear ID help request

[Araña_del_Sol]

Hi all,

I recently acquired the below two spears in a lot of African spears, these two are the only ones I am not confident in assigning an ethnic or regional attribution.

Spear 1 measures 140.5 cm (~55.3 in.) and vaguely resembles the Makere spears depicted in Hendrick Wiethase's book "Bows, Arrows, and Spears of Africa" but also looks different enough that I would not be surprised if it hailed from a completely different ethnic group/region.

Spear 2 measures 107.2 cm (~42.25 in.), this one has a Congo aesthetic but the twist in the socket is unfamiliar to me and looks more like a feature I've seen in spears attributed to the Maasai and other eastern African people groups.

Thanks for any help in IDing these spears!

[kai]

I hope the Africa specialist will weight in...

Regards,
Kai

[Araña_del_Sol]

Originally Posted by kai

I hope the Africa specialist will weight in...

Regards,
Kai

Thanks Kai, these two spears might as unfamiliar to others as they are to me

- ADS

[Peter B.]

The center rib as a direct extension of the socket on spear 1 is reminiscent of spears from Somalia/Ethiopia.
There are also images with spherical decoration, but these are further from the blade:

The First one from here:
https://african-weapons.com//gallery?3-x-ethiopia

The second one I found in several variations, this one from here:
https://www.ebid.net/ie/for-sale/ant...-177643437.htm

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Peter B.

The center rib as a direct extension of the socket on spear 1 is reminiscent of spears from Somalia/Ethiopia.
There are also images with spherical decoration, but these are further from the blade:

https://www.gettyimages.de/detail/il...ion/1456235786

https://african-weapons.com//gallery?3-x-ethiopia

I'm not sure if the pictures are allowed to be posted here because of the copyright, hence only the links

Peter, unless the web site expressly prohibits the publication of pictures elsewhere, I believe the "fair use principle" allows for the copying of pictures for academic discussion, provided the original source is quoted (providing the URL link to the original should be sufficient attribution). We like to have pictures on our server because links frequently get broken and important information is lost. So please do upload the pictures here.

[Peter B.]

Originally Posted by Ian

We like to have pictures on our server ...

Hello Ian,
I've included the images in the original post

Best regards
Peter

[Ian]

Thanks Peter. Great pics,

[Araña_del_Sol]

Originally Posted by Peter B.

The center rib as a direct extension of the socket on spear 1 is reminiscent of spears from Somalia/Ethiopia.
There are also images with spherical decoration, but these are further from the blade:

The First one from here:
https://african-weapons.com//gallery?3-x-ethiopia

The second one I found in several variations, this one from here:
https://www.ebid.net/ie/for-sale/ant...-177643437.htm

Thank you Peter, I had not considered a potential Somali/Ethiopian origin. The pictures are great

- ADS