Collection of East African weapons

E Farrell · 23rd July 2016, 01:13 AM

My grandfather worked throughout East Africa in the late 1950s through the 1980s; he passed recently, and left a number of weapons to me. This forum has been an extremely good resource for me in identifying weapons, so I thought I would actually just post a collection for once instead of begging for information!

First are a couple axes from the region around Lake Tanganyika. The larger of the two was purchased in northern Zambia circa 1969, directly from the smith who made it. Probably re-worked scrap rather than local smelting, but not sure.

The smaller of the two was purchased in 1960-61 in southern Tanzania from a man who was using it at the time.

Next is a Maasai Simi/Seme with scabbard. Slightly rusty. I'm not certain of the purchase date, but late 1960s or early 1970s is likely. Both the scabbard and hilt wrapping look to be dyed stitched rawhide, or some close relative thereof. Not certain if the blade is an import, or if it is local manufacture. On balance an import is more likely, I think. There is a texturing to the blade - it has been deeply scratched fairly uniformly over the entire blade. I believe this to have been done prior to puchase, but am not certain.

The spear is Maasai as well, purchased from a shop in Arusha, Tanzania in the late 1960s. The butt spike is loose, as it was kept in less than ideal conditions for some time. The butt spike has some nice incised decoration on it.

Final images are a billhook and shield from Rwanda. Other than the general 1950s-1980s range, I have no idea when these were purchased. The billhook was purchased at a market in Kigali, Rwanda; other than it having come from somewhere in Rwanda I don't know where he bought the shield. Other than location, I have very little info on these.

23rd July 2016, 01:13 AM	#1
E Farrell Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 22	Collection of East African weapons My grandfather worked throughout East Africa in the late 1950s through the 1980s; he passed recently, and left a number of weapons to me. This forum has been an extremely good resource for me in identifying weapons, so I thought I would actually just post a collection for once instead of begging for information! First are a couple axes from the region around Lake Tanganyika. The larger of the two was purchased in northern Zambia circa 1969, directly from the smith who made it. Probably re-worked scrap rather than local smelting, but not sure. The smaller of the two was purchased in 1960-61 in southern Tanzania from a man who was using it at the time. Next is a Maasai Simi/Seme with scabbard. Slightly rusty. I'm not certain of the purchase date, but late 1960s or early 1970s is likely. Both the scabbard and hilt wrapping look to be dyed stitched rawhide, or some close relative thereof. Not certain if the blade is an import, or if it is local manufacture. On balance an import is more likely, I think. There is a texturing to the blade - it has been deeply scratched fairly uniformly over the entire blade. I believe this to have been done prior to puchase, but am not certain. The spear is Maasai as well, purchased from a shop in Arusha, Tanzania in the late 1960s. The butt spike is loose, as it was kept in less than ideal conditions for some time. The butt spike has some nice incised decoration on it. Final images are a billhook and shield from Rwanda. Other than the general 1950s-1980s range, I have no idea when these were purchased. The billhook was purchased at a market in Kigali, Rwanda; other than it having come from somewhere in Rwanda I don't know where he bought the shield. Other than location, I have very little info on these. Attached Images