African Sword for ID and comment

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

As I mentioned in post #3, paragraph 3, these hilts seem represented in some quite vast regional instances. I think the collectively used 'Hausa' classification may be misconstrued just as we have discussed on occasion regarding that classification as used in Briggs with the example of kaskara he has grouped in the takouba article. The Hausa, as Iain has shown on numerous occasions, were a keenly mercantile tribe and while they may have carried many of these weapons in thier wares it does not mean they necessarily used them as traditional arms.

Also as explained earlier (in #3) these swords are from Dongola (which astutely observed by Lew, is indeed in the White Nile regions, in fact on the banks) and are shown in collections and references as such, with the crocodile motif. This motif undoubtedly travelled the trans Saharan routes into Mali, where the familiar flared scabbard tip is seen on Manding sabres scabbards as well, so are another example of this westward diffusion.

Hi Jim,

If you have time I'd love to know the source for the Dongola attribution. Not that I doubt you - just curious.

I still think its a lizard - like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_monitor. But of course its a bit subjective when you have a simple reptilian shape.

As for the hilt - I see no particular reason to attach any Hausa influence to it beyond a passing resemblance to the half arch shape of Hausa arm dagger pommels. The spike and the construction I think sets these fairly far apart.

Iain