Help in identifying for this spear

[Belgian1]

Originally Posted by Ian

Good find Fabrice and the spear looks to be in good condition. How old do you think it may be?
Ian.

Hello Ian, hello to all members,
To see the patina and forging work of the iron tip, I will most probably say the last third of the 19th.
Can we imagine that this type of harpoon disappeared with the arrival of guns and the French invasion since 1870 .... ??? Then this ''nice'' harpoon would probably date from the 1870s / 1890s.
Which would explain that they are very little known or almost unknown and little documented.
We can also imagine that the small size of these harpoon could have come from a Pygmy "Mbuti" origin, but for the moment I can not say anything other than hypotheses.
And according to my first research of which I quoted the sources, its origin is attributed to the Mbete people of the region (districts of Cuvette-West region in the Republic of the Congo)
Have a nice day, or evening...
Fabrice

[Belgian1]

I'm coming back to you because I'm busy reading about the harpoons used for hippo hunting among West African Bozo (Niger, Mali) who say the harpoons have been heavily poisoned with the mix ' tantye. "strophantus sarmentosus" crushed with baga fruit, mixed and dried in the sun and cooked to obtain a thick paste that will cover the tip of the harpoon.

It is also written that "among the Bozo at least", only a few hunters were initiated to hunt hippos.
These hunters knew all the habits and the least reactions of the animal before and during the hunt. Even his habits in groups and his behavior after feeding himself to consider the deadly attack ...

(Journal of the Society of Africanists, 1957, Volume 27, Number 1.)
This "ritual" of hunting bozo hippo is of great interest.
https://www.persee.fr/doc/jafr_0037-...1_T1_0043_0000