6 africans Dahomey? ritual swords

Jim McDougall · 15th May 2020, 06:45 PM

These are most definitely examples of 'hwi' ceremonial swords from Dahomey (now Benin) and carried during various rituals and ceremonies in the tribal situations there, as observed by Burton in his visits there in 1863 ("Book of the Sword" 1885). We have discussed these extensively here over many years, and I typically retrieve these entries by using key words like 'Dahomey' or 'Palau Marti' in the SEARCH function found in the top banner.

Palau Marti, "Sabres Decores du Dahomey" (1967) was a key reference to these in "African Arms & Armor" Christopher Spring.

As usual, arms references seldom, if ever, address the metaphysical or spiritual representations seen in the elements of the weapons. These kinds of details are typically found by further research in references concerning the Vodun religions of West Africa. In these ancestor worship is often a key element and the 'python' was in many cases regarded as a tribal ancestor, for lack of more accurate description.

Much of the animism and totemic value is part of the themes seen in these artistically created blades.
The European style hilts and sound character of these to me suggests 19th c during French presence.

15th May 2020, 06:45 PM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	These are most definitely examples of 'hwi' ceremonial swords from Dahomey (now Benin) and carried during various rituals and ceremonies in the tribal situations there, as observed by Burton in his visits there in 1863 ("Book of the Sword" 1885). We have discussed these extensively here over many years, and I typically retrieve these entries by using key words like 'Dahomey' or 'Palau Marti' in the SEARCH function found in the top banner. Palau Marti, "Sabres Decores du Dahomey" (1967) was a key reference to these in "African Arms & Armor" Christopher Spring. As usual, arms references seldom, if ever, address the metaphysical or spiritual representations seen in the elements of the weapons. These kinds of details are typically found by further research in references concerning the Vodun religions of West Africa. In these ancestor worship is often a key element and the 'python' was in many cases regarded as a tribal ancestor, for lack of more accurate description. Much of the animism and totemic value is part of the themes seen in these artistically created blades. The European style hilts and sound character of these to me suggests 19th c during French presence.