Islamic Axe for I D and Comment

[Jim McDougall]

Gentlemen, thank you for reiterating these points as mentioned previously in various points of the discussion, and reinforcing the classification of this axe as East African, with possible association to the slave trade commerce.

While the medallion clearly is likely to have been as noted, received in any number of circumstances in these trade routes, it seems likely to be applied as a symbol of wealth or status much as previously noted. The copper wire and brass studs are also adornments used to embellish accordingly and though the wire wrap is well known on the hilts of Arab, Persian and Indian sabres in degree it is unclear if its use through many instances tribally can be connected.

Can anyone think of other instances of decorative chain on these types of axes in Africa? As I mentioned, this is an affectation well known on many sa'if from the Hadhramaut regions and Yemen, which compellingly suggests that it would have been known with trade headed to Zanzibar. From there, again as previously noted, the Omani trade routes into the interior may haved carried the feature into tribal contact in these interactions.

While trade routes moved westerly into Tanzania and Ujiji, the Red Sea trade carried influences reciprocally from Arabia into Ethiopian regions as well. It is interesting to note that many Abyssinian shotel had Maria Theresa thalers hammered into their pommels. Perhaps the use of this medallion was used in the same sense as indication of wealth or power on this axe, and whether a coin or medallion would have been irrelevant, only its appearance.

I would say again here, the repeated reference to Zanzibar here is simply to establish context for the slave trade caravans, which seem likely pertinant to the appearance of certain elements of decoration on this otherwise distinctly African axe form. As far as I can determine there is no suggestion that the axe is Omani, nor from Zanzibar.

[Tim Simmons]

Much further west. Islamic influence city. From "Waffen aus Zentral-Afrika"

[kahnjar1]

Can anyone think of other instances of decorative chain on these types of axes in Africa? As I mentioned, this is an affectation well known on many sa'if from the Hadhramaut regions and Yemen, which compellingly suggests that it would have been known with trade headed to Zanzibar. From there, again as previously noted, the Omani trade routes into the interior may haved carried the feature into tribal contact in these interactions.

Hi Jim and thanks so much for your forward thinking comments.
There is another axe of similar shape on a certain auction site, (still live, so I can't post a pic). This axe also has a chain attaching ring on the pole, but no chain. Otherwise it is plain apart from what looks like a wrap of silver? on the haft. So it would appear that my axe is not alone in having (at least) an anchor for a chain.
Regards Stuart

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

Much further west. Islamic influence city. From "Waffen aus Zentral-Afrika"

Absolutely! The Kanem-Bornu Empire which was later subjugated by the Fulani Jihad was indeed Islamically influenced! Nicely done!

These points were key to the routes headed westward to Mali, and Timbuktu, long the center of Islamic scholarship, trade and culture in North Africa. In other discussions we have noted the similarity of the cylindric hilt sabres of the Manding in Mali to the Omani kattara.Though the direct connection remains unproven, it is another reflection of influences plausibly carried by the trade routes. Excellent example, thank you.

[Jim McDougall]

Crossed posts, thank you so much Stu!!!
Tim shows a great example here, good evidence that these decorative elements seem to have been applied to weapons carried by possibly persons of authority in these caravans. There also seems possibility that such weapons might have been produced for diplomatic purposes for interaction along the routes as perhaps presentation items to tribal chiefs in strategic locations.

Best regards,
Jim

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Crossed posts, thank you so much Stu!!!
Tim shows a great example here, good evidence that these decorative elements seem to have been applied to weapons carried by possibly persons of authority in these caravans. There also seems possibility that such weapons might have been produced for diplomatic purposes for interaction along the routes as perhaps presentation items to tribal chiefs in strategic locations.

Best regards,
Jim

Sorry Jim I used part of your previous comments and forgot to click "quote", hence it was not boxed.
I know that it is NOT a weapon, although it probably was considered so by those who were taken, but the course of slavery within Africa is an interesting subject on it's own! Sadly not to be discussed here!
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have responded to my original query.
Regards Stuart

[Jim McDougall]

No problem Stu! Actually I think these were weapons in the sense that most utility items were, and these embellished examples were probably accoutrements representing authority, I just use the term weapon loosely.
Agree 100% no need to discuss this unfortunate enterprise of slavery here, and it is only mentioned in context in understanding the dynamics of the trade routes. I've been impressed by the candor of those participating in avoiding focus on the topic, and thank all of you very much for staying on track.

All best regards,
Jim

[laEspadaAncha]

This thread has been fascinating - Jim, you are an encyclopedia of knowledge.

As has been mentioned, the axe form seems to be ubiquitous to Central Africa, appearing in one variation or another across a large swath of the continent. However, (some of) the embellishments are distinctly Arab in nature, leading to some speculation to a possible Omani origin - or at least Omani influence - vis-a-vis the Omani jurisdiction over Zanzibar.

I read with interest the mention of Tippu Tib and the Arab traders who penetrated deep into the interior of Africa from Zanzibar to the west (it should be noted these trade routes also extended southward from Gondokoro along the Upper Nile to the north).

When Stanley led the 1887 expedition to "rescue" Emin Pasha (a.k.a., Eduard Schnitzer), the successor to Charles Gordon as governor of Equatoria (lower Sudan), Tippu Tib accompanied them from Zanzibar with an entourage of 97 people, including traders, porters, and his harem.

However, of note is the route this expedition took. They did not travel eastward from Zanzibar westward across Tanzania. Rather, they sallied around the Cape of Good Hope and up the west coast of Africa to the mouth of the Congo River (no.1 on the map below), and mounted their expedition up the Congo, traveling east.

Tippu Tib had agreed to accept the offer of Belgian King Leopold II (and delivered by Stanley) to become the governor of the Stanley Falls district (no. 3 on the map below) of the Congo Free State (CFS), the Belgian mercantile colony that ran the length of the Congo River from the Atlantic to the Ituri Forest. As per his agreement and charter, he would be allowed to manage the trade from Stanley Falls, and to exploit local resources in the neighboring areas adjacent to his district, provided they were not part of the CFS.

When the expedition landed at the village of Yambuya (no.2 on the map below), they set up a fortified camp from where the main body of the expedition would travel overland through the Ituri Forest for the remainder of the trip. They averaged about five miles a day, and just three days out from Yambuya encountered trail markers belonging to other Arab slave traders.

In short, not only was the self-appointed "king" of the "Arab"* slave traders active in the heart of the Congo, but other Arab traders were also active in the area. The activity of these traders and the resulting sphere of interaction actually extended much further than Lake Tanganyika to the east, and thus, given the Islamic influence to the northwest and the accompaniment of Tippu Tib and his entourage from the mouth of the Congo River, the possible origin of the axe should IMO be considered to include pretty much the entirety of Central Africa.



*The terms "Arab" and "Turk" were used by Africans to describe any number of ethnographic peoples of mixed Turkish, Arab, and African descent who populated a wide region from Zanzibar in the west to the Sudan and Egypt to the north. Tippu Tib, for instance, was born to an Omani mother and a Swahili father.