I'd hazard a guess that the Ilwoon is actually mid to late 1800's based upon the heavy ridge in the center, with later pieces often much flatter.
The Fang Fa sword is absolutely gorgeous **drool** and Freddy, is your mbanja thrower a user or a ceremonial piece (it looks like the former)as probably 80% of the "throwing knives were actually ceremonial pieces.
Flavio, that is a beautiful sword and definitely the same blade, but with a hilt and scabbard style I've not seen before......just great, now I'm back to square one again, but at least not alone this time! LOL!
Many don't realize that a lot of tribes were actually quite fluid, moving as alliances were made or broken and with many "tribes" actually part of much larger nations, much like the American plains Indians, the African Zulu nation tribes prior to Chaka or even the Mongols prior to Temujen's unification, to go way back.
Here's my latest thrower, a Ngbaka (I believe) user type that ironically was reproduced and mass marketed here in the US about 10 years ago as the "hunga munga"...I wish I'd have kept the US version now more than ever, but alas it was thrown to death!**grin**
Mike
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