Names of African Swords

[Pertinax]

I propose to discuss the remarkable work of Joseph P. Smaldone "Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate".

In the public domain: https://vk.com/doc358527_346946191?h...rsnDNweNlK5tHg

In chapter 3 the author gives a description of the weapons:

The heavy cavalry - a variety of swords (s. takobi; kansakali), war clubs (s. kulki; gulme; gwarmi; gwama), and battle-axes (s. gantama; gatari; gafiya; masari) were also used by the heavy cavalry when fighting at close quarters.

The light cavalry - the lance and sword were the principal weapons for close combat. Swords (s. takobi) were slung over the shoulder by the hamila, or sling, and daggers carried in a sheath affixed to the left forearm.

Infantry:

The archers (yam baka or masu baka) - some carried small shields (s. kunkeli) and swords (s. takobi).

Warriors armed with swords and shields were also organized as light and heavy infantry forces. The size, shape, and quality of both shields and swords varied widely. The most common type of sword, used by cavalry and infantry alike, was the broad-bladed two-edged straight fate-fate; other swords were modifications of the straight pattern or of the curved saber type.58

58Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tamogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55.

Also of interest is A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology:

almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami)
bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku)
dungi - giraffe-hide shield
hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami) sword sling (= hamila)
kansakali, kansakula - any sword (= takobi)
lafaranji - single-edged sword
takobi, takuba - any sword (= kansakali)
tama - type of cheap sword
tamogas or tamogashi - sword with three lines running parallel along the blade
zabo - type of sword.

Among all the names of the swords published in this work, only Takuba is widely known. What is characteristic is that the names of Kaskara, Mandinka, etc. are missing.

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by Pertinax

I propose to discuss the remarkable work of Joseph P. Smaldone "Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate".

In the public domain: https://vk.com/doc358527_346946191?h...rsnDNweNlK5tHg

In chapter 3 the author gives a description of the weapons:

The heavy cavalry - a variety of swords (s. takobi; kansakali), war clubs (s. kulki; gulme; gwarmi; gwama), and battle-axes (s. gantama; gatari; gafiya; masari) were also used by the heavy cavalry when fighting at close quarters.

The light cavalry - the lance and sword were the principal weapons for close combat. Swords (s. takobi) were slung over the shoulder by the hamila, or sling, and daggers carried in a sheath affixed to the left forearm.

Infantry:

The archers (yam baka or masu baka) - some carried small shields (s. kunkeli) and swords (s. takobi).

Warriors armed with swords and shields were also organized as light and heavy infantry forces. The size, shape, and quality of both shields and swords varied widely. The most common type of sword, used by cavalry and infantry alike, was the broad-bladed two-edged straight fate-fate; other swords were modifications of the straight pattern or of the curved saber type.58

58Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tamogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55.

Also of interest is A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology:

almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami)
bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku)
dungi - giraffe-hide shield
hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami) sword sling (= hamila)
kansakali, kansakula - any sword (= takobi)
lafaranji - single-edged sword
takobi, takuba - any sword (= kansakali)
tama - type of cheap sword
tamogas or tamogashi - sword with three lines running parallel along the blade
zabo - type of sword.

Among all the names of the swords published in this work, only Takuba is widely known. What is characteristic is that the names of Kaskara, Mandinka, etc. are missing.

Kaskara is a designation invented in the past by Western researchers/collectors. Saif is the name for the sword we know as kaskara. The forum has a lot of info on it.
Regards
Marc

[Pertinax]

Originally Posted by Marc M.

Kaskara is a designation invented in the past by Western researchers/collectors. Saif is the name for the sword we know as kaskara. The forum has a lot of info on it.
Regards
Marc

Thank you, Marc.
I raised this topic because the current names of African swords and daggers are mostly invented by researchers/collectors or taken, for example, from the name of the people or tribe where this or that item was discovered/made. But in reality they had other names.

P.S. There is a mistake in the first post:
dungi - plain sword, without markings

Regards,
Yuri

[Changdao]

Originally Posted by Pertinax

Thank you, Marc.
I raised this topic because the current names of African swords and daggers are mostly invented by researchers/collectors or taken, for example, from the name of the people or tribe where this or that item was discovered/made. But in reality they had other names.

P.S. There is a mistake in the first post:
dungi - plain sword, without markings

Regards,
Yuri

It is a frequent phenomenon. Many of the names that stick really are just "sword" in the native language. Sometimes they can be useful, and other times they absolutely flatten the nuances that there are, especially if what is taken as the name is actually that of the people (or part of) using them.

"Mandinka" sabres are absolutely one example. These were used by the Mandinka, the Wolof, the Fulani (many branches of them: Toucouleurs, in Futa Djallon, in coastal Senegambia, etc), but it is rather common to see them attributed only to Mandinka when it is actually unknown. I actually believe that they originated within the Mandinka, just that it happened way back in the XV-XVIth century and it gave way to a rather large weapon family