Fantasy tropes: fear of cold iron. A prejudice from Africa?

[fearn]

Hi All,

There is some real ethnographic weapons stuff buried here, and I got curious about unearthing it.

What I'm thinking about are the common fantasy tropes about cold iron being magical, and about fantasy creatures such as fairies being unable to bear the touch of iron, especially cold iron.

The first one is pretty straightforward: the more times a piece of steel is worked by a blacksmith over a smoky fire, the more carbon it picks up. Eventually, it will go from high-carbon steel to brittle cast iron. I'm pretty sure that the magic of cold iron is simply that it has been worked cold, or at least, it hasn't been reworked from another piece. That steel is harder, and in the days before scientific metallurgy, this seemed magical.

The idea that fairies and others don't like iron is a standard theme in fantasies these days, and it seems to have pretty deep roots in Europe. What I find interesting is that the same prejudice seems to show up in various African cultures, such as the Tuareg (see recent discussion here).

Here's the question: I'm not an expert on African weapons by a long shot, and I was wondering whether I'm right that some African cultures would rather not touch iron more than necessary? Is this a common prejudice across the Sahara and south into the Congo, or is it more localized?

This all makes me wonder if the idea about magical creatures not liking iron came into Europe from Africa, via trade or perhaps through the Crusades or the Reconquesta. Tuareg or berber elves are an amusing thought, but that might be the origin of their aversion to iron.

What do you think?

Best,

F