More kaskaras

[colin henshaw]

Hi

There is quite a bit of interest on the forum in Sudanese kaskaras, so I am posting these two recent acquisitions for comment and interest. They need cleaning and probably have been in someone's attic for a long time...

Maybe souvenirs from the Battle of Omdurman ?

Regards.

[A.alnakkas]

Congrats, always thought that Kaskara's are interesting. I have one myself and its very comfortable to wield

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Colin,
There truly, and thankfully has been a great deal of interest in kaskaras of late, and thank you for adding these to keep the fires burning! There is so much yet to be learned on these fascinating tribal swords, and by bringing examples to the forum we can all learn from them.
Probably the largest volume of both examples, and awareness of these distinctive Sudanese swords did indeed derive from the British campaigns and most notably the Battle of Omdurman in 1898.

It is interesting that these examples show two of the well known blade styles used on these, one with the triple fullers and the other with single central fuller. By the rust patches and general appearance of these, I sense that they are both post Omdurman however, and according to the outstanding work done by Ed in his dissertation (posted on our site) these are likely both 'Kasallawi' , that is produced in that area probably in the 20th century.
I think these swords, regardless of age, are fascinating in that they are still so predominantly a part of the culture and are actually refurbished almost regularly as they change hands through generations.

These are just my observations, and I always look forward to others from those who are more well versed in these weapons. The small crescent moon type markings in parallel on the blade are well known from those which appear on takouba blades and these are believed to derive from them . These markings have been in use for some time and represent earlier talismanic associations, which have long since probably been disassociated in this case, having become more of a traditional mark.

All the best,
Jim

[Iain]

Jim essentially noted the main points. These could be turn of the century, recalling Ed's excellent research the guards are one thing to look out for and these seem to be old and very well made with nice definition in the angles.

You got a good price on these Colin and I imagine they will clean up nicely.

One thing to keep in mind is that even after 1898 British campaigns into the Sudan continued up until 1916. Having a 20th century date ascribed to a kaskara or takouba is in no way a bad thing.

Cheers,

Iain

[katana]

Hi Colin,
like with Takouba check the fullers are not 'mechanically ground' with a circular grinder....often found on later blades. Are the blades flexible ? I too am a fan of Kaskara

Kind Regards David

[Edster]

Colin,

Thanks for posting. I agree with Jim and Iain as to attribution. The one on the left has the best crossgard. If it has an X at its center, it is likely to be in the made well before WW2. More than likely in the 1916-20 range, but daating is difficult. Cross guard is of the same quality as we have seen on presentation pieces. Apparently the skill to make the flared diamond profile died out before in the post-war and 1980's generation. IThe leather wrapped handle is common for utility items, and I'd say that both have seen active use in the field.

Please post the swords when they have been cleaned. I'm sure you use Museum Wax on the finished work to prevent rust, but other readers may appreciate the tip.

Best regards,
Ed

[colin henshaw]

Hi

Thanks to those who commented on these swords, glad they are of interest. To answer katana's specific questions - the fullers are a little bit irregular, so probably done by hand and the blades are slightly flexible.

Given the insterest in kaskaras, I thought I would also post these images of a spare scabbard I have. On close examination...the construction is of good quality and skillful. The brass hanging rings are nicely decorated. The scabbard itself is a "sandwich" of thin wood, cloth and leather. I imagine this scabbard was for the kaskara of a wealthier individual...

Regards.

[stephen wood]

...very interesting. I would like to see the Kaskara which went with the empty scabbard

The blades on the others seem curiously younger than the crossguards.

[Mefidk]

Thanks for posting these Colin, always good to see more kaskaras

Originally Posted by stephen wood

The blades on the others seem curiously younger than the crossguards.

Stephen, I'm not doubting your suggestion at all, but I wonder what gives you the clue that the blades are younger than the crossguards? It certainly would be curious were this to be the case.

Is there any way of dating flared diamond profile crossguards except the 'X' mark (which I can almost believe I seen on the left hand picture)? I'm interested because I have a similar quite tidy kaskara, no 'x' but a local blade which I assumed was C20th.

I must admit to also being a little confused about exactly who carried these and when. Pre C20 I assume that kaskara were the province of the wealthy or higher classes since descriptions of the general arms facing the British in their Sudanese campaigns primarily describes spears and even wooden swords. But there are a lot of these functional looking kaskaras about, so I'm wondering if the current view is that the weapon proliferated around the turn of the century. If so do we have many authenticated older examples with native blades, or is the native blade a good clue to a later origin?

Chris