Peculiar question - alias problem with chameleon´s tail

[Tim Simmons]

It is certainly up on your piece as there is no room for any kind of tail between the legs to carve a tail.

[apolaki]

I was told this is a Dahomey Hwi and it has what looks to be a chameleon with a curled tail. I googled images of "Afena swords" and came across some with similar cross shaped negative spaces within the blades. I am interested to learn the connections between Dahomey hwi, Benin ada, and Afena which I briefly read is form the Asante?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

[Martin Lubojacky]

Hi Apolaki,

I think your sword is not classical Dahomean hwi and I would say it is (not old) Yoruba cereminial cutlass. I do not know its name, nevertheless some people call them (also) Ada, although acc to Ch. Spring the name Ada belongs to much bigger swords of Oba/king (former Kingdom of Benin in the current Nigerian territory). I do not know the meaning of symbology. As far as the connection is concerned - Dahomey and Yoruba were neighbours (often in war), I think the mythology was similar. From Yorubaland it is not far to Bini ... It also looks like the one of favourite war weapons in western part of Guinea Coast was cutlass with bulbous tip. It could influence the form of cerenmonial items ...