Collection of East African weapons

E Farrell · 27th July 2016, 12:23 PM

Very nice to have a better identification of that shield; it is without doubt the piece I have least information on. I will have to try to get my hands on a copy of that Elsen and Baur book as well.

Are all the sickle knives purely a weapon? Or is there agricultural use, and they are weapons purely by expediency?

I have had a look at some Songye axes, and they do look to be basically the same design in some cases. I do not think the Songye geographic range extends to Lake Tanganyika (could be wrong, it is very much not my area of specialty), but they are at least in fairly close proximity. That style of axe is a very low-tech and functional hafting, so it seems plausible that it would be similar across several tribes in the region.

Cheers,
E

Congoblades · 28th July 2016, 02:24 AM

According "Westerdijk 1975" these sickle knives are gardening tools used by the Shi/Bashi.

I don't see the typical characteristics of the Songye axes in yours?

27th July 2016, 12:23 PM	#1
E Farrell Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 22	Very nice to have a better identification of that shield; it is without doubt the piece I have least information on. I will have to try to get my hands on a copy of that Elsen and Baur book as well. Are all the sickle knives purely a weapon? Or is there agricultural use, and they are weapons purely by expediency? I have had a look at some Songye axes, and they do look to be basically the same design in some cases. I do not think the Songye geographic range extends to Lake Tanganyika (could be wrong, it is very much not my area of specialty), but they are at least in fairly close proximity. That style of axe is a very low-tech and functional hafting, so it seems plausible that it would be similar across several tribes in the region. Cheers, E

28th July 2016, 02:24 AM	#2
Congoblades Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Belgium Posts: 171	According "Westerdijk 1975" these sickle knives are gardening tools used by the Shi/Bashi. I don't see the typical characteristics of the Songye axes in yours?