A Lot of African Weapons

shayde78 · 20th March 2020, 02:01 AM

Ed, although belated, I wish to say thank you this extensive amount of information on the one piece. Very, very interesting.
Cheers!

Edster · 20th March 2020, 03:36 PM

Shayde,

You are very welcome. The Hadendawa khanjar is a very interesting weapon. I was surprised that the Kassala bladesmith said he made 10 of these knives /day in 1960 (s). That apparently was a modern peak. There were several government sponsored irrigation projects developing in Eastern Sudan at the time. They caused considerable social disruptions and relocations at the time as the projects disrupted traditional land rights and uses. No wonder people wanted to protect their personal and ethnic interests.

The leather belt shown is the only one I have seen other than in period photographs. Its condition suggests considerable age and may have been used during the Mahdiya era.

Regards,
Ed

alfredolloza · 8th April 2020, 10:20 AM

Hi
The quiver and the other objects are different and more recent I think
only the 2 Zande war spear can be Mahdist period?

Duccio · 3rd June 2020, 05:24 PM

Hi,
the largest knife, the one in the center of the first photo, I think it is a very old and worn Congolese Konda (not Kuba).
Here you can see a similar one.

The main feature of many konda daggers was the lack of the tip, which was flat or, more often, rounded.
In this way the dagger remembered what had been established by a great ruler of the Kondas, who imposed to remove the tip from the swords of the warriors, to mean that the Konda federation was not afraid of being attacked by any of the neighboring peoples.
What seems strange to me, in your dagger, is the handle, which is different from the usual.
Regards.
Duccio

shayde78 · 11th July 2020, 03:05 AM

Duccio,

Apologies! I missed your comment. Very interesting information, and much appreciated. I had never heard that explanation for why these siding have a sharp point. Frankly, I had assumed it allowed for a more utilitarian purpose - to allow for a digging tool. Any good survivalist knows that having a sturdy digging stick it's a useful bit of kit. Like the more modern Woodman's Pal, I thought this might have served the same purpose for a useful jungle knife.

As for the dagger handle, what makes it unique?

Duccio · 12th July 2020, 03:41 PM

No problem, I'm glad to share the few knowledge I have.
I am attaching here some images of Konda swords, from which you can see the classic shape of the handle.
The dagger in your possession has a hilt that resembles some of the Mangbetu "trumbash" (see photos below).
This would be strange, there is no relationship between the two ethnic groups ...

8th April 2020, 10:20 AM	#3
alfredolloza Member Join Date: Apr 2020 Posts: 1	Zande war spears ? Hi The quiver and the other objects are different and more recent I think only the 2 Zande war spear can be Mahdist period?

3rd June 2020, 05:24 PM	#4
Duccio Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Florence, Italy Posts: 64	Hi, the largest knife, the one in the center of the first photo, I think it is a very old and worn Congolese Konda (not Kuba). Here you can see a similar one. The main feature of many konda daggers was the lack of the tip, which was flat or, more often, rounded. In this way the dagger remembered what had been established by a great ruler of the Kondas, who imposed to remove the tip from the swords of the warriors, to mean that the Konda federation was not afraid of being attacked by any of the neighboring peoples. What seems strange to me, in your dagger, is the handle, which is different from the usual. Regards. Duccio Attached Images

11th July 2020, 03:05 AM	#5
shayde78 Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 445	Duccio, Apologies! I missed your comment. Very interesting information, and much appreciated. I had never heard that explanation for why these siding have a sharp point. Frankly, I had assumed it allowed for a more utilitarian purpose - to allow for a digging tool. Any good survivalist knows that having a sturdy digging stick it's a useful bit of kit. Like the more modern Woodman's Pal, I thought this might have served the same purpose for a useful jungle knife. As for the dagger handle, what makes it unique? Last edited by shayde78; 11th July 2020 at 03:06 AM. Reason: Typo

12th July 2020, 03:41 PM	#6
Duccio Member Join Date: May 2020 Location: Florence, Italy Posts: 64	No problem, I'm glad to share the few knowledge I have. I am attaching here some images of Konda swords, from which you can see the classic shape of the handle. The dagger in your possession has a hilt that resembles some of the Mangbetu "trumbash" (see photos below). This would be strange, there is no relationship between the two ethnic groups ... Attached Images

20th March 2020, 02:01 AM	#1
shayde78 Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Posts: 445	Ed, although belated, I wish to say thank you this extensive amount of information on the one piece. Very, very interesting. Cheers!

20th March 2020, 03:36 PM	#2
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 415	Shayde, You are very welcome. The Hadendawa khanjar is a very interesting weapon. I was surprised that the Kassala bladesmith said he made 10 of these knives /day in 1960 (s). That apparently was a modern peak. There were several government sponsored irrigation projects developing in Eastern Sudan at the time. They caused considerable social disruptions and relocations at the time as the projects disrupted traditional land rights and uses. No wonder people wanted to protect their personal and ethnic interests. The leather belt shown is the only one I have seen other than in period photographs. Its condition suggests considerable age and may have been used during the Mahdiya era. Regards, Ed