Takouskara

[Iain]

Originally Posted by TVV

Based on the existence of another very similar published sword, we can conclude that this is not a one off creation, but rather a type that existed somewhere in the Sahel in the 19th century. Hales pictured his sword in a group of kaskaras, probably because of the blade, and so both of the swords we know like this have kaskara blades.
The style of the chape is Hausa, but it was not limited to just the Hausa states, as we see it on takoubas and telek daggers all the way from Bida to Adamawa and what is Northern Cameroon today. I have a similar chape on a wide bladed takouba, which I posted for comparison to other Northern Cameroon swords in this thread:
https://vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=24269

Adamawa and the Mandara Mountains are not that far from Lake Chad, and the area was part of Kanem Bornu at various times, with very strong Kanuri influence even after the Fulani jihad. I am not trying to prove that the sword itself is Kanuri, just pointing out that it did not need to travel all the way to Kano to get its current scabbard.

The hilt has the construction of takouba hilts rather than kaskara ones, but the choice of material is also important. Silver is almost never found on takouba hilts and very common on kaskaras, as Ed Hunley has demonstrated.

It appears therefore that these swords are the result of mixed influence, and therefore most likely from an area where takoubas and kaskaras were both used to some extent.

I'd add just a quick note to this that these long scabbard fittings seem to really pop up the most often on swords where you can find pictorial evidence of them in areas that are the Hausa/Fulani heartland or areas influenced by them, usually having all metal hilts in brass. Mandara and Adamawa were incredibly Fulani influenced post Jihad within the political structure of the local Emirates, courts and regalia. Does that mean the sword had to go that far? No, particularly given the wide network of Hausa traders in the Sudan. Can it just be coincidence? I doubt it but of course the Hausa didn't have an exclusive license on making long chapes but arch and zigzag motif are pretty common for takouba scabbards.

The issue with trying to make a Kanuri connection is that we simply have no provenance to support it. Sadly we have little pictoral evidence of the specifics of takouba from the height of the empire and only some later images from the last rump state in Dikwa. Same goes for
Bagirmi. We have a real lack of information on some of the Chadian emirates as well.

Ragarding the hilt construction, I think it's important to note the general method and hilt components of a takouba like this are within a family of Islamic swords that follow a similar pattern with relatively small guards, using sheet metal construction and solder or braising for the grip tube and pommel. Putting aside the crossguard this is the same construction used on metal kaskara hilts.

The sword overall seems to be early to mid 19th century (give or take), with the blade are there any signs of stamps or marks Kubur?

I absolutely agree it's a distinct type. I wonder where the Hales sword is now, the guard shape is really intriguing and its unfortunate there's no collection location known for it.

I don't spend much time on swords from this region these days but I will have a look through some old pictures and references and see if something pops up from wadai or the like.

EDIT
Just another couple of points in particular about the pommel of this and the Hales sword...

They lack the medial ridge you almost always find, I'm actually trying to think if I've run across any others that didn't have it...

The second point is the 'nub' or extension on the tang at the end of the pommel, also unusual and something you see more often with metal kaskara pommels.

Small details, but they may perhaps help in narrowing the origins down...

[Kubur]

A special thanks to Iain and Teodor, very interesting discussion guys!

I remember an article with people in a valley in Darfur where they use(d) takouba, if you don't have it, I will post it for you.

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Kubur

A special thanks to Iain and Teodor, very interesting discussion guys!

I remember an article with people in a valley in Darfur where they use(d) takouba, if you don't have it, I will post it for you.

I think I recall it but please do post!

[Kubur]

I looked everywhere and cannot find the link or the pdf...
Here more details about pommel construction, takouba-ish
The silver hilt has a Sudanese kaskara inspiration,
the spiral design is Ottoman and it explains the similarities with Yemen, under Ottoman rules and influence...

[Iain]

Originally Posted by Kubur

I looked everywhere and cannot find the link or the pdf...
Here more details about pommel construction, takouba-ish
The silver hilt has a Sudanese kaskara inspiration,
the spiral design is Ottoman and it explains the similarities with Yemen, under Ottoman rules and influence...

And the top of the pommel is done in the same manner as many takouba although not mixing metals (such as copper) as is usually seen.

A real cross cultural mix!

[Kubur]

Hi guys,

In fact, this sword was just an appertizer...
I wanted to see the responses and your interest in atypical swords.
The first sword posted came with another one, from the same sale and same seller, but no mention of origin. I would say in between Sudan, Ethiopia, Chad, maybe Nigeria???
The two swords were completely stucked in their scabbards.
The second sword has a very Ottoman guard, a German ? blade for Ethiopia (Jim?) and a kaskarish scabbard.
Despite the look, blade and hilt are very well connected with no movement.
The grip was made of leather like on kaskara (probably more recent), but the wire was lose and I removed it and had a good surprise under, in fact the whole hilt is made of one piece of brass (like some takouba) (gilded?). The most surprising is the pommel, I never saw such pommel...

Here are some old links with similar discussions around strange ottomanish kaskara...

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...81&postcount=1

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showpo...8&postcount=30

All the best,
Kubur

[TVV]

This sword is also a very interesting one. How is the blade fixed to the hilt: rivets or peened at the top of the pommel?

The scabbard with the characteristic widening looks like a kaskara scabbard.

The blade does not strike me as specifically made for export to Ethiopia. The patterns meant specifically for Ethiopia tend to have Ethiopian symbols, and the practice appears to have started during Menelik II's reign, while this blade looks earlier and more like a blade made for use in Europe, which subsequently wound up in Africa.

The cross guard with those quillons is unique for kaskaras, and to me is somewhat reminiscent of the quillons on swords from Southern Yemen, but there was Ottoman influence in quite a few places, including Egypt, which is even closer.

The pommel is unique, as one would have expected it to be at the same angle as other kaskara disk pommels, but it clearly is not. It is also weird that the blade would be fixed to the hilt in a manner where the base sticks above the guard. It looks like a quality, functional blade but the whole sword looks like something that was never really meant to be used in fighting, but rather for ceremonial or ritual purposes.