Seme

[Interested Party]

A while back I found a small seme at a decent price. I have always regretted not trying to buy one from Maasai friends when I worked in southeast Kenya. This one is ribbed and clublike in its weight. Its overall length is 20 3/4", 52.5cm. The blade measures 15 1/2", 39.2cm long. 2 1/8" wide at spatula and 3/4", 2cm at handle. The rib is 1/4", 0.6cm at the spatula and 3/8", 0.9cm thick at the handle. The blade is almost hollow ground on either side of the rib. At the spatula tip it is slightly thicker on the edge than 1/2" back where it is 3/64", 0.2cm thick. It is much heavier than the working semes I saw 10-15 years ago made from cut down machetes which seemed to be used primarily as butcher knives. As I said this one is ribbed and Masai red but does not ever appear to have been sharpened and has a considerable blunt portion of the blade that extends 5", 12.5 cm up from the handle. This portion of the blade looks like it was never intended to have an edge.

What do you all think? A) was this a Masai blade? B) a tourist or just an old blade that was snatched up before it was ever used? C) If a tourist blade, are there production centers making ribbed blades for the tourist market due to demand for old fashioned blades?

Thanks for any help on this subject.
IP

[Tim Simmons]

The modern version of the long blade spear has that blunt section of the blade. Tourist seme can be very poorly made . I had one a friend brought back for me, you could almost fold it up the metal was so soft. I think your seme is just a well made forged blade made to be used and sold to who ever wanted it.

[Interested Party]

Thanks for the response Tim! That is good to hear. I felt that it was a 90% finished product that was made to be used, but I like outside verification to make sure I am not having an emotional response. From what I have seen a lot of areas of the world this kind of tool is sold semi-finished and then the user completes it to his taste. I.e. the shape of the edge grind, and tailoring the handle to their hand (I have seen contemporary "users" with spiraling grips like a drill bit that were covered in shrink wrap like for electrical connections), decoration etc. The tribes surrounding the Masai tend to cut off the existing handles of the panga and replace them with tire rubber so that they handle better during the rainy season.

The question is what decade would a product like this be made? Are they currently being made? This example seems to have a good patina, but the dye on the scabbard and handle are relatively intact.

From what I read the traditional Masai iron/steel was of unpredictable quality making the rib necessary. The English machetes were more reliable making thinner blades possible. The Seme shortened in my opinion due to the pax Brittania. These blades of course did not have the impact of the old ones, the blade I have shown feels like it would pack a wallop) but cut and slice (butcher) more effectively. Locally they are still considered more effective weapons than the panga, but not as good for agricultural work. The shorter seme such as this one is now worn concealed, on a belt next to the skin under the two pieces of cloth knotted at the shoulders and the larger one slung cross wise. I have forgotten the name of these garments. I assume the older long ones were worn openly. The spears are not allowed in the larger towns.

Can you tell please me more about the blunt section on the spears?

[DaveF]

I've three semes with medial ridges and they all have an unsharpened section just down from the handle. I'd always assumed that this was because, being very tip-heavy, they would have been held by that part of the blade to provide better balance for finer cutting/chopping.

[Marc M.]

I just received this seme, similar to the seme from Interested Party. The blade is in the old shape with a central rib, fairly heavy. The blade is 9 mm thick at the handle, 41 cm long and oal 54 cm. The blade is 6 mm thick at the hilt and gradually merges into the sharp cutting edge over a length of 17 cm. Since it is a hiltless sword it seems logical to me that the cutting edges are blunt against the handle, this way you keep your fingers intact if your hand slides off the handle. Both sword and scabbard are in good condition, the belt is missing a piece. The end of the scabbard is a one cent coin of Edward the seventh, 1909. I suppose the date of the coin is not necessarily the age of the sword, it looks far too good.
Regards
Marc

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

[Interested Party]

Nice looking seme Marc. To me yours has a more finished blade and the handle has ribs under the leather. I read some place, maybe this forum, that the handles that had ribs were older. Anyone have evidence to prove or disprove this idea?

[Tim Simmons]

Wish i hade kept these now.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...highlight=seme

[G. Mansfield]

Interested party, I think that your seme is a legitimate sword, meaning not for tourist, but not entirely old either, circa 1950. Marc, I think yours has some greater age to it as it is more in the older style with the leather spiral handle and a nicely mid-ribbed blade. With the 1909 coin attached, the coin may have been earlier, but I would not be surprised if it is from that time period. It’s hard to tell. They did not change too much from the late 19th century to 1930s. The British Museum has a good number of examples in their collection to compare. The newer ones post 1930s, have very flimsy flat blades and are poorly constructed.

The older examples I have seen have both wide bladed and slender versions. I have two slender style blades. They are both very heavy iron, unsharpened until around half the blades length. Dating 1895 to about 1925. Photos attached with a Massai shield in the background. Detailed links followed.

https://www.the-mansfield-collection.com/seme-385
https://www.the-mansfield-collection.com/seme-407

-Geoffrey

[Interested Party]

Originally Posted by G. Mansfield

Interested party, I think that your seme is a legitimate sword, meaning not for tourist, but not entirely old either, circa 1950.
The older examples I have seen have both wide bladed and slender versions. I have two slender style blades. They are both very heavy iron, unsharpened until around half the blades length.
-Geoffrey

Thank you Geoffrey! 1950s, height of the Mau Mau rebellion not at great time for tourism. Thanks for the details on sharpened/unsharpened edges and weight/balance.

That is a beautiful collection. Thanks for the link.
-IP

[Marc M.]

Originally Posted by G. Mansfield

Interested party, I think that your seme is a legitimate sword, meaning not for tourist, but not entirely old either, circa 1950. Marc, I think yours has some greater age to it as it is more in the older style with the leather spiral handle and a nicely mid-ribbed blade. With the 1909 coin attached, the coin may have been earlier, but I would not be surprised if it is from that time period. It’s hard to tell. They did not change too much from the late 19th century to 1930s. The British Museum has a good number of examples in their collection to compare. The newer ones post 1930s, have very flimsy flat blades and are poorly constructed.

The older examples I have seen have both wide bladed and slender versions. I have two slender style blades. They are both very heavy iron, unsharpened until around half the blades length. Dating 1895 to about 1925. Photos attached with a Massai shield in the background. Detailed links followed.

https://www.the-mansfield-collection.com/seme-385
https://www.the-mansfield-collection.com/seme-407

-Geoffrey

Hi Geoffrey
Thanks for the additional info. Nice old seme's and the massai shield is always a cool thing. An old seme and a spear with a wide long blade are still on my wish list.
I recently bought this massai shield, the seme with the flat blade, and some spears was brought back from Kenya by a friend of mine in the 70's on a landrover tour.
Regards
Marc