Spear for comments .. Sudan ?

[thinreadline]

Started to have have another go at the 'heap' in the attic with a view to making some sense of it all and making hard decisions as to what to keep and what to dispose of . I am thinking this may be Sudanese . Total length of 2 metres , spearhead 45 cm and fish tail 'shoe' 20 cm . The wood looks like Acacia to me. Any opinions as to what region it is from would be most welcome .

[Iain]

Looks like the broad type seen in Sudan to me as well.

[thinreadline]

Thanks Iain .... love the cow mounted cavalryman !

[colin henshaw]

This type of spear is from the Somaliland/Somalia area. The well-made blade form and flat metal butt are distinctive.

But of course they could also diffuse to neighboring areas.

[thinreadline]

This type of spear is from the Somaliland/Somalia area. The well-made blade form and flat metal butt are distinctive.

But of course they could also diffuse to neighboring areas.

Thanks Colin ... in which case would you place this similar but larger spear from the same region ... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13013

[colin henshaw]

Thanks Colin ... in which case would you place this similar but larger spear from the same region ... http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13013

No, I would place this spear in the Northern Nigeria area, perhaps Hausa. The blade form is a bit different and the cross-section is also different, being a flattened diamond and lacking the pronounced midrib of the Somali one. But to mention... Hausa spears of this type can sometimes be virtually identical to spears from Madagascar !

[thinreadline]

No, I would place this spear in the Northern Nigeria area, perhaps Hausa. The blade form is a bit different and the cross-section is also different, being a flattened diamond and lacking the pronounced midrib of the Somali one. But to mention... Hausa spears of this type can sometimes be virtually identical to spears from Madagascar !

Thanks Colin ... another wall rearrangement coming up !

[Iain]

This type of spear is from the Somaliland/Somalia area. The well-made blade form and flat metal butt are distinctive.

But of course they could also diffuse to neighboring areas.

The broad leaf shaped blade seems to have found its way into quite a few connected regions. Do you have a period photo from Somaliland of one? Not doubting you just curious!


No, I would place this spear in the Northern Nigeria area, perhaps Hausa. The blade form is a bit different and the cross-section is also different, being a flattened diamond and lacking the pronounced midrib of the Somali one. But to mention... Hausa spears of this type can sometimes be virtually identical to spears from Madagascar !


I would be surprised if this one is Hausa, spears from the Hausa and Fulani tend to be more lance like and even if broad, much more slender than Sudanese, Chadic or Somali examples.

But I have no major expert in spears, I've tended to focus on the Calvary lances and am a bit out of my depth on the multitude of other spear types in Nigeria.

[colin henshaw]

The broad leaf shaped blade seems to have found its way into quite a few connected regions. Do you have a period photo from Somaliland of one? Not doubting you just curious!

How about this from the Oldman catalogue
:shrug:

[Iain]

How about this from the Oldman catalogue
:shrug:

Thanks! I'd always had this style more in mind from Somalia. http://www.africanarms.com/album/all-albums/!/oa/6644091-106314862/

[Kubur]

More Sudanese spears...

[Iain]

More Sudanese spears...

Spears in your first image (the museum display) are not Sudanese but from Congo.

[colin henshaw]

For anyone interested to learn more about African spears ... I can do no better than recommend a visit to the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford. They have a large vitrine filled with spears from throughout the African Continent. Most have documented old provenances, so the attributions are generally good, I believe.

The Pitt-Rivers, like many museums in the UK has FREE entry. See www.prm.ox.ac.uk

[G. Mansfield]

Purchased this very similar spear last year from Lew's Estate Sale. It was attributed to Eastern Africa. I was leaning towards Sudanese as well or somewhere near that vicinity but could not be completely sure..

http://www.vikingsword.com/lew/w0149/w0149.html