Apparently sabers are alive and well in Ivory Coast
 

Just spotted this photo in the news a few days ago. I assume this is a Manding man (Ouattara supporter according to the article). The hilt is fairly typical and aluminium and the dress seems about right for Manding attribution.

Please don't politicize this thread regarding the ongoing situation in Ivory Coast, I only posted this as I thought it might be interesting to share that in some parts of the world apparently the sword is still considered worth lugging around with your AK-47! Certainly seems like the sword is well cared for and a prized possession.

Photo credit and backlink (image attached here for archiving purposes): http://english.aljazeera.net/photo_g...629947194.html

Interesting, it looks like the chap in the red shirt, his left hand is resting on a big axe. The other chap has a knife and looks like some sort of talisman pouch. Horrible close quarter stuff. :eek:

I WONDER IF HE MAY BE CARRING THOSE ITEMS TO SHOW HIS STATUS AS WELL AS FOR BACKUP WEAPONS. THE OTHER FELLOW HAS A SMALL DAGGER AND SOMETHING WITH THE SAME DECORATION AS WHAT IS ON THE SWORD.
HE IS VERY WELL EQUIPED SWORD, AX ,AK AND THE EVER IMPORTANT FLY WHISK. :D

The first political post buys a ticket out of here for the Poster .

No worries . :)

Rick

And I thought
 

And I was always educated, never ever take a knife to a gun fight....I guess a sword is ok then. Kinda reassuring though, like the Chinese Dadao units, if you run out of ammo you know you can fall back on long sharp pointy things, pretty interesting to see this adoption continue in to the 21st century.

Better a sword than a gun shaped club .

Is it a modern variation of the Manding sabres?

Cool photo! It is interesting that the same can be seen with fighters in Mindanao where big blades (like sundang, bolos, barong) are still sometimes used as back-up weapons. Of course machetes and local equivalents are common weapons for most tropical folks. Obviously blades and other close quarters weapons weren't too distant or distant at all in many of these cultures' "martial memories"...

Tim,

Great eyes! I'd completely overlooked the axe. Looks like a pretty heavy duty example at that. The little boxes are also intriguing. From the little I know of the area, traditional beliefs in magic and spiritual powers are still widespread, so talismans make sense.

Vandoo,

I think status might be part of it, I can't imagine it's easy or practical lugging a full sized sword and that monster axe around in an urban environment. Especially a war zone. I agree the fly whisk is essential. ;-) Maybe the most useful thing he's got on him!

Rick,

Thanks for the reassurance, I had faith that our good members wouldn't bring anything into it, but knowing how many international folks we have here, who may even have a personal connection with the conflict... I thought it safer to stay strictly with the weapons. :-)

Gav,

I was also thinking about this in terms of backup. I'd read a lot of the militias involved are armed with even just machetes. Also I wonder about the issues of resupply in these kind of situations for ammunition, so maybe there is a real fall back approach to carrying this, or even, conservation of ammunition.

Gene,

I think this could be classed as a fairly definitive subtype. The Manding seem to have always been pretty open to outside influence in their swords. Reusing European sabre blades, takouba blades and apparently sabre hilt designs as well. I've seen more than a few of these aluminium cast hilts. I'd always assumed it was more or less a status symbol, cultural thing at this point but I guess you still go to war with them as well.

Kukul,

Indeed, seems like edged weapons retain their place in many conflicts. On the other hand, even in Europe, even 60 odd years ago in WWII there was still a lot of horse transport and the odd cavalry unit complete with sabers. I guess our own fast moving times make us forget how little time has actually passed since swords were tools of the trade.


I'm also wondering what the man on the right is holding, there's something with a red handle and what almost looks like a pommel in his lap. Any ideas or guesses?

here's a blown up pic... Frying pan handle ;)