Ethiopian belt??
 

A while back I acquired an Ethiopian "BELT". Very fine piece. As soon as I received I realized that it was not a belt. Too short, no strap and buckle, and the central piece was not articulated so it could not fit around the waist. I guessed it was part of a horse harness. It was a "guess". Till I found this picture of Ras MULUGETA, Ethiopian Minister of War. So, there it is. The "belt", as I had guessed, is clearly part of a horse harness. It draped around the neck as part of a very elaborate and impressive decoration.

Hi Ron,

Thank you for this thread. I have similar "belt" - encl pls see the pictures.

Till now I thought it was a belt - and thanks for opening my eyes. I thought it was belt because they were small loops for straps fastening on the inner side of the belt (I thought it was replacing buckle) - see the picture.

After you opened this thread I went through all the old photos I have. And I really found two pictures confirming it was part of parade horse harness... One is very similar to mine.

Best
Martin

Just, two remarks when I am again expecting the pictures of a horseman above.

1. Mules - I read i various books that good mules were considered more valuable than horses in Ethiopia (stronger in mountains)
2. Very typical stirrup for one finger only ... (for me uncredible, I would wrench my finger off ...¨)

Hi Martin,
Less than usual rifle this chap has, full stock with double set triggers probably German or Austrian. Not the kind of firearm I would have expected to see in this context but again this area is not one I am familiar with.
My Regards,
Norman.

Hi Norman,
I am bad at old rifles. I think there was mixture of long guns from all over the world in that time Ethiopia and all of them were fit for military purposes ...
Regards,
Martin

Hi Martin,
The reason I was a bit surprised is that this particular rifle would not have been military issue but would have been a comparatively expensive hunting rifle in a very European configuration. Thanks for getting back to me.
My Regards,
Norman.

Hi Norman,
You are right ....

(I think the picture could be from twenties or maybe thirties from the last century. At that time there were suppliers of hunting arms living in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. Small business (not as military supplies). The community of foreigners in both cities was relatively big, already. E. g. only from the former Czechoslovakia there was cca 30 settled entrepreneurs in both cities in twenties and thirties(which is a little bit strange for me...)
I knew one of them personally. He arrived at the age of 18 to dire Dawa in 1926. When I met him, he was 95. For ten years (till 1936) he supplied foreigners and rich Ethiopians with motorcycles and - good hunting rifles made in Czechoslovakia. But he was one of many, I think. There was luck of arms and everything was "suitable")

Best,
Martin

Hello

As for the gadget presented here, it is a kind of necklace, which was placed on the neck of the mule or the horse to hold it tied, plus the brake to direct it. Here in Argentina it is known as the FIADOR. As for the stirrup to fit between the fingers, it was also used, for which a simple stick or a bone was used, for which the pony boot had an opening in front, to leave the fingers in the air

Double set triggers on Mausers for hunting were not that unusual in the 1920's and 1930's.
I can see the benefit for long range European stalking, but not so sure about African big game!
Best wishes
Richard

Martin. Look what I found on line... Just the picture, not the "belt" for sale (too bad). Has been identified as "belt".......