Hi Jim,
Well that's only my theory. I could be totally off! I've attached an old post card showing similar knights. In fact, if you look closely the one is holding a takouba with plates at the base of the blade and what looks to be a similar tip. I imagine this style is less well known because unlike the Tuareg, the Hausa areas were more quick to abandon the takouba as a part of daily life. So examples are therefore more rare.
On another note... I would love some input from other forumites about the coating on the hilt. It appears to be paint - I can't imagine it's original to the sword, but added later in an attempt to conserve, but maybe I'm wrong? It looks like it's been on there for a long time.
What's the general consensus? Should it be removed? And if so, how? I've never tried removing oil based paint from brass before. I don't want to end up with super shiny brass.
Best,
Iain
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