Hi Mike,
This interesting sword does indeed appear from Benin, formerly known as Dahomey in the 19th century. It seems to be one of the ceremonial/ sacrificial sabres known locally there as 'hwi'. These are mentioned and illustrated nominally in "African Arms & Armour" by Christopher Spring (p.67) but the examples shown are a bit more elaborate. In the article Spring cites concerning these ("Sabres decores du Dahomey", Palau Marti, 1967) there are illustrations indicating the wider range of variation these 'hwi' carried, from very simple to elaborately artistic.
The marking on the blade seems to be a native interpretation of the cabalistic stars seen on talismanic motif on European blades on the 18th century, usually seen along with sun and crescent moon. It is common to see native application of these symbols on blades as they considered that these imbued the blades with power and quality. It is curious why only the star would be chosen, and possibly it closely associated with elements of their own folk religion.
The ritual ceremonies known in Dahomey were termed locally 'the custom' , while Sir Richard Burton, who observed the horrors of these sacrificial events in 1863, called them 'the Evil Nights'. There are illustrations of more of these 'hwi' in line drawings in Burton's "Book of the Sword" , 1884, p.167-69 along with narrative on this subject. These 'ceremonies' were of course finally suppressed, but the symbolism in the weapons are maintained in tradition.
It is interesting that on your blade there are chevrons inscribed, and Burton mentions that feature in his book in describing some of the weapons.
It is further interesting to note that the folk religion in Dahomey and its surrounding regions formed the basis for Vodun, which is the French term for what became known as Voodoo in the Caribbean and southern U.S. via the Africans who arrived unfortunately in the slave trade.
Best regards,
Jim
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