This very interesting sabre seems logically attributed to the Dogon, who are from Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) and Mali, as I am inclined to think the zoomorphic hilt resembles a hyena because of the canine snout and rounded ears. It seems that the Dogon do have a temple in Mali dedicated to the hyena, but more detailed significance is unclear. It does not seem that these animals play an important part in Dogon lore, but it is known that in some regions it is in fact a cult animal. Many African secret societies use totemic figures such as leopard, crocodile etc. However, it seems that often in observing African art and material culture, figures are often representative rather than representational, as noted in the hornbill article mentioned by Tim. Therefore, highly stylized images are difficult to identify with certainty in the many variations of ceremonial masks, and clearly as seen here with the pommel of this sword.
Tim and Freddy are the authorities here on African art and weapons, and thier suggestions are of course well placed, as are the others, and as noted it is difficult to determine what creature is represented. This seems to often be the case with many zoomorphic hilts, as in the 'flyssa' which it seems to me most likely the camel suggestion works best (but then you should see the results of my Rohrshach tests!!
It is worthy of note that in Ghana, there is a hyena god in the Ga tribal pantheon, and among the Korumba (Nioniasi) there is a hyena mask worn by one of the dancers in ceremony with other dancers wearing similarly stylized antelope head masks. The Korumba apparantly were driven north to Burkina Faso regions by invading Dogon in earlier times.
Whatever the case, this sabre does seem to be West African, clearly imitating European styled swords and likely intended as a prestige or regalia piece of significance.