[Iain]

I was fortunate enough to not only acquire this piece but also receive a positive ID from a fellow collector with the ID being based on the work of Wente-Lukas.

This is a Guduf sword, a people living the in Mandara mountains region on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon. Numbering about only 30,000 they are a small group, as are many in this region.

These have often been refered to as Kirdi - but that is a general label for pagan/animist peoples of the Mandara region and not a precise ethnic term.

Interestingly the Guduf believe that the takouba of the Fulbe/Fulani was based on their sword design. While likely not entirely true, this may reflect the probable origin of the takouba in older pagan sword designs, many of which were preserved in the Mandara region due to the isolation of the peoples who largely fled there to escape the Islamic kingdoms of the Sahel.

I do not have the sword in hand yet and will not until August due travelling on another continent, but the seller pictures were good enough to share I think.

The blade should be iron and relatively heavy, flatter on one side with the incised decoration being reserved for the presentation face of the blade (a fairly common occurance in African weapons). The hilt is cow horn.