I just wanted to echo the congratulations, appreciation and respect to Ed for this outstanding work on the conundrums of the kaskara, which actually preempted Reed in JAAS (1987) and held material far more detailed and relevant. Our greatest fortune has been that he shared this with us and opened the doors to the greatest advance in the study of these Sudanese weapons in decades.
His work was greatly augmented by that of Iain, whose tenacious work on the takouba provided brilliant insight into the kaskara as well. I personally will be ever grateful to these two brilliant researchers for what they helped me learn on these fascinating topics.
Ian, I thank you as well for your placing of these works and the links to the many discussions for the benefit of those with continued interest in these topics. If I may, very well done!
