Thread: Zulu Spear
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Old 16th July 2012, 04:47 PM   #9
mross
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Join Date: Jan 2005
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thinreadline
Hi Chris
Its a pleasure .. Zulu weaponry has been an interest of mine well since I was 11 years old and went to see the film Zulu !
If you examine any late 19th / early 20th century childrens adventure stories , the word assegai is used for spears of any type in any part of Africa .
Yes the middle spear is an throwing spear .. of very good quality and craftsmanship , and yes I am sure in times of war, 'disposable' weapons such as throwing spears would certainly suffer in quality and also relate to the wealth and position of the owner .
Intresting topic. From your pictures the middle one is the one I would associate with the throwing spear and it seems that is the case. The bottom one is the one I always thought was the assegai. Is that correct? What then is the top one? I have read the form evolved into the larger blade around the time of Shaka, or because of I suppose.
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