As Jim says (it's not a quotation) "it's amazing what we can learn on this forum"...
I'm convinced that these batons or maces were used by dervishes.
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Originally Posted by TVV
So I guess what we have are dancing spears, meant for ritualistic use by fervent dervishes in Sudan.
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Teodor I don't think that you should dissociate religious use and military use.
These objects are not maces, not spears either...
You can find many books and articles about the role of the dervishes and sufis in the Sudanese armies. The mahdi was a sufi. You can find a lot of books on the role of sufis and dervishes in the ottoman army and also in the Safavid army.
We should be humbles and it's already a big step to say that these batons were used by dervishes...
During the battles to command units, for prayers before the battles or to bury the dead like in the Ottoman armies...who knows...