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Originally Posted by Jim McDougall
I am thinking the 'baton' notion is a bit of a red herring, and am pretty much firmly in accord with this item being something used by priests or other religious figures used in ceremonial practices rather than any sort of command symbol. While this example, by its provenance, well predates the Mahdist period, it does seem clear that the nature of the item is similar to later examples used as ceremonial objects used in the Mahdiyya period.
These seem to approximate forms of mace, and like many weapons which are effectively like the actual combat weapons they recall, they are of course used in a more figurative manner, to dispel evil, etc. I have learned a great deal more on the thuluth weapons, and find the suggestion that these may well have been used in military ranks to carry as talismanic standards etc. quite plausible . The fact that these are not typically sharpened may support that.
While these various forms of 'mace' have 'weapon' like elements in most cases, I do not think they are intended for necessarily 'military' context. They may well be intended as figurative 'weapons' in the manner of the 'phurbu' of Tibet for example. A 'dagger' to chase away demons.
While I am sure there were not 'thuluth' covered weapons in the Greek situation to which this example is noted as from, there were surely native priests or monks there with the tribal forces who might have used this accordingly.
To the Mahdi, while he was a Sufi, and effectively a dervish in the Summaniya order, he later changed to a different Tariqa, and as he began his Jihad, he forbad the use of the dervish term, insisting on the term 'Ansar'(=helper) for his followers. They remained mystics, so I believe the practices were very much as before. The examples of these ceremonial maces/staves which have added elements such as crocodile hide, small daggers etc. are in keeping with the weapons so decorated in his time and that of the Khaliph.
As in the field of battle, these Ansar fully expected glorious death, and the presence of priests, talismanic objects emblazoned with talismanic invocations and in their view certainly would have driven their fervor into action.
I hope I have recounted these things reasonably accurately from what I have found in researching these past few days and look forward to correction from those here far better versed in them than I.
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A very reasoned summary Jim , as usual, and I do agree that the 'command' element is misleading. When I first read this thread I thought the term 'command baton' was odd and unfamiliar and struck me as a bad translation , as the phrase command baton is not one that I am familiar with in English at all . We would simply say baton or most likely in a military context 'Field Marshall's baton' as these are the only guys that carry them in the British Army. So has this been borrowed from the archaeological phrase 'baton de commandment' which refers to the paleolithic antler bone artefacts now thought to have been spear throwers ? I agree they may well be some form of talismanic device and as has been suggested , perhaps carried by priests of some sort , but 'commanders' ...I dont think so . For one thing , certainly their use by commanders in the later Mahdist period would have been recorded either in drawings or photos by the eventually victorious Anglo-Egyptians , or brought back to Britain to reside in the various regimental museums , prized trophies and labelled 'taken from so and so , commander of .... '. I have not encountered any evidence of this in my 40 years of interest in the Sudan wars , but would be delighted to be corrected !
As an aside I have a Sudanese 'bident' , unsharpened and covered in thuluth script , which I have always taken to be a status symbol item of a local chieftain or the equivalent of a battle standard in western terminology , serving as a rallying point and for morale purposes ( showing the leader is still in the field ! ) . I feel items like this are more likely to be commanders 'batons'. See attached picture .