Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Jim McDougall · 2nd January 2007, 01:48 AM

Hi nKante,
Welcome to the forum, and thanks for bringing in such an interesting topic! Its kept me busy most of the day and apparantly pretty esoteric

! so I hope what I found will help.

Apparantly the bronzes you mention depict warriors of the 'Leopard Hunters Guild' of the Kingdom of Benin (situated in what is now Bendel State in Nigeria). These warriors were first described in Portuguese narratives of late 15th c. as they occupied here and began the unfortunate slave trade which was joined by others and thrived well into the 19th century. The hide of the pangolin (scaly anteater) was believed to be one of the few West African animals that could withstand the power of the leopard, totemic and feared by the tribes of these regions. It appears that most West African weapons and defenses were attributed with magic powers and this guild was to control and administer these powers.
In "African Arms & Armor" (C.Spring, 1993, p.50-51) it is noted that the chiefs of Benin still wear bright red costumes which imitate the overlapping scales of the pangolin and indicate special status with the 'Oba' (=king).
This would suggest that these pangolin armored warriors of this 'guild' were quite possibly household forces for the Oba and that possibly the armor was colored red. This is suggested by the fact that the present costume, though not true pangolin, is colored red. I found that the ancient city houses in Benin City were apparantly colored with red ochre, perhaps this was in some way significant with often very gruesome sacrificial practices there? Purely speculative, but seemed an interesting note on the importance of red.
There is a book (which I have not seen but found the title) "Benin: The City of Blood" , R.H.Bacon, 1898, which seems to allude to same.

Other titles suggested:
"Antiquities of Benin in the British Museum", 1899, Pitt Rivers

"The Arts of Benin" Paula Ben-Amos, London, 1980

"Men and Animals in Benin Art"
in the journal "Man", Vol.II, Jun 1976, pp.243-252

It should be noted that the reference to 'Leopard Hunters Guild' does not appear associated with the notorious 'Leopard Men' who were a secret society involved in unusual killings in African regions from West Africa to the Congo in the 20th century. These were of course sensationalized in various stories including Tarzan, among numerous others.

I hope this information will be of some help and that you will keep us posted on progress. Its always great to see new enthusiasts in our studies and again, this is a very interesting topic that I hope others might add to.

All the best,
Jim

2nd January 2007, 01:48 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,759	Hi nKante, Welcome to the forum, and thanks for bringing in such an interesting topic! Its kept me busy most of the day and apparantly pretty esoteric ! so I hope what I found will help. Apparantly the bronzes you mention depict warriors of the 'Leopard Hunters Guild' of the Kingdom of Benin (situated in what is now Bendel State in Nigeria). These warriors were first described in Portuguese narratives of late 15th c. as they occupied here and began the unfortunate slave trade which was joined by others and thrived well into the 19th century. The hide of the pangolin (scaly anteater) was believed to be one of the few West African animals that could withstand the power of the leopard, totemic and feared by the tribes of these regions. It appears that most West African weapons and defenses were attributed with magic powers and this guild was to control and administer these powers. In "African Arms & Armor" (C.Spring, 1993, p.50-51) it is noted that the chiefs of Benin still wear bright red costumes which imitate the overlapping scales of the pangolin and indicate special status with the 'Oba' (=king). This would suggest that these pangolin armored warriors of this 'guild' were quite possibly household forces for the Oba and that possibly the armor was colored red. This is suggested by the fact that the present costume, though not true pangolin, is colored red. I found that the ancient city houses in Benin City were apparantly colored with red ochre, perhaps this was in some way significant with often very gruesome sacrificial practices there? Purely speculative, but seemed an interesting note on the importance of red. There is a book (which I have not seen but found the title) "Benin: The City of Blood" , R.H.Bacon, 1898, which seems to allude to same. Other titles suggested: "Antiquities of Benin in the British Museum", 1899, Pitt Rivers "The Arts of Benin" Paula Ben-Amos, London, 1980 "Men and Animals in Benin Art" in the journal "Man", Vol.II, Jun 1976, pp.243-252 It should be noted that the reference to 'Leopard Hunters Guild' does not appear associated with the notorious 'Leopard Men' who were a secret society involved in unusual killings in African regions from West Africa to the Congo in the 20th century. These were of course sensationalized in various stories including Tarzan, among numerous others. I hope this information will be of some help and that you will keep us posted on progress. Its always great to see new enthusiasts in our studies and again, this is a very interesting topic that I hope others might add to. All the best, Jim Last edited by Jim McDougall; 3rd January 2007 at 03:00 AM.