Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Islamic axe head

Tim Simmons · 20th December 2009, 05:30 PM

Dom, thank you for your reply. I now know you have seen it and are working on a possible translation. I think it is not easy but I really do hope you can find something.

To illustrate the difficulty and put a cultural context into this thread I post some text, first more about my earlier reply from "Nigerian Panoply arms and armour of the Northern Region- A.D.H. Bivar- published by Dept of Antiqities Federal Republic of Nigeria 1964" {where other interpretations are admissible, I imagine is the same sentiment} showing script as a cypher. Secondly text from "A Thousand Years Of West African History, a handbook for teachers and students, Ibadan University Press" this helps show how Arabic forms may have been altered to the point that may now not be understood.

I am going to suggest that many pieces viewed as "Sudan" is in the Mahdist Jihad may well not be. They could be from earlier Jihads- Usuman dan Fodio, Seku Ahmadu, and Al-Hajj 'Umar, all in what today is West Africa. A big question is, can artefacts/weapons from these Jihads be identified as different to Mahdist material? The earlier Jihads might pre-date the armoury at Omdurman and the supply of the European, notably German kaskara blades. Or is the kaskara an older weapon that has a west African origin?

20th December 2009, 05:30 PM	#9
Tim Simmons Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: What is still UK Posts: 5,739	Dom, thank you for your reply. I now know you have seen it and are working on a possible translation. I think it is not easy but I really do hope you can find something. To illustrate the difficulty and put a cultural context into this thread I post some text, first more about my earlier reply from "Nigerian Panoply arms and armour of the Northern Region- A.D.H. Bivar- published by Dept of Antiqities Federal Republic of Nigeria 1964" {where other interpretations are admissible, I imagine is the same sentiment} showing script as a cypher. Secondly text from "A Thousand Years Of West African History, a handbook for teachers and students, Ibadan University Press" this helps show how Arabic forms may have been altered to the point that may now not be understood. I am going to suggest that many pieces viewed as "Sudan" is in the Mahdist Jihad may well not be. They could be from earlier Jihads- Usuman dan Fodio, Seku Ahmadu, and Al-Hajj 'Umar, all in what today is West Africa. A big question is, can artefacts/weapons from these Jihads be identified as different to Mahdist material? The earlier Jihads might pre-date the armoury at Omdurman and the supply of the European, notably German kaskara blades. Or is the kaskara an older weapon that has a west African origin? Attached Images Last edited by Tim Simmons; 20th December 2009 at 06:10 PM.