Hi Threadline,
Thank you for your comment and pics. A very interesting suggestion and some wonderful examples! The term assegai being used as a generic word for all African spears would appear to make further sense when one considers the synonymous usage in many sources, both historical and contemporary. Thank you again for showing your pieces, the wire bindings are incredibly intricate and show a wonderful craftsmanship. These pieces must have taken some time to construct, especially the fully binded iklwa. May I ask if the smaller spear in the middle is a throwing spear?
There is certainly no wire binding that I can see on my spear; just the ox tail sleeve covering and some further binding underneath that appears to be some organic material. I am only making unsourced assumptions here, however; could it be possible that, when we consider the size of the Zulu army (during the conflict with the British in the 19th century) was between 35 - 40 000 strong, that throwing spears of lesser intricacy and quality (such as this one) were perhaps manufactured in volume?
Kind regards
Chris
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