Just a correction on the common mistake of calling all of these Shona knives. The area that these knives were used was not limited to the north & eastern parts of Zimbabwe. They were also used in Mozambique all along the Zambesi river including the whole of Malawi and southern Tanzania. The section where the Shona live only accounts for about 15% of the area where these knives were used. In fact the best examples and most varied types seem to be Malawian. That is where the hippo ivory ones come from. A search on the Museum of Scotland will show the great variety that were collected by Scottish missionaries in Malawi.
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