Thank you for answering Ed! and as always, your observations are well placed, and we're on the same page. I was thinking that the mark probably was adopted by some local armorer using it as his mark for a sword he assembled. However, as the 'horseshoe' seems to have been some sort of design popular in Tuareg items and jewelry, the talismanic or magical potential which seems potentially well known as a symbol. In their folk religion and tradition symbolism reigns supreme, as you have noted.
The stick and drums are apparently derived from the cross and orb (as you note) and used as an ownership mark by the Funj, but it seems in other parlance noted may also be relating to tribal rank, such as chief.
I agree, we are still static as far as plausible explanations, but who knows where this goes. I hope readers out there might have seen this mark and might have ideas they would share.
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