These are truly interesting pieces, and some excellent suggestions and observations being made. I have not really looked further into notes etc. yet but I do recall the 'mace' circumstance being discussed about a year ago regarding Sudanese use.
As Teodor has noted, the 'command baton' does seem to have been often misapplied to a good number of unusual 'weapons' in Sudanese contexts which seem sub par as such, but actually were used by religious figures in the field for ritual and ceremonial support. In Sudanese forces, these elements were profoundly key in the spiritual invocations as these forces advanced into battle.
It seems to me that the mace may well be one of such items, but cannot be sure. The ogival head seems known to have been used in Sudanese context.
While the spear/axe combination would seem likely to have been with thuluth decoration (as most arms of these kinds during the Mahdiyya were) it is possible that some remained in their 'native' state. There were numbers of diverse tribal groups among the forces of the Caliph in campaign, and they accounted for many of the weapons seemingly incongruent with those indigenous in Sudan.
The linear dotted decoration seems of other regional source on the axe, and reminds me of possibly something Tebu as Teodor has noted, and the 'rocker' type motif in mace carving does recall the fibula pattern on flyssa, which may easily have transmitted into Sudanese contexts. These are among many basic Saharan folk religion talismanic themes it would seem.
Time to hit the books
