AFAIK little is known of traditional C African martial arts in N America, but I am given to understand that the assumption that this indicates incompetence is a misimpression. Certainly many of the swords are very effective, when you consider that tempered martensite did not seem to be known in most of traditional Africa.
There are indeed whose handles, extreme flimsiness (though IMHO less of these than the EuroAmerican impression; maybe less of both; my small hilted Mongo sword does have a coned guard and pommel that are meant to fit within the hand) etc, even if we had no cultural information in the matter, which we do have, mark them as ceremonial. Swords, etc. were/are often rank markers in traditional African culture, and can have other ceremonial uses, as well. I think of the brass-handled dagger with the snake(s?) on the handle....
Yes, the main purpose of an edged weapon is usually to pierce or cut the enemy; to sever his muscles, tendons, and organs, and to let his blood out. Copper, bronze, brass, stone, and bone are perfectly up to the task; many many humans and bigger, tougher things, have been killed with them on a routine basis. The idea that your sword is for something more than that; that it is for blocking and clashing with other weapons, a thing the traditional sword-and-sheild figter usually avoids, is a culture-specific idea; it is not seen in all cultures, and is not terribly relevant to all fighting systems. That said, of course, brass is less strong and stiff than iron for a blade, and maybe even more expensive in traditional economy (?), but as has been said, people often have a lot more things driving their actions than maximizing material effectiveness; religious concerns and social displays come to mind, but an item can have aspects of those and still be a weapon, if you follow me. Look at brass and silver inlaid into blades; it serves no practical purpose, yet the chiselled cuts can be a place for a crack to start. Yet we see it all the time, on, I think, a lot of using blades. A far lesser unsturdiness than being brass, I admit, but just trying to make a point
