My head's still spinning from all the cultural context you've been providing Ibrahiim! Hopefully I should have the blade in my grubby little hands within the next week or so, and I can take more detailed pictures that might provide more clues. As it is, I've learned immensely from following this discussion and I thank you all for sharing your knowledge.
As a side note - I bought another African sword that looks to have a European blade. This one doesn't look cut down, I assume it's some sort of 18th or 19th century cuttoe or hanger. There appears to be a maker's mark near the hilt but you can't quite make it out from the pictures. Some sort of triangle? There may be some writing there too. I don't know if it's interesting enough to warrant discussion like the s'boula, but I thought I'd throw it out there anyways. If I can make out any details on the blade that look interesting I'll of course start another thread.
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