The Manding is designated as a language group, who share a similar dialect and live many of the countries in the West African region. They can be found from the Gambia to the Côte d'Ivoire and include the Bambara, Dyula, Mandingo, Maninke, and Malinke ( and probably many others). Granted, migration and assimilation being taken into account, I would imagine variation in hilt design is bound to diverse and imaginative.
I've noticed three kinds of hilts attributed to the Manding people. Is there a list or typography chart that clarifies or discusses this in more detail?
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