A nice example of a Boa/Azande Congo sword as mentioned. They often have wire wrap to the hilt and I've seen them in a woven fibre sheath sometimes. The ridging to the blade acts to strengthen it, without increasing the weight and thickness. Often these blades will have a hole made in them which also acts to stiffen/strengthen the blade.
African weapons often have smallish hilts, it seems Africans (and others) in the past had smaller and thinner hands than nowadays.
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