Takouba/alguinar West Africa -marking conundrum

[Jim McDougall]

Another flight into the ether,
From the beginning, I have always been fascinated by markings, symbols and inscriptions on sword blades. While obviously these were typically aligned with a makers mark or punzone, often markings and devices had other more esoteric meanings, whether occult, talismanic or other.

While this was the case in Europe mostly, often the trade blades going into other cultural spheres were seen by native people as with meanings that were aligned with their own cultural beliefs, superstitions and folk religions. This was particularly notable from Sudan across the Sahara, and for example, the familiar cross and orb on many German blades was seen by natives as a drum and sticks, a chiefly symbol among others. The ubiquitous 'running wolf' was seen in Sudan as a hippopotamus (Reed, 1987).

What we have here is a takouba of West Africa, said to have come from Ougadougau, Burkina Faso, which is regarded as 'aljuinar' (slight curved blade). The blade appears distinctly European hanger, and in the center of the blade is a marking, placed much as on many of these blades in mid 18th century.
It appears to be a version of the capital Greek letter OMEGA, which has found use symbolically in many versions from scientific to occult, even Gnostic symbols and other occult systems.

While not an exact rendering of the Omega, it is remarkably close, and it might be a version in accord with any number of forms of the character.
Could thus be a mark used by a European maker? or otherwise symbolically applied?

Or, could this be some tribal symbol added to the blade as sometimes done?
In checking Tifinaugh, and Berber symbols nothing turned up, though this arc with hooked ends had some instance that did not seem close enough.

Just wondering what thoughts anyone out there might have....has anyone seen such a mark on a Saharan blade? European?

What prompted this was seeing this symbol in a 16th century woodcut showing hunt scenes....Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) used this kind of symbolism in some of his often mysterious art.

See the regulus(Omega) in the art from Howard Blackmore ("Hunting Weapons" 1971) i upper left corner

The portrait of Johann Kleberger (1526) by Albrecht Durer. Note the regulus in upper left corner. These art works of 16th c. were rather 'DaVinci code' with subtle symbols with esoteric meanings often imbued in the subject matter.