African spear with bell, sold on eBay, ..comments?

katana · 9th August 2006, 10:07 PM

An interesting and unusual spear with a bell forged into the shaft.....never seen ...or heard of one before...not so certain that the bell would scare of lions, as suggested by seller.
Even if it did....I am sure the lions would eventually become 'immune' to the threat......and with that fear gone......I suppose it would become a 'dinner' bell........for the lions

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Lew · 10th August 2006, 01:02 AM

That is typical style spear from the Congo a nice spear but the bidding went way too far on this one.

Lew

mmontoro · 10th August 2006, 01:09 AM

Another story I heard about this type of spear was that the noise made by the bell would help in tracking a wounded animal and I don't mean lions....who knows?

Freddy · 10th August 2006, 10:59 AM

Way to expensive for an African spear ! In Belgium, you can find them a lot cheaper.

I checked 'IJzerwerk van Centraal-Afrika' (Iron work from Central Africa) by H. Westerdijk (1975). He writes that this type of spear originates from the Mongo- people and is more a kind of status symbol.

In 'Dodelijk mooi' (Deadly beauty - Beauté fatale) similar spears are attributed to the Poto, Doko, Ngombe and Iboko from the northwestern part of Congo.
I've seen pics with warriors, dancing with that type of spear.

Tomorrow, I'll put some pics on the forum.

Mapico1 · 10th August 2006, 04:53 PM

High price for common Mongo spear;used for hunt on rhino and elephant...
1950ies...

katana · 10th August 2006, 07:21 PM

Is the bell used to scare animals....like 'beaters' that scare prey into the path of the hunters.??

Mapico1 · 11th August 2006, 09:42 AM

Bell is to follow the wounded animal.....

Freddy · 16th August 2006, 07:06 PM

here are the promised pics :

The full length of this spear is 1m63. The spear blade has a long neck and measures about 60,5 cm.
The wooden shaft is decorated with copper, aluminium and iron banding.

katana · 16th August 2006, 07:10 PM

Hi Freddy, nice spear....just a few questions..is the spear balanced? Could it be thrown accurately or would it be used as a 'stabbing' weapon?

Freddy · 16th August 2006, 07:48 PM

The balance of this spear lies in the middle of the shaft.

The bell acts as a counter weight. The bell is fitted to the shaft in the same way as the spear blade : it has a fitting which goes over the wooden shaft.

I doubt whether this spear is used for throwing. In my opinion, it's too heavy.

In 'Dodelijk mooi' (deadly beauty/beauté fatale) is written :

In some areas, the counter weight is replaced by a bell which fits over the shaft. These bell are used to create noise to impress an opponent.

The first picture shows the fitting of the spear blade. The second one is the fitting of the bell, which is similar.
The third picture comes from the book 'Dodelijk mooi'. The spear shown on the left is quite similar in shape to the one I have (although mine has a smaller spearblade).

katana · 16th August 2006, 08:02 PM

Thanks Freddy.....kind of you to post the extra info.

9th August 2006, 10:07 PM	#1
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	African spear with bell, sold on eBay, ..comments? An interesting and unusual spear with a bell forged into the shaft.....never seen ...or heard of one before...not so certain that the bell would scare of lions, as suggested by seller. Even if it did....I am sure the lions would eventually become 'immune' to the threat......and with that fear gone......I suppose it would become a 'dinner' bell........for the lions http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWA%3AIT&rd=1

10th August 2006, 10:59 AM	#4
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	Nice Way to expensive for an African spear ! In Belgium, you can find them a lot cheaper. I checked 'IJzerwerk van Centraal-Afrika' (Iron work from Central Africa) by H. Westerdijk (1975). He writes that this type of spear originates from the Mongo- people and is more a kind of status symbol. In 'Dodelijk mooi' (Deadly beauty - Beauté fatale) similar spears are attributed to the Poto, Doko, Ngombe and Iboko from the northwestern part of Congo. I've seen pics with warriors, dancing with that type of spear. Tomorrow, I'll put some pics on the forum.

16th August 2006, 07:06 PM	#8
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	pics here are the promised pics : The full length of this spear is 1m63. The spear blade has a long neck and measures about 60,5 cm. The wooden shaft is decorated with copper, aluminium and iron banding.

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10th August 2006, 01:02 AM	#2
Lew (deceased) Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: East Coast USA Posts: 3,191	That is typical style spear from the Congo a nice spear but the bidding went way too far on this one. Lew

10th August 2006, 01:09 AM	#3
mmontoro Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 91	Another story I heard about this type of spear was that the noise made by the bell would help in tracking a wounded animal and I don't mean lions....who knows?

10th August 2006, 04:53 PM	#5
Mapico1 Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 86	High price for common Mongo spear;used for hunt on rhino and elephant... 1950ies...

10th August 2006, 07:21 PM	#6
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Is the bell used to scare animals....like 'beaters' that scare prey into the path of the hunters.??

11th August 2006, 09:42 AM	#7
Mapico1 Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 86	Bell is to follow the wounded animal.....

16th August 2006, 07:10 PM	#9
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Freddy, nice spear....just a few questions..is the spear balanced? Could it be thrown accurately or would it be used as a 'stabbing' weapon?

16th August 2006, 07:48 PM	#10
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	The balance of this spear lies in the middle of the shaft. The bell acts as a counter weight. The bell is fitted to the shaft in the same way as the spear blade : it has a fitting which goes over the wooden shaft. I doubt whether this spear is used for throwing. In my opinion, it's too heavy. In 'Dodelijk mooi' (deadly beauty/beauté fatale) is written : In some areas, the counter weight is replaced by a bell which fits over the shaft. These bell are used to create noise to impress an opponent. The first picture shows the fitting of the spear blade. The second one is the fitting of the bell, which is similar. The third picture comes from the book 'Dodelijk mooi'. The spear shown on the left is quite similar in shape to the one I have (although mine has a smaller spearblade).

16th August 2006, 08:02 PM	#11
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Thanks Freddy.....kind of you to post the extra info.