Two West African swords/cutlasses for I.D.

Jim McDougall · 27th August 2017, 07:56 PM

Great examples Ibrahiim!
One thing I have been wondering,
That distinct four armed cross pierced into the blade near distal end on many of these.....they seem to correspond to the cross piercing on the Portuguese 15th century+ 'navigator (or 'black') swords of crab claw type in that the qullon discs of these often have such crosses.

Could the Yoruba possibly have incorporated this symbol into their symbolic devices in their religion? The symbol is not necessarily consistant but seems to often occur on Yoruba ceremonial type weapons from areas from Togo, through Benin into Nigeria in variation.

27th August 2017, 07:56 PM	#10
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,281	Great examples Ibrahiim! One thing I have been wondering, That distinct four armed cross pierced into the blade near distal end on many of these.....they seem to correspond to the cross piercing on the Portuguese 15th century+ 'navigator (or 'black') swords of crab claw type in that the qullon discs of these often have such crosses. Could the Yoruba possibly have incorporated this symbol into their symbolic devices in their religion? The symbol is not necessarily consistant but seems to often occur on Yoruba ceremonial type weapons from areas from Togo, through Benin into Nigeria in variation.