The mysterious Mandinka saber

Pertinax · 26th September 2025, 10:39 PM

Let's look at what sabers were called in the Sokoto Caliphate.

J.P. Smaldone «Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate»:

Page 220
A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology:
almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami)
bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku)
hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami)
lafaranji - single-edged sword

Page 174 note to chapter 3
58 Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tarnogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55

Figure 5. Hausa Sabers and Scabbards. Smithsonian Institution

26th September 2025, 10:39 PM	#3
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 289	The Mandinka Sabre (continued) Let's look at what sabers were called in the Sokoto Caliphate. J.P. Smaldone «Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate»: Page 220 A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology: almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami) bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku) hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami) lafaranji - single-edged sword Page 174 note to chapter 3 58 Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tarnogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55 Figure 5. Hausa Sabers and Scabbards. Smithsonian Institution Attached Images