Marking of weapons: Anthropologically and Sociologically

[DaveA]

Originally Posted by Ann Feuerbach

I can't really add anything. I was in Timbuktu and just asked the Tuareg I was buying a blade from what the markings on his sword meant, because you know I have to ask such things.
It was a squiggly line down the middle (Niger river) with marks on the side (cities and villages). Would never have guessed it but after he pointed it out, it made sense.

So it is a map. Fascinating. As artistic expression, this reminds me of the paintings by Aboriginals in the Western Australia desert. With lines, squiggles, dots and circles, the paintings represent "overhead" map-type views of the countryside (locations of food gathering sources, water) or important rituals (women dancing around a campfire).

Are there other designs on ethnographic weapons that could be interpreted this way?