African Swords actually used?

[Lew]

Here are some Boa tribe swords and I would not want to be on the pointy end of them. Also this Zande dagger with ivory hilt the blade is stout and deadly

Lew

[Jim McDougall]

Hi Steven,
To answer a broadly worded question...it depends.
I think Christopher Spring addressed this well in his "African Arms & Armour" when he noted the desperate tendancy of those in the 'west' to always try to explain or understand the practical use of every weapon.

As Tim has noted, many of the weapons of Africa were actually parade or ceremonial. It should be further noted that African tribal warfare was often carried out much differently than that of many other cultures, and there was a great deal of showmanship involved, with the bearing weapon of the chiefs trying to look more intimidating than the next etc.

The use of the throwing knives has received wide speculation, but it is known that they were in degree actually used, many of course werent.
The 'hwi' of Dahomey and many of the bearing swords of west African regions were so elaborate they would have useless at best in battle.

North Africa, they are still wearing takoubas and kaskaras...and yes, they were most definitely used, very effectively. In Central Africa, many forms were intended for use, but remember that they were typically intended as secondary to bows and spears. This may explain lack of wear on many of the existing examples.

All the best,
Jim

[werecow]

Originally Posted by Lew

Here are some Boa tribe swords and I would not want to be on the pointy end of them. Also this Zande dagger with ivory hilt the blade is stout and deadly

Lew

Ran across this thread and thought I'd add my two cents here. I have these two swords below. The smaller one (55.5 cm long, 6 cm wide at the widest point) is of superior quality and would IMO make a very effective stabbing weapon. It is 8mm thick at the thinnest point profile wise (tapering in both directions from there; see last picture) and weighs 419 grams.

The one that is overcompensating for my mediocre sized genitalia (92.5 cm long 9.4 cm at the widest point - the sword, not the genitalia) is either non-functional - ironic, I know - or alternatively, must have been made not for an average Congolese man but rather for either a giant or a large silverback gorilla on steroids (riding a bull bush elephant no doubt), because it is very heavy to wield due to its forward weight, in spite of only weighing 883 grams. The blade is thin enough to sag under its own weight (although it is stiffer than I would have guessed based on the 4mm width). Still, it is fairly sharp and could probably cleave an unarmored person in half vertically. If it was made to intimidate the opponent without bloodshed as suggested on this forum, then mission accomplished! The pictures don't quite do it justice. I have named it Titanoboa.

EDIT: Added a picture of the distal taper on the smaller one since it suggests that this one was intended for use. Titanoboa has no such complex distal taper and was IMO purely ceremonial, or, as suggested on the forums, possibly intended as money - in which case I'm presumably quite wealthy now.