Copper made African Blades

tom hyle · 14th May 2005, 11:38 AM

Nice pile of treasure! How 'bout those 'Zande swords; yummie looking. Kuba ikulas, Yoruba (Beni?) government sword, sheaths, baby; sheaths!......
If the piece is entirely copper, especially if it's a single casting (? kind of looks like it) then I'd call it an effigy of a weapon, I think; a sculpture in the shape of a weapon, but not constructed like one, and is likely ceremonial/decorative, perhaps a large balancing weight (though the long shape is not real conducive.....). Other copper and brass blades though more commonly are attached to ordinary wooden hilts. It is said certain persons must not touch iron, many of them only at certain times. On the other hand, Congo-basin royalty often claim blacksmithery in their ancestry or skills...............? In any event, those who tend to think copper or brass etc. blades "must" be ceremonial have forgotten how very very much Death such have handed out. Perhaps Africans consider copper blades poisonous, as we have heard of Philippinos?

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14th May 2005, 11:38 AM	#2
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	Nice pile of treasure! How 'bout those 'Zande swords; yummie looking. Kuba ikulas, Yoruba (Beni?) government sword, sheaths, baby; sheaths!...... If the piece is entirely copper, especially if it's a single casting (? kind of looks like it) then I'd call it an effigy of a weapon, I think; a sculpture in the shape of a weapon, but not constructed like one, and is likely ceremonial/decorative, perhaps a large balancing weight (though the long shape is not real conducive.....). Other copper and brass blades though more commonly are attached to ordinary wooden hilts. It is said certain persons must not touch iron, many of them only at certain times. On the other hand, Congo-basin royalty often claim blacksmithery in their ancestry or skills...............? In any event, those who tend to think copper or brass etc. blades "must" be ceremonial have forgotten how very very much Death such have handed out. Perhaps Africans consider copper blades poisonous, as we have heard of Philippinos?