Zulu Spear

[mross]

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Hi Chris
Its a pleasure .. Zulu weaponry has been an interest of mine well since I was 11 years old and went to see the film Zulu !
If you examine any late 19th / early 20th century childrens adventure stories , the word assegai is used for spears of any type in any part of Africa .
Yes the middle spear is an throwing spear .. of very good quality and craftsmanship , and yes I am sure in times of war, 'disposable' weapons such as throwing spears would certainly suffer in quality and also relate to the wealth and position of the owner .

Intresting topic. From your pictures the middle one is the one I would associate with the throwing spear and it seems that is the case. The bottom one is the one I always thought was the assegai. Is that correct? What then is the top one? I have read the form evolved into the larger blade around the time of Shaka, or because of I suppose.

[katana]

I've read references that state that Zulu spearheads are forged with a shoulder at the base of the 'head' . Such as Thinreadline's example. Many 'provenanced' spears I have seen support this statement.

All the best David

[collectingspears]

The shoulder on the base of the blade is actually common on all Northern Nguni spear blades including; Zulu, Swazi, Shangaan, Matabele and all the Ngoni groups in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia & Tanzania. the notch is even seen on some Southern Nguni spears. A visit to any old traditional spearmaker in these countries will confirm this fact.
Regards,