Small....(and in my opinion)...beautiful

roanoa · 7th November 2005, 06:19 AM

I believe Tutsi spears are the most elegant and finely crafted spears in Africa. I have had these two for a long time and I did not know what they were till I found a picture of Tutsi spear heads in an old Italian book. The variety of forms is amazing. My two spears are fairly short. The one with the large blade is 137 cm long. The head is 34.5 cm long including the socket and 4.5 cm wide. The smaller one is only 116 cm long (the iron butt spike is missing); head , including socket is 22 cm long and 3.4 cm wide. The blade has a different pattern on each side. I believe they were carried more as a symbol than a weapon.

Battara · 7th November 2005, 07:04 AM

Tutsi spears - W W! I like those. Never would have known had you not posted those. Very nice and impressive!

Freddy · 7th November 2005, 02:51 PM

Very nice, indeed !

My spear has a simple blade, but notice the small decoration on the base of all three spears (engraved lines).

I haven't seen such intricate blades as yet. I like them a lot.

Roanoa,
You are quite right in saying that these spears are carried as symbols. It's a 'status thing'. The smaller spears are often called 'staff spears'.

The picture of the book also shows some rare blade forms. In Belgium, we sometimes find small spears with such 'exotic' formed spear blades. Often these have beaded shafts. A lot of them were made for the Europeans (as a kind of tourist piece), but not all. In one of my former posts, I showed some beaded pieces :

As far as I can judge from the pictures all these blades look very well forged.

7th November 2005, 06:19 AM	#1
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 241	I believe Tutsi spears are the most elegant and finely crafted spears in Africa. I have had these two for a long time and I did not know what they were till I found a picture of Tutsi spear heads in an old Italian book. The variety of forms is amazing. My two spears are fairly short. The one with the large blade is 137 cm long. The head is 34.5 cm long including the socket and 4.5 cm wide. The smaller one is only 116 cm long (the iron butt spike is missing); head , including socket is 22 cm long and 3.4 cm wide. The blade has a different pattern on each side. I believe they were carried more as a symbol than a weapon. Attached Images

7th November 2005, 02:51 PM	#3
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	Terrific ! Very nice, indeed ! My spear has a simple blade, but notice the small decoration on the base of all three spears (engraved lines). I haven't seen such intricate blades as yet. I like them a lot. Roanoa, You are quite right in saying that these spears are carried as symbols. It's a 'status thing'. The smaller spears are often called 'staff spears'. The picture of the book also shows some rare blade forms. In Belgium, we sometimes find small spears with such 'exotic' formed spear blades. Often these have beaded shafts. A lot of them were made for the Europeans (as a kind of tourist piece), but not all. In one of my former posts, I showed some beaded pieces : As far as I can judge from the pictures all these blades look very well forged.

7th November 2005, 07:04 AM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,345	Tutsi spears - W W! I like those. Never would have known had you not posted those. Very nice and impressive!