Help with 3 'Cross of Agades' daggers

[Jim McDougall]

Excellent approach Redline!
These 'telek' arm daggers are indeed very much Tuareg, but it must be remembered that that classification, as you have observed, is quite broadly applied. The Tuareg confederations of Berbers are dispersed over Saharan regions through Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria and Libya and are pastoral nomadic people. They were keenly aligned with trade routes through all these regions, so as you can imagine their material culture was equally well dispersed.

These examples have the familiar Tuareg 'cross of Agadez', which though signifying that key region in Niger, was actually only one of the many variants of Tuareg 'cross' known (There are as many as 22). The actual symbolism is often debated, however it is generally held that the cross in their parlance represented the four cardinal directions, or four corners of the world. Items with this were typically presented to a son by his father in rites of passage, signifying this meaning .

While the telek (an arm dagger worn hilt down on the upper arm) often had these 'crosses', by no means were these the only hilt forms.
As far as regionally, though these crosses are known collectively as 'Agadez' crosses, they are as observed indicative of various regions which seem to have their own favored interpretations. Some of these may be quite subtle, and probably quite often misclassified by observers as the trade factor has dispersed these items considerably.

A great source of data on these kinds of forms etc. in jewelry (which often transmits to weaponry motif) is "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher. A well illustrated fascinating book which offers great insight into the style and forms of ethnic peoples in Africa.

The scabbard forms here, as well as the arm loops, offer some potential for perhaps more regional classification, but it will take some research!! We can say these are Tuareg telek (or gozma), and possibly the hilt cross shapes might offer some clue .

[thinreadline]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Excellent approach Redline!
These 'telek' arm daggers are indeed very much Tuareg, but it must be remembered that that classification, as you have observed, is quite broadly applied. The Tuareg confederations of Berbers are dispersed over Saharan regions through Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Algeria and Libya and are pastoral nomadic people. They were keenly aligned with trade routes through all these regions, so as you can imagine their material culture was equally well dispersed.

These examples have the familiar Tuareg 'cross of Agadez', which though signifying that key region in Niger, was actually only one of the many variants of Tuareg 'cross' known (There are as many as 22). The actual symbolism is often debated, however it is generally held that the cross in their parlance represented the four cardinal directions, or four corners of the world. Items with this were typically presented to a son by his father in rites of passage, signifying this meaning .

While the telek (an arm dagger worn hilt down on the upper arm) often had these 'crosses', by no means were these the only hilt forms.
As far as regionally, though these crosses are known collectively as 'Agadez' crosses, they are as observed indicative of various regions which seem to have their own favored interpretations. Some of these may be quite subtle, and probably quite often misclassified by observers as the trade factor has dispersed these items considerably.

A great source of data on these kinds of forms etc. in jewelry (which often transmits to weaponry motif) is "Africa Adorned" by Angela Fisher. A well illustrated fascinating book which offers great insight into the style and forms of ethnic peoples in Africa.

The scabbard forms here, as well as the arm loops, offer some potential for perhaps more regional classification, but it will take some research!! We can say these are Tuareg telek (or gozma), and possibly the hilt cross shapes might offer some clue .

Thank you Jim ... many many useful pointers here . As is often the case even with Western 'modern' edged weapons, the metal part ie the knife or sword . lasts indefinitely but its scabbard does not ... and so the owner may need to commission a scabbard locally .... hence I feel that whilst the knife itself tends to be fairly unchanging stylistically , the scabbard in contrast will reflect the local fashion and materials . We see this often for example with the takouba scabbard .

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by thinreadline

Thank you Jim ... many many useful pointers here . As is often the case even with Western 'modern' edged weapons, the metal part ie the knife or sword . lasts indefinitely but its scabbard does not ... and so the owner may need to commission a scabbard locally .... hence I feel that whilst the knife itself tends to be fairly unchanging stylistically , the scabbard in contrast will reflect the local fashion and materials . We see this often for example with the takouba scabbard .

Exactly, and this is even more so the case in North Africa. The typically rugged conditions experienced by these nomadic tribes called for frequent refurbishing of weapons much as most materials. In cases where weapons were traded or handed down, even hilts were either replaced or repaired.
The blades of course, most durable of all, have survived in these desert regions for many generations, even centuries.

In the case of the scabbards, as with most weapons, I consider the present one the most recent chapter in the working life of the weapon. As once told by a friend some time ago, a Fulani, the scabbard (in his language) was termed 'holga', which meant 'house'. I thought, much as with people, the sword (blade) simply had moved many times to new houses.

[thinreadline]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Exactly, and this is even more so the case in North Africa. The typically rugged conditions experienced by these nomadic tribes called for frequent refurbishing of weapons much as most materials. In cases where weapons were traded or handed down, even hilts were either replaced or repaired.
The blades of course, most durable of all, have survived in these desert regions for many generations, even centuries.

In the case of the scabbards, as with most weapons, I consider the present one the most recent chapter in the working life of the weapon. As once told by a friend some time ago, a Fulani, the scabbard (in his language) was termed 'holga', which meant 'house'. I thought, much as with people, the sword (blade) simply had moved many times to new houses.

Ha ha ... that is very true ! The same of course is particularly so with Japanese swords ..... the blades of which ( perhaps more particularly due to fashion than wear ) were frequently rehilted, re -tsuba - ed and rescabbarded over the centuries. So much so that many of the weapons surrendered to the Allies at the cessation of hostilities in 1945 proved to have blades several hundreds of years old despite their modern ( regulation ) fittings. As they say, though we shouldnt judge a book by its cover, nevertheless the cover itself may have a story to tell.