The mysterious Mandinka saber

Pertinax · 26th September 2025, 10:39 PM

Let's look at what sabers were called in the Sokoto Caliphate.

J.P. Smaldone «Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate»:

Page 220
A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology:
almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami)
bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku)
hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami)
lafaranji - single-edged sword

Page 174 note to chapter 3
58 Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tarnogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55

Figure 5. Hausa Sabers and Scabbards. Smithsonian Institution

Jim McDougall · 27th September 2025, 12:07 AM

Yuri, you are amazing!!! Thank you so much.
You're right, how can we know what these sabers are called when it is not even clear what these tribes were called!
It was the Manding empire? kingdom? in medieval times. but then became the Mandinka tribes, which seem to be referred to as Mandang OR Mandingo?
Then the area became Mali or the Mali Empire, but the Manding/Mandingo/ Malinki? tribes became dissipated through much of West Africa.

With that, of course we go to the languages/dialects of the various tribes such as Fulani/Fula/Fulbe which were situated in many of same areas as the Malinka/Manding/Mandingo etc. and others.

Magnificent excerpts on these details which give great insight into these people and the production of these swords. Pretty sure the one I have has a locally made blade, while there are considerable numbers of older examples with mostly French military blades of course.

All best regards,
Jim

Changdao · 27th September 2025, 08:08 AM

This is a facinating topic I am very fond of.

First, some terminological considerations. These are often called Mandinka sabers in relation to the Mandinka, who were one of the main users. The Mandinka are an ethnolinguistic group, the main among the speakers of Mande languages, which speak Mandinka. With 11 million Mandinka in the modern day and a rich history of states tracing back to the 11th century, they qualify far above a tribe. But these sabers are very widespread in the region, so much so that calling them Mandinka sabers is a misnomer (or perhaps not, as we will see later). Bambaras (who also speak a Mande language, and diverged from the main Mandinka group in the Middle Ages), Susus (who also speak a Mande language and are other of the main historical branches of the wider Mande family), Wolofs (the main inhabitants of Senegal down to the Gambia river), Fulanis (in all their diversity west of Timbuktu, like Tukulors), all use these type of sabers.

However, the sabers belong to a wider weaponry family that also includes straight swords, daggers and spears. Focusing on "white" weapons, there are clear stylistic similarities between many in the region, but also great differences. All of this points to a very deep common origin. With this in mind, we must realize that one of the pivotal points of Medieval West African History is the migration of the Mande-speaking peoples, who started pushing towards the coast from their historical core in what is now Segou and contiguous regions to the south and west. The main of these were the Susu, who broke off the Ghana empire in the late 12th century and created a short-lived empire, and the Mandinka, who, led by Sunjata Keita, overthrew the Susu and created the empire of Mali. This process led to a westwards migration that resulted in the coastal Mandinka of Kaabu, the various Mande-speaking groups of Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, and to the creation of a mechant Mandinka class that dispersed itself all across West Africa (adquiring eventually a new ethnic dimension as Wangara and Dyula). It's in this milieu that the sabers probably appeared, and it is plausible that they did within the empire of Mali (so calling them Mandinka would not be so far-fetched).

By the point we start getting external reports, in the 1450's, these sabers were already well established. An early witness is Ibn Battuta in the mid 1300's, who speaks of a saber wielded by Duga, an important figure in the court of the Malian emperor. The Portuguese attest that sabers were already very popular, with them being forged in the Gambia by Mandinka smiths and traded all over Senegal. It seems that owing to the high demand the European traders saw a lucrative market, and started exporting blades and finished weapons according to local tastes. So it seems safe to say that West African sabers predate European interactions, being already popular in the 15th century if not earlier. As should be remembered, the Gambia continued to be a local centre of bladed weapon manufacture, with Almada stating that "this land has more weapons than in any other of Guiné, because, as it has iron which they forge, they make many arms in the form of spears , dardos, stabbing daggers and frechas" and Dornelas corroborating that statement, and also adding the manufacture of shields, sometimes even by request of European clients:

"Here at Kassan excellent round shields are made, and if we order them they are made in our style. They are covered with leather and painted. And the tangomaos have sheaths made for the swords and daggers , and have them decorated, since there are good craftsmen here."

Likewise, Dornelas states that further south the Susu were great manufacturers of weapons and iron implements for the Sierra Leonian market, and other sources support this:

"Among the Susus iron is smelted in large quantity from which they make swords , spears , knives and iron tools to work the fields, and they bring them to sell in Serra Leoa"

The style of these weapons as described for example by Almada, corresponds to the modern ones in how they were hilted and the size of the blades, but otherwise we do not know the finer details. Likewise, the serpent-like scabbards are not mentioned, and indeed we also find in 19th century examples without that feature. When that appeared, we don't know.

As soon as direct contact was made with the Europeans, West Africa demanded saber blades, showing that there was already a mature market for their consumption in place. The Portuguese were importing cutlass/hanger blades and terçados into West Africa during the XVth-XVIth century, and between 1590 and 1618 there even was a group of Lisbon-based smiths producing bladed weapons for the Senegambian market.

In the 1460's there were efforts by the Portuguese crown to pursue lançados who were illegally selling weapons to West Africans, with Diogo Gomes being dispatched in 1460. Mendo Afonso, who had traded swords in Guinea, went to live in the coast among Africna Muslims until he got a pardon in 1463. The illegality was because a Papal bull had forbidden the sale of weapons to infidels, but there is a mountain of evidence that traders along the Mediterranean ignored it and traded anyway. Elsewhere I recapitulated the trade of Italian weaponry to Gao and Djenné, and the Portuguese on their side did the same. But not only the Portuguese were involved, as English, Dutch, Italian and French traders also chimed in, with Sephardic Jewish merchants playing an important role in connecting this extended network with Morocco and Senegambia.

In 1590, Manuel de Andrada Castelo Branco, writing in Spanish for Philip II (now king of Portugal after Sebastiao's death at Alcazarquibir) states:

"In Bezeguiche[Gorée ] capital of the Kingdom of Jaloffo , there is a large, capacious and beautiful Bay, where 100 deep drafted vessels may anchor … and here, in this port and "escale" arrive Lutheransfrom La Rochelle , Bordeaux , and Havre de Grace, and from Brittany, along with other pirates… and their navigation, unimpeded, brings to France much gold , amber , ivory , hides , various valuable civetall in great quantity, leaving behind an abundance of instruments of war for the Wolofs , who are in the process of accepting the sect of Mahomet , including lances , creses[Malayan daggers ], espadas , alfanges[cutlasses ], shields , and other objects that are prohibited by the Bull of Cena."

Here "alfanges" refers to short sabers, like those called by the English "hanger", or messer or dussack in the German world, which are basically variations on a theme. According to an Inquisition report in Lisbon in 1590, there was a growing clandestine manufacture of bladed weapons, with eight artisans charged with making swords going to the "Rivers of Guinea". The most demanded weapon was, according to that report, the alfange. And not only European weapons were sold, as the Portuguese pulled trade from their colonial empire and there are accounts of gilded swords from India reaching the African coast.

Reports from English and French travelers in the 1600's and 1700's show that sabers were everywhere in the West African coast, already in the form that is familiar to us.

So the picture that develops is that in an environment of high demand for short sabers, originally provided for by Mandinka smiths and other groups with artisans specialise in their craft, the European traders found a potential market. In a world of rising globalization, the Atlantic coast of West Africa suddenly became globally connected, and a variety of sources stepped up to answer the demand of saber-like weapons. This continued through the centuries, as we know that the trade of European saber blades kept rising in an environment of increasing demand with the reconfiguration of West African political networks in the aftermath of Mali and Songhay's fall and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade. Imported blades for elites who could pay for them coexisted with local sources of weapons (some high quality no doubt, but also more affordable blades), particularly Mandinka smiths, who kept active trade networks that had existed for centuries. Evidently, whatever shape those sabers had originally evolved to correlate with imported styles from Europe and the Mediterranean, becoming somewhat inserted into the "saber ecumene" of the 16th century Mediterranean (falchions, hangers, nimchas, storta, dussacks, messers, etc), but also mantaining the native hilting style and displaying a great regional disparity, maybe or maybe not tracing back to the Medieval period.

I'll make another post about the possible development of the hilting style and its particularities when I have some more free time.

Pertinax · 27th September 2025, 10:22 PM

Changdao provided a brilliant overview of the region from the 12th to the 18th centuries. But as we know, all empires have phases of rise and decline: some disappear, and new ones arise.

We have surviving examples of sabers called "Mandinka," dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. During this period, the Mandinka region and related tribes were in decline. According to 19th-century travelers, they practiced primitive agriculture and had primitive industry, including metalworking.

As I wrote above, in 1904 these territories became a French colony. The year 1897 proved fateful for the neighboring region, the Sokoto Caliphate. In January and February, a small, well-armed force, equipped by the British Royal Nigerian Company, invaded and destroyed the strategic southwestern emirates of Nupe and Ilorin, Adamawa and Kano in 1901, and Sokoto in 1903. However, after the Berlin Conference of 1884, the entire continent was colonized, leaving Liberia and Ethiopia as the only sovereign states in sub-Saharan Africa.

I've selected sabers that were freely available from the internet and offer them for discussion.

All the presented specimens date from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The overall length ranges from 74 to 82 cm, and the blade length from 60 to 76 cm.

Almost all the blades are from European cavalry and infantry sabers. Judging by their overall length, these are blades with broken hilts. Based on this, one can conclude that these are not commercial trade supplies, but blades that accidentally ended up in the hands of good craftsmen for reworking.

The brass pommels of each specimen are different, but executed with great skill and taste. The same can be said for the leather work. The high-quality leather handles and scabbards are truly works of art. All this testifies to the presence of well-established handicraft industries, rather than isolated artisans.

I have no data on the existence of such industries in Malinke, but my neighbors did. Read J.P. Smaldone's "Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate":

Page 139
This centralizing effect of war is clearly shown also in the organization of the various craft industries in the nineteenth century. In each emirate the craft industries operated under direct state control, each craft being organized under a chief responsible for quality and price control, tax collection, and production for the needs of the emir. The leather industry provided saddles, shields, sheaths, quivers, horse trappings, and baggage cases. Blacksmiths made swords, spearheads and arrowheads, horse trappings, flintlocks and shot for the gunmen; brass workers produced more exquisite and expensive varieties of these items. The weaving industry prepared "uniforms," blankets, tents, baggage, and suits of lifidi. As Nadel has written of Nupe, this organization of the craft industries amounts to a full control of the political system over all the more important industries
. . . this control was dictated by the needs of the state: based on constant warfare, committed to uphold the splendour of a huge court, the political system has to guarantee a dependable, uninterrupted supply of all that is needed - arms, tools, clothes, saddles, as well as the many symbols of wealth and status.

Looking at these specimens, one might speculate that these are not combat sabers. Ceremonial, status symbols, merchandise for tourists?

As always, questions, questions, questions...

Changdao · Yesterday, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pertinax

Changdao provided a brilliant overview of the region from the 12th to the 18th centuries. But as we know, all empires have phases of rise and decline: some disappear, and new ones arise.

We have surviving examples of sabers called "Mandinka," dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. During this period, the Mandinka region and related tribes were in decline. According to 19th-century travelers, they practiced primitive agriculture and had primitive industry, including metalworking.

As I wrote above, in 1904 these territories became a French colony. The year 1897 proved fateful for the neighboring region, the Sokoto Caliphate. In January and February, a small, well-armed force, equipped by the British Royal Nigerian Company, invaded and destroyed the strategic southwestern emirates of Nupe and Ilorin, Adamawa and Kano in 1901, and Sokoto in 1903. However, after the Berlin Conference of 1884, the entire continent was colonized, leaving Liberia and Ethiopia as the only sovereign states in sub-Saharan Africa.

I've selected sabers that were freely available from the internet and offer them for discussion.

All the presented specimens date from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The overall length ranges from 74 to 82 cm, and the blade length from 60 to 76 cm.

Almost all the blades are from European cavalry and infantry sabers. Judging by their overall length, these are blades with broken hilts. Based on this, one can conclude that these are not commercial trade supplies, but blades that accidentally ended up in the hands of good craftsmen for reworking.

The brass pommels of each specimen are different, but executed with great skill and taste. The same can be said for the leather work. The high-quality leather handles and scabbards are truly works of art. All this testifies to the presence of well-established handicraft industries, rather than isolated artisans.

I have no data on the existence of such industries in Malinke, but my neighbors did. Read J.P. Smaldone's "Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate":

Page 139
This centralizing effect of war is clearly shown also in the organization of the various craft industries in the nineteenth century. In each emirate the craft industries operated under direct state control, each craft being organized under a chief responsible for quality and price control, tax collection, and production for the needs of the emir. The leather industry provided saddles, shields, sheaths, quivers, horse trappings, and baggage cases. Blacksmiths made swords, spearheads and arrowheads, horse trappings, flintlocks and shot for the gunmen; brass workers produced more exquisite and expensive varieties of these items. The weaving industry prepared "uniforms," blankets, tents, baggage, and suits of lifidi. As Nadel has written of Nupe, this organization of the craft industries amounts to a full control of the political system over all the more important industries
. . . this control was dictated by the needs of the state: based on constant warfare, committed to uphold the splendour of a huge court, the political system has to guarantee a dependable, uninterrupted supply of all that is needed - arms, tools, clothes, saddles, as well as the many symbols of wealth and status.

Looking at these specimens, one might speculate that these are not combat sabers. Ceremonial, status symbols, merchandise for tourists?

As always, questions, questions, questions...

The disintegration of the great states of the Western Sahel during the late 16th and 17th centuries was definitely important in the history of these sabers. However, the collective use in this expansive and politically fragmented region nods to the earlier shared traditions of warfare. In the wake of the fall of Songhay, Mali and Djolof, chaos engulfed the Senegal and Niger regions. The states in modern Senegal, Wolof, Serer, Mandinka and Fula, became increasingly decentralized and broken up, with the Fula state of Denianke becoming an hegemon for the 1500's and 1600's before falling itself.

The fall of Songhay left the Middle Niger in utter chaos, with the Arma entrenched on the major cities (Gao, Timbuktu), the Tuareg ruling the deserts, Walata, and occassionally Timbuktu, and the Bambara forming warbands that ransacked the land and eventually coalesced in small chiefdoms led by warrior-chiefs. The Bambara eventually formed a state centered on Segou with the Fulbe of Massina as vassals, until they became independent in the late 18th century.

On the side of Mali, there was a total disintegration after their defeat at Djenne and the death of Mansa Mahmud IV. Kaniaga, which was the traditionally important faran-sura and had been functionally independent (and under Songhay suzerainty for a time), reasserted its independence. Concho, the most powerful state of the southwest ruling over Futa Djallon and the Susu states, and the sankara-zuma, also became independent. Kaabu, on the Gambia, was free of Malian rule and started a frenzied expansion in its region, surviving until the late 19th century. On the south, three Malian successor states splintered and divided between themselves the new Mandinka core. The trading outposts linking Mali with the Gold Coast also became independent, and eventually Kong rose up.

Functionally, this period affected the interior of West Africa in some similar ways as the fall of the Western Roman Empire did in Europe.

Regarding opinions of industrial era Europeans, one must be careful because they offer them in strong contraposition to their own capabilities. This was an era of machined tools and Bessemer steel, with machine guns, smokeless powder and self-loading rifles. Their own swords would have been made industrially. In that light, the techniques they encountered were primitive, but so would have been those used to forge a longsword in 15th century France. In a similar light, it is usual to see European spectator comment on how the natives "don't know how to fence" and how their swords are "poorly balanced". Of course, what they mean is that they are not very good to fence military saber style, which is rather obvious. Also, there's the point of the enormous regional diversity in crafting prowess, much like everywhere in the pre-modern world. Some African tools and weapons are very crudely made, but you also find Samory Ture's artisans being able to manufacture small amounts of functional Kropatschek-like rifles without machining tools.

Regarding the antique examples posted, I would say that all the top row look like they have European saber blades, and the second from the left on the bottom obviously has a machete blades. The others I'd say are of local manufacture. As to their use, neither of those is mutually exclusive. Swords are multidimensional objects, that have a use in combat but also a social and aesthetic value and symbolism. But they were used in war, even in very late dates when most West African soldiers would have been using a gun of some kind.

As an illustration, here is an engraving from 1868 depicting a battle between Bambara and Umar Tall's Fulani

Jim McDougall · Yesterday, 04:33 PM

Guys, I just wanted to thank you both so much for all this material, illustrations, examples you have both provided. Changdao, your specialized and comprehensive knowledge of these tribal peoples and their history is phenomenal, and Yuri your research skills are well shown in augmenting detail.

This is exactly the kinds of results I have always been so grateful to see here on these pages, as it is all focused on the discussion of a weapon form or its associated contexts, and to learn from them.

Truly brilliant! I have had my single example of the Mandinka saber for decades, and never knew much about it as little was ever covered on them in the circulating references.
It is a mystery no more!!!

Thank you again,
Jim

Pertinax · Yesterday, 07:49 PM

[QUOTE=Jim McDougall;299949]

Truly brilliant! I have had my single example of the Mandinka saber for decades, and never knew much about it as little was ever covered on them in the circulating references.
It is a mystery no more!!!

Jim, you're too early to celebrate!
It's just the beginning!

Pertinax · Yesterday, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Changdao

The disintegration of the great states of the Western Sahel during the late 16th and 17th centuries was definitely important in the history of these sabers. However, the collective use in this expansive and politically fragmented region nods to the earlier shared traditions of warfare. In the wake of the fall of Songhay, Mali and Djolof, chaos engulfed the Senegal and Niger regions. The states in modern Senegal, Wolof, Serer, Mandinka and Fula, became increasingly decentralized and broken up, with the Fula state of Denianke becoming an hegemon for the 1500's and 1600's before falling itself.

The fall of Songhay left the Middle Niger in utter chaos, with the Arma entrenched on the major cities (Gao, Timbuktu), the Tuareg ruling the deserts, Walata, and occassionally Timbuktu, and the Bambara forming warbands that ransacked the land and eventually coalesced in small chiefdoms led by warrior-chiefs. The Bambara eventually formed a state centered on Segou with the Fulbe of Massina as vassals, until they became independent in the late 18th century.

On the side of Mali, there was a total disintegration after their defeat at Djenne and the death of Mansa Mahmud IV. Kaniaga, which was the traditionally important faran-sura and had been functionally independent (and under Songhay suzerainty for a time), reasserted its independence. Concho, the most powerful state of the southwest ruling over Futa Djallon and the Susu states, and the sankara-zuma, also became independent. Kaabu, on the Gambia, was free of Malian rule and started a frenzied expansion in its region, surviving until the late 19th century. On the south, three Malian successor states splintered and divided between themselves the new Mandinka core. The trading outposts linking Mali with the Gold Coast also became independent, and eventually Kong rose up.

Functionally, this period affected the interior of West Africa in some similar ways as the fall of the Western Roman Empire did in Europe.

Regarding opinions of industrial era Europeans, one must be careful because they offer them in strong contraposition to their own capabilities. This was an era of machined tools and Bessemer steel, with machine guns, smokeless powder and self-loading rifles. Their own swords would have been made industrially. In that light, the techniques they encountered were primitive, but so would have been those used to forge a longsword in 15th century France. In a similar light, it is usual to see European spectator comment on how the natives "don't know how to fence" and how their swords are "poorly balanced". Of course, what they mean is that they are not very good to fence military saber style, which is rather obvious. Also, there's the point of the enormous regional diversity in crafting prowess, much like everywhere in the pre-modern world. Some African tools and weapons are very crudely made, but you also find Samory Ture's artisans being able to manufacture small amounts of functional Kropatschek-like rifles without machining tools.

Regarding the antique examples posted, I would say that all the top row look like they have European saber blades, and the second from the left on the bottom obviously has a machete blades. The others I'd say are of local manufacture. As to their use, neither of those is mutually exclusive. Swords are multidimensional objects, that have a use in combat but also a social and aesthetic value and symbolism. But they were used in war, even in very late dates when most West African soldiers would have been using a gun of some kind.

As an illustration, here is an engraving from 1868 depicting a battle between Bambara and Umar Tall's Fulani

Thanks to Changdao for this very important information.

But I would like to discuss specifically the "Mandinka" sabers, which date to the late 19th - early 20th centuries.

I have the following questions:

1. The production of the specimens shown in the photo involved various crafts—blacksmiths, tanners, coppersmiths (this is not the work of a lone artisan), similar to the Blacksmith Market (A. Suq al Haddad) in Kassala described in Edwin Hanley's brilliant essay. Where could such production have taken place at that time?

2. I rightly mentioned the Berlin Conference of 1884 and the colonization of Africa by the early 20th century. Did the colonizers in the occupied territories allow local residents to make swords and sabers?

All this calls into question the dating of these specimens.

Finally, the presence of such richly decorated scabbards calls into question the use of these sabers in combat.

Sincerely,
Yuri

26th September 2025, 10:39 PM	#1
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 289	The Mandinka Sabre (continued) Let's look at what sabers were called in the Sokoto Caliphate. J.P. Smaldone «Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate»: Page 220 A Glossary of Hausa Military Terminology: almulku - single-edged saber (= bisalami) bisalami - curved one-edged sword (= almulku) hankatilo - scimitar of Kanuri origin (= almulku = bisalami) lafaranji - single-edged sword Page 174 note to chapter 3 58 Other straight swords included the dunhu, a plain unmarked weapon; the tarnogas or tamogashi, a sword with three lines cut along the blade; the tama, a cheap sword; and the zabo. Muffett also lists the lafaranji, a single-edged weapon: "Nigeria - Sokoto Caliphate," p. 297, n. 20. Scimitars, or slightly curved one-edged swords, were less common and used principally by the cavalry. Swords of this type were first used in the Islamic world in the early fourteenth century, and reached North Africa by the early sixteenth century: Bivar, Nigerian Panoply, pp. 15-16, 27. Among the sabers used by the Hausa were the bisalami or almulku; the hindi was probably of Indian origin, and the hankatilo was Kanuri (Bornu). See Bivar, pp. 13-27, for a detailed discussion of some examples of these straight and curved swords, and his photographs, figures 1-11, pp. 45-55 Figure 5. Hausa Sabers and Scabbards. Smithsonian Institution Attached Images

27th September 2025, 08:08 AM	#3
Changdao Member Join Date: Jan 2023 Location: Spain Posts: 45	This is a facinating topic I am very fond of. First, some terminological considerations. These are often called Mandinka sabers in relation to the Mandinka, who were one of the main users. The Mandinka are an ethnolinguistic group, the main among the speakers of Mande languages, which speak Mandinka. With 11 million Mandinka in the modern day and a rich history of states tracing back to the 11th century, they qualify far above a tribe. But these sabers are very widespread in the region, so much so that calling them Mandinka sabers is a misnomer (or perhaps not, as we will see later). Bambaras (who also speak a Mande language, and diverged from the main Mandinka group in the Middle Ages), Susus (who also speak a Mande language and are other of the main historical branches of the wider Mande family), Wolofs (the main inhabitants of Senegal down to the Gambia river), Fulanis (in all their diversity west of Timbuktu, like Tukulors), all use these type of sabers. However, the sabers belong to a wider weaponry family that also includes straight swords, daggers and spears. Focusing on "white" weapons, there are clear stylistic similarities between many in the region, but also great differences. All of this points to a very deep common origin. With this in mind, we must realize that one of the pivotal points of Medieval West African History is the migration of the Mande-speaking peoples, who started pushing towards the coast from their historical core in what is now Segou and contiguous regions to the south and west. The main of these were the Susu, who broke off the Ghana empire in the late 12th century and created a short-lived empire, and the Mandinka, who, led by Sunjata Keita, overthrew the Susu and created the empire of Mali. This process led to a westwards migration that resulted in the coastal Mandinka of Kaabu, the various Mande-speaking groups of Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, and to the creation of a mechant Mandinka class that dispersed itself all across West Africa (adquiring eventually a new ethnic dimension as Wangara and Dyula). It's in this milieu that the sabers probably appeared, and it is plausible that they did within the empire of Mali (so calling them Mandinka would not be so far-fetched). By the point we start getting external reports, in the 1450's, these sabers were already well established. An early witness is Ibn Battuta in the mid 1300's, who speaks of a saber wielded by Duga, an important figure in the court of the Malian emperor. The Portuguese attest that sabers were already very popular, with them being forged in the Gambia by Mandinka smiths and traded all over Senegal. It seems that owing to the high demand the European traders saw a lucrative market, and started exporting blades and finished weapons according to local tastes. So it seems safe to say that West African sabers predate European interactions, being already popular in the 15th century if not earlier. As should be remembered, the Gambia continued to be a local centre of bladed weapon manufacture, with Almada stating that "this land has more weapons than in any other of Guiné, because, as it has iron which they forge, they make many arms in the form of spears , dardos, stabbing daggers and frechas" and Dornelas corroborating that statement, and also adding the manufacture of shields, sometimes even by request of European clients: "Here at Kassan excellent round shields are made, and if we order them they are made in our style. They are covered with leather and painted. And the tangomaos have sheaths made for the swords and daggers , and have them decorated, since there are good craftsmen here." Likewise, Dornelas states that further south the Susu were great manufacturers of weapons and iron implements for the Sierra Leonian market, and other sources support this: "Among the Susus iron is smelted in large quantity from which they make swords , spears , knives and iron tools to work the fields, and they bring them to sell in Serra Leoa" The style of these weapons as described for example by Almada, corresponds to the modern ones in how they were hilted and the size of the blades, but otherwise we do not know the finer details. Likewise, the serpent-like scabbards are not mentioned, and indeed we also find in 19th century examples without that feature. When that appeared, we don't know. As soon as direct contact was made with the Europeans, West Africa demanded saber blades, showing that there was already a mature market for their consumption in place. The Portuguese were importing cutlass/hanger blades and terçados into West Africa during the XVth-XVIth century, and between 1590 and 1618 there even was a group of Lisbon-based smiths producing bladed weapons for the Senegambian market. In the 1460's there were efforts by the Portuguese crown to pursue lançados who were illegally selling weapons to West Africans, with Diogo Gomes being dispatched in 1460. Mendo Afonso, who had traded swords in Guinea, went to live in the coast among Africna Muslims until he got a pardon in 1463. The illegality was because a Papal bull had forbidden the sale of weapons to infidels, but there is a mountain of evidence that traders along the Mediterranean ignored it and traded anyway. Elsewhere I recapitulated the trade of Italian weaponry to Gao and Djenné, and the Portuguese on their side did the same. But not only the Portuguese were involved, as English, Dutch, Italian and French traders also chimed in, with Sephardic Jewish merchants playing an important role in connecting this extended network with Morocco and Senegambia. In 1590, Manuel de Andrada Castelo Branco, writing in Spanish for Philip II (now king of Portugal after Sebastiao's death at Alcazarquibir) states: "In Bezeguiche[Gorée ] capital of the Kingdom of Jaloffo , there is a large, capacious and beautiful Bay, where 100 deep drafted vessels may anchor … and here, in this port and "escale" arrive Lutheransfrom La Rochelle , Bordeaux , and Havre de Grace, and from Brittany, along with other pirates… and their navigation, unimpeded, brings to France much gold , amber , ivory , hides , various valuable civetall in great quantity, leaving behind an abundance of instruments of war for the Wolofs , who are in the process of accepting the sect of Mahomet , including lances , creses[Malayan daggers ], espadas , alfanges[cutlasses ], shields , and other objects that are prohibited by the Bull of Cena." Here "alfanges" refers to short sabers, like those called by the English "hanger", or messer or dussack in the German world, which are basically variations on a theme. According to an Inquisition report in Lisbon in 1590, there was a growing clandestine manufacture of bladed weapons, with eight artisans charged with making swords going to the "Rivers of Guinea". The most demanded weapon was, according to that report, the alfange. And not only European weapons were sold, as the Portuguese pulled trade from their colonial empire and there are accounts of gilded swords from India reaching the African coast. Reports from English and French travelers in the 1600's and 1700's show that sabers were everywhere in the West African coast, already in the form that is familiar to us. So the picture that develops is that in an environment of high demand for short sabers, originally provided for by Mandinka smiths and other groups with artisans specialise in their craft, the European traders found a potential market. In a world of rising globalization, the Atlantic coast of West Africa suddenly became globally connected, and a variety of sources stepped up to answer the demand of saber-like weapons. This continued through the centuries, as we know that the trade of European saber blades kept rising in an environment of increasing demand with the reconfiguration of West African political networks in the aftermath of Mali and Songhay's fall and the growth of the Atlantic slave trade. Imported blades for elites who could pay for them coexisted with local sources of weapons (some high quality no doubt, but also more affordable blades), particularly Mandinka smiths, who kept active trade networks that had existed for centuries. Evidently, whatever shape those sabers had originally evolved to correlate with imported styles from Europe and the Mediterranean, becoming somewhat inserted into the "saber ecumene" of the 16th century Mediterranean (falchions, hangers, nimchas, storta, dussacks, messers, etc), but also mantaining the native hilting style and displaying a great regional disparity, maybe or maybe not tracing back to the Medieval period. I'll make another post about the possible development of the hilting style and its particularities when I have some more free time. Last edited by Changdao; 27th September 2025 at 08:28 AM.

27th September 2025, 10:22 PM	#4
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 289	The Mandinka Sabre (continued) Changdao provided a brilliant overview of the region from the 12th to the 18th centuries. But as we know, all empires have phases of rise and decline: some disappear, and new ones arise. We have surviving examples of sabers called "Mandinka," dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. During this period, the Mandinka region and related tribes were in decline. According to 19th-century travelers, they practiced primitive agriculture and had primitive industry, including metalworking. As I wrote above, in 1904 these territories became a French colony. The year 1897 proved fateful for the neighboring region, the Sokoto Caliphate. In January and February, a small, well-armed force, equipped by the British Royal Nigerian Company, invaded and destroyed the strategic southwestern emirates of Nupe and Ilorin, Adamawa and Kano in 1901, and Sokoto in 1903. However, after the Berlin Conference of 1884, the entire continent was colonized, leaving Liberia and Ethiopia as the only sovereign states in sub-Saharan Africa. I've selected sabers that were freely available from the internet and offer them for discussion. All the presented specimens date from the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The overall length ranges from 74 to 82 cm, and the blade length from 60 to 76 cm. Almost all the blades are from European cavalry and infantry sabers. Judging by their overall length, these are blades with broken hilts. Based on this, one can conclude that these are not commercial trade supplies, but blades that accidentally ended up in the hands of good craftsmen for reworking. The brass pommels of each specimen are different, but executed with great skill and taste. The same can be said for the leather work. The high-quality leather handles and scabbards are truly works of art. All this testifies to the presence of well-established handicraft industries, rather than isolated artisans. I have no data on the existence of such industries in Malinke, but my neighbors did. Read J.P. Smaldone's "Warfare in the Sokoto Caliphate": Page 139 This centralizing effect of war is clearly shown also in the organization of the various craft industries in the nineteenth century. In each emirate the craft industries operated under direct state control, each craft being organized under a chief responsible for quality and price control, tax collection, and production for the needs of the emir. The leather industry provided saddles, shields, sheaths, quivers, horse trappings, and baggage cases. Blacksmiths made swords, spearheads and arrowheads, horse trappings, flintlocks and shot for the gunmen; brass workers produced more exquisite and expensive varieties of these items. The weaving industry prepared "uniforms," blankets, tents, baggage, and suits of lifidi. As Nadel has written of Nupe, this organization of the craft industries amounts to a full control of the political system over all the more important industries . . . this control was dictated by the needs of the state: based on constant warfare, committed to uphold the splendour of a huge court, the political system has to guarantee a dependable, uninterrupted supply of all that is needed - arms, tools, clothes, saddles, as well as the many symbols of wealth and status. Looking at these specimens, one might speculate that these are not combat sabers. Ceremonial, status symbols, merchandise for tourists? As always, questions, questions, questions... Attached Images

27th September 2025, 12:07 AM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,608	Yuri, you are amazing!!! Thank you so much. You're right, how can we know what these sabers are called when it is not even clear what these tribes were called! It was the Manding empire? kingdom? in medieval times. but then became the Mandinka tribes, which seem to be referred to as Mandang OR Mandingo? Then the area became Mali or the Mali Empire, but the Manding/Mandingo/ Malinki? tribes became dissipated through much of West Africa. With that, of course we go to the languages/dialects of the various tribes such as Fulani/Fula/Fulbe which were situated in many of same areas as the Malinka/Manding/Mandingo etc. and others. Magnificent excerpts on these details which give great insight into these people and the production of these swords. Pretty sure the one I have has a locally made blade, while there are considerable numbers of older examples with mostly French military blades of course. All best regards, Jim

Yesterday, 04:33 PM	#6
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,608	Guys, I just wanted to thank you both so much for all this material, illustrations, examples you have both provided. Changdao, your specialized and comprehensive knowledge of these tribal peoples and their history is phenomenal, and Yuri your research skills are well shown in augmenting detail. This is exactly the kinds of results I have always been so grateful to see here on these pages, as it is all focused on the discussion of a weapon form or its associated contexts, and to learn from them. Truly brilliant! I have had my single example of the Mandinka saber for decades, and never knew much about it as little was ever covered on them in the circulating references. It is a mystery no more!!! Thank you again, Jim

Yesterday, 07:49 PM	#7
Pertinax Member Join Date: Dec 2023 Location: City by the Black Sea Posts: 289	[QUOTE=Jim McDougall;299949] Truly brilliant! I have had my single example of the Mandinka saber for decades, and never knew much about it as little was ever covered on them in the circulating references. It is a mystery no more!!! Jim, you're too early to celebrate! It's just the beginning!