"MOONS" on Kaskara blades

Jim McDougall · 22nd May 2007, 06:04 PM

Hi Roanoa,
The moon markings (known as 'dukari' as I understand) do seem much crisper than many of the rough images typically seen, primarily of course on the takoubas of the Sahara. It appears that the opposing moons are counter positioned however, that is upside down from each other. My four moons I presume there are two on each side of the blade.
While the man in the moon figure does appear on many talismanic European blades, I am not aware of the figure ever appearing as a stamp, especially in the opposed position, on European blades.
The native stamping is presumed to have been adopted as a pronouncement of quality on the native blades.

While kaskaras do occasionally carry the moons, it is more common to the Tuareq blades on takoubas. I believe that in illustrations in Briggs, it is suggested that those carrying moon markings may have come from the Hausa.

All the best,
Jim

22nd May 2007, 06:04 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,200	Hi Roanoa, The moon markings (known as 'dukari' as I understand) do seem much crisper than many of the rough images typically seen, primarily of course on the takoubas of the Sahara. It appears that the opposing moons are counter positioned however, that is upside down from each other. My four moons I presume there are two on each side of the blade. While the man in the moon figure does appear on many talismanic European blades, I am not aware of the figure ever appearing as a stamp, especially in the opposed position, on European blades. The native stamping is presumed to have been adopted as a pronouncement of quality on the native blades. While kaskaras do occasionally carry the moons, it is more common to the Tuareq blades on takoubas. I believe that in illustrations in Briggs, it is suggested that those carrying moon markings may have come from the Hausa. All the best, Jim