On the 'kaskara'

[Radu Transylvanicus]

I think whomever discovers the exact source of inspiration for the takouba is holding the evolutionary key for the kaskara as well. I belong to a generalist European point of view where they are regarded as the closely related straight edged swords of the Islamic black Africa, to be found in the Saharan and Sub-Saharan region.
There is an undeniable European influence in the blades, including direct manufacture and origins of steel but when it comes to the origin I agree that the Arabians would have to share in influence.
I also would like to mention the "revisionist" theory that these sword are direct descendants of the European crusade swords is neither new, neither does it belong to a "romantic Eurocentrist" (thank you Tom, I still use this terminology as you can see). These allegations, preposterous or not, were made actually by the local population and were taken back to the Old World in excitement by naive travelers in the late " golden age of exploration". Even further to fuel this theory, many blades had European marks and lettering, many of them actually crudely stamped by African smiths on local blades in imitation or hope for profit and the methodology used to an untrained eye alongside the rough construction was easily targeted as "crusader influence".
These swords are a good example of the creational universality of arms and armour, a blend of three separate flavours: African, Arabian and European. In my belief, like probably most people, I embrace the ideea that in most types of weaponry there is very little of the "absolute local inventions" but they are rather "inovatory evolutionary creations" ... as in yathagan, khukri, kerises and so on.
Also keep in mind that takoubas and kaskaras were made on large scale, although executed a-la-carte, for the visitors, mainly of European origins ending up as souvenirs. That is exactly why they are largely found in so many collections including basic minimal private ones (no hurt feelings, anyone I hope...).
It would be nice to gather a certain amount of collectors and exchange data in between and trace where differences and similarities reside: length, weigth, European or local blade, fullered or not, characteristics of the handle, materials used, common techniques in fabrication, similar markings, provenance and so on. Gathering data would help in a further and more serious research since they are so readily available, wish I could start but I do not own one, however I know many of you do !
Another issue worth mentioning, speaking of the similarities, is the one between the swolen end leather sheaths on baldrics with hanging knots of the Manding swords and the ones for most kaskara due to interaction in the geographical proximity.