Another Afar gile

Martin Lubojacky · 28th February 2024, 09:34 PM

Yuri,You've got nice and typical gile.
From my point of view, what is valued in these objects is their originality, the fact that they bear signs of daily use, patina and at the same time preservation. They may not be very old, but they are real, genuine "artifacts". These "everyday use" objects age quickly and even acquire patina quickly in Africa. Also it is not easy to discern true age of gile - two versions, which already differ in the decoration on the handle due to changes in taste or availability of decorative materials, and between which there is e.g.a difference of perhaps twenty years, have almost the same patina. But that doesn't bother the gile. They are still in use, at least as part of the costume.

As for the material for the handle, I believe that the Afars and Issa and similar groups have always used wood for the handle. The exception to this are those large and considerably heavier knives with a rounded blade tip, similar to a gile, but which have a slightly different blade shape and different sheaths. In these, the handles are indeed mostly rhinoceros horn and often have a silver pommel. However, these have certainly not been made for somme time and are disproportionately rarer. The question, in my opinion, is whether these were the weapons actually used by the Afars ("Danakils"), because even in old photos from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the true Afar gile have a basically contemporary appearance. I think that these large knives with rhino handles may have been used by elders of some Oromo groups sharing an environment with the Afars, their neighbours. I'm afraid no one is able to satisfactorily explain this today.

Martin

28th February 2024, 09:34 PM	#14
Martin Lubojacky Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 836	Yuri,You've got nice and typical gile. From my point of view, what is valued in these objects is their originality, the fact that they bear signs of daily use, patina and at the same time preservation. They may not be very old, but they are real, genuine "artifacts". These "everyday use" objects age quickly and even acquire patina quickly in Africa. Also it is not easy to discern true age of gile - two versions, which already differ in the decoration on the handle due to changes in taste or availability of decorative materials, and between which there is e.g.a difference of perhaps twenty years, have almost the same patina. But that doesn't bother the gile. They are still in use, at least as part of the costume. As for the material for the handle, I believe that the Afars and Issa and similar groups have always used wood for the handle. The exception to this are those large and considerably heavier knives with a rounded blade tip, similar to a gile, but which have a slightly different blade shape and different sheaths. In these, the handles are indeed mostly rhinoceros horn and often have a silver pommel. However, these have certainly not been made for somme time and are disproportionately rarer. The question, in my opinion, is whether these were the weapons actually used by the Afars ("Danakils"), because even in old photos from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the true Afar gile have a basically contemporary appearance. I think that these large knives with rhino handles may have been used by elders of some Oromo groups sharing an environment with the Afars, their neighbours. I'm afraid no one is able to satisfactorily explain this today. Martin