[ariel]

Sorry for being late and brief, but I am traveling :-)

Q1: Of course, it goes without saying. There is a corollary as well: collecting ethographic weapons in the first place stimulates one to know more about relevant cultures, their histories, beliefs etc. My guess, the latter is more prevalent than the original formulation as defined by Alan.

Q2: Sure, it helps. But not to the point of "going native". One can collect Maori weapons without engaging in cannibalism, South Indian ones without internalizing the idea of animal sacrifice and cutting his ( her) own head off and Persian shamshirs without converting to Shia Islam or dreaming about becoming Nader Shah's valet :-) The same attitude is correct, IMHO, to any other culture, from Sudan to Indonesia.