Thank you, colleagues, for joining the discussion.
Changdao, thank you for the book; it's very valuable information.
Since the beginning of the second millennium CE, Islam has been the dominant religion among the peoples of the Sahel. In the 19th century, as a result of jihads, large Islamic states—caliphates/sultanates—emerged in the region. These included Darfur, Wadai, Kanem-Borno, Baguirmi, Adamawa, Sokoto, Gobir, Mossi, and others.
All of these states conducted military campaigns against their neighbors and raided pagans (ethnic groups that resisted Islamization). One result of these expansions was the capture of slaves; in the Sokoto Caliphate alone, according to various estimates, between 1 and 2.5 million non-Muslim slaves were captured during the Fulani jihad. Some slaves were intended for sale—it was one of the most important commodities, along with ivory, salt, and natron—while others remained with the captors to perform various tasks.
Among the slaves, there were undoubtedly blacksmiths, who began working for their new masters. They brought their knowledge and experience to new territories and acquired new knowledge and skills. This led to the emergence of interregional styles.
Certainly, some ethnic groups retained their unique forms, but this applies mainly to ritual and ceremonial objects.
Pre-Islamic traditions survived only in isolated pockets, usually in remote areas. This is true of the Kirdi, a multiethnic group inhabiting northwestern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria. Estimates of the number of groups that can be described as Kirdi range from 26 to over 40.
Bata, Fali, Fata, Gemjek, Guidar, Giziga, Hurza, Kapsiki, Mada, Mafa, Massa, Matakam, Mofu, Mora, Musgum, Muyan, Uldeme, Podoko, Tupuri, Wame, and Zulgo are all considered Kirdi due to their resistance to Islam, a situation in which they managed to survive the struggle against the Fulani thanks to their isolated habitat.
When attributing the dagger, I linked it to the Mafa because this people is well-studied and their culture features a unique process of smelting and ironworking.
https://www.101lasttribes.com/tribes/mafa.html
As I already noted, the influence of various tribes is clearly visible in this specimen. While the Berber, Tubu/Daza, and Hausa influences are unquestionable, the Mandingo influence is very interesting. The distance from the Northern Mandarins to the Mandingo habitat is over 2 thousand kilometers.