Your fascination with these weapons is well placed, and while African edged weapons are often collected and viewed for their unusual, often even bizarre blade shapes and overall styling from an artistic sense. Christopher Spring in his "African Arms & Armor" noted the often tenuous western need to speculate on how they were used, most notably the familiar 'throwing knives (known as 'shongo' in Azande parlance).
Often these dramatically curved or angled blade weapons of these Central African tribes are collectively grouped into that classification, but as mentioned, in some cases these weapons are parade or status oriented items.
The examples shown here in the OP are known to be from the Azande and associated tribes of NW Zaire, which is situated near the regions of South Sudan. In the speculation on the likely use of these, the use is likened to that of the dramatically curved 'shotel' sickle sword of the Abyssinians (Ethiopia).
In "Paths in the Rain Forests", (J.Vansina, 1990), it is suggested these highly curved or angled blades are used to hook aside the shields of opponents opening them to deadly spear thrusts.
One of the interesting dynamics associated with these 'sickle swords' and the throwing knives is that they apparently found some use in Sudan, in fact the throwing knives occur among Mahdist weaponry in the familiar thuluth covered blades. These were used by conscripted slave forces among the Ansar of the Khalifa's troops.
With these swords, most of their use seems to have remained in the Congo areas, but perhaps also with the slaving factions in South Sudan. The notorious Zubeir Pasha (1830-1913) was situated in the Bahr el Ghazal in northwest regions of South Sudan with numbers of 'zaribas' ( fortified locations from c. 1856).
In the movie "The Four Feathers" (the Heath Ledger modern remake) I was surprised to see these bird head curved sickle swords waved by numbers of tribesmen, and thought it unusual in the Sudanese context as portrayed.
However, it seems somebody did their homework!
These sickle swords seem to have some range of variation, and often have notable characteristic decorative motif, which appears to to relate to the profound superstitions and folk religions observed by these people.
The mounted Al Zubayr Rahma Mansur, known as the slaver/sultan who controlled the extensive slave trade based in Khartoum, later in S. Sudan.
He is of course armed with the Sudanese kaskaras. The use of sickle swords was more likely aming the 'bazinqir's' who were former slaves who became working men in the forces.
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