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Originally Posted by motan
Hi,
I am not arguing with any of the experts here. Just want to add my perspective. Mandingo/Mandinka/Mande people is quite a large group that is present in several countries and associated with several types of daggers.
I think that this one may be from slightly to the north of Mandingo area - namely Mauritania or Western Sahara.
A dagger somewhat similar to this one was discussed in the forum ( http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=Mauritania) where it was called Moorish dagger from Mauritania. The designation "Moorish"could also relate to the shape of the hilt which is somewhat reminiscent of much earlier daggers from Moorish Spain.
Anyway, the one in the picture was sold on ebay sometime ago and was described by the seller as 'Assanya dagger, from the neighbours of the Tuareg".
The opinion of an ebay seller is generally a very bad source, but this one is specialized in North and West African weapons and I know him to be quite reliable with his descriptions. |
Good observation by Motan. The sophisticated construction and style of these daggers (as originally posted by Mefidk), also the inclusion of those small brass circles as decoration in the wood is more akin to Tuareg work/influence. Although they are often ascribed to the Manding/Malinke I feel they are actually from further north, although no doubt there was crossover involved.