Unusual African Broadsword

stephen wood · 31st October 2008, 04:47 PM

...I took the sword in to show some of my students - a man from Guinea whose first language is Bambara had seen the type before and he called it a sabre (French pronunciation) and said that they are worn on a sling over the arm, that is, like a kaskara. This is consistent with the fact that it is a very good fit in the scabbard so doesn't mind being upside-down and the fact that you can see the marks where rings or loops were attached. They are said to be ceremonial - this one is not sharpened - and are used as wall-hangers.

I imagine it may originally have been decorated as per curved Manding swords - there appears to be a very worn maker's mark - maybe a knight's head (Kirschbaum?) - but this might be a patch of wear in the place where we would expect to find one - after a little cleaning I will post an image...

31st October 2008, 04:47 PM	#11
stephen wood Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 227	...I took the sword in to show some of my students - a man from Guinea whose first language is Bambara had seen the type before and he called it a sabre (French pronunciation) and said that they are worn on a sling over the arm, that is, like a kaskara. This is consistent with the fact that it is a very good fit in the scabbard so doesn't mind being upside-down and the fact that you can see the marks where rings or loops were attached. They are said to be ceremonial - this one is not sharpened - and are used as wall-hangers. I imagine it may originally have been decorated as per curved Manding swords - there appears to be a very worn maker's mark - maybe a knight's head (Kirschbaum?) - but this might be a patch of wear in the place where we would expect to find one - after a little cleaning I will post an image... Last edited by stephen wood; 31st October 2008 at 07:41 PM.