African Tribal Gear: Tribe? Circa? Plz Help Ident...

katana · 21st May 2006, 11:42 AM

Hi Kyrottimus,
welcome to the forum.

Identify spears / knobkerries to specific tribes is very difficult.

Generally speaking spears with a tang (a metal 'tail' of the spearhead which is fitted to the shaft) tend to be from the Southern areas of Africa. Socketed spearheads tend to come from more northerly parts of Africa, …….but this is a rough guide only. Your spear has a tang and I think, (from the photo) wire wrapped.

It could be Zulu, but, could easily be a number of other Tribes. It could be genuine Zulu but, a tourist piece, as could the knobkerrie be attributed to several tribes or be a tourist piece.
There are no 'hard and fast' rules about age either. Generally most estimates of age are 'guesstimates', using clues such as provenance, condition, patina, quality of materials etc.

You could post better pics of the weapons, but I suspect that more knowledgeable members may have little to add.

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21st May 2006, 11:42 AM	#2
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	Hi Kyrottimus, welcome to the forum. Identify spears / knobkerries to specific tribes is very difficult. Generally speaking spears with a tang (a metal 'tail' of the spearhead which is fitted to the shaft) tend to be from the Southern areas of Africa. Socketed spearheads tend to come from more northerly parts of Africa, …….but this is a rough guide only. Your spear has a tang and I think, (from the photo) wire wrapped. It could be Zulu, but, could easily be a number of other Tribes. It could be genuine Zulu but, a tourist piece, as could the knobkerrie be attributed to several tribes or be a tourist piece. There are no 'hard and fast' rules about age either. Generally most estimates of age are 'guesstimates', using clues such as provenance, condition, patina, quality of materials etc. You could post better pics of the weapons, but I suspect that more knowledgeable members may have little to add.