Two West African swords/cutlasses for I.D.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Of the Asante type shown below the British Museum says Quote"~...

Description.
A state sword (afena) with slightly curved cast iron blade, pierced along the lower cutting edge with two arrow-shaped voids and an equal-arm cross motif. These voids are surrounded by punched line and dot patterns. Near the hilt there are two incised grooves filled with a herringbone pattern and five circular punch marks. The wooden hilt is bar-bell-shaped and has distinctive rounded pommels either end of the grip. The hilt is decorated with a series of carved geometric designs which were originally covered with gold leaf secured by small gold-covered (?) staples but only a small amount remains in place.

Dimensions
Length: 34 centimetres
Width: 4.5 centimetres

Condition
Fair, extensive loss of gold leaf on carved hilt, with remianing traces in a fragile condition.

Curator's comments
It is not known when swords were introduced into area now known as Ghana but early examples probably derive from Islamic weapons that were passed down the trans-Saharan trade routes. The use of swords in Akan society was recorded by the end of the sixteenth century and they have continued to play a significant role in ritual and ceremonial contexts ever since. There are several distinct types of state swords normally found in the regalia of an important leader or paramount chief. By far the most important of the ceremonial swords are the keteanofena (literally; edge of the sleeping mat swords) which are revered and are passed from one ruler to his successor as a major portion of state regalia. This group is composed of two major sub-divisions the akrafena and the bosomfena. Akrafena, or ‘swords of the soul’ are used, as their name suggests, in fairly restricted, often private rituals for the purification of the ruler’s soul and the purification of the blackened state stools while swords in the second division the bosomfena play a more varied and public role.

These two groups of swords embody and represent two distinct spiritual elements; those on the Asantehene’s right (akrafena) represent his soul or life-force (kra), those on the left (bosomfena), his ego, spirit or personality (sunsum) that was inherited from his father. Elders also swear allegiance to their ruler on these swords and they may be carried as badges of office for a ruler’s messengers.

This small sword is the same shape as the larger state swords which suggests that it functioned in a similar way." Unquote.

[Martin Lubojacky]

Hello Ibrahiim,
Thank you for such backround research.... You are right that the weapons of similar shapes were also used in warfare. As far as warfare is concerned, I think there were two main types used in the Guinea Gulf area (Dahomey Kingdom, Benin Kingdom in current Nigeria): 1.streight short swords (similar e.g. to Fang swords) and 2. machete style, often with bulbous point - which you can see on the picture.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Martin Lubojacky

Hello Ibrahiim,
Thank you for such backround research.... You are right that the weapons of similar shapes were also used in warfare. As far as warfare is concerned, I think there were two main types used in the Guinea Gulf area (Dahomey Kingdom, Benin Kingdom in current Nigeria): 1.streight short swords (similar e.g. to Fang swords) and 2. machete style, often with bulbous point - which you can see on the picture.

Salaams Martin Lubojacky, Excellent artwork and thank you.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Reference;
A. http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...4&page=1&pp=30


THE CROSS PART 2 The reference above is a delightful Forum Library thread with excellent artwork.

SEE http://aladokun.com/african-history-...-of-the-cross/ which tables a few aspects of The African Cross. In this document a number of crosses are viewed including the Ethiopian Cross and the Ankth although in the latter model the cross is comprised of a dominant handle not seen in West African swords as such. The cross we are looking for is a simple + sign. Nkisi Sarabanda provides us with a circle and crosses which correspond in many ways with the Voodoo Cross or gateway below and is shown for comparison... This is a Congo tribal geometry which I believe is the key to the cross on the broad Machete we are looking at here.

“Nkisi Sarabanda, symbolizing the signature of the spirit, is a representation of a bakongo cosmogram. This symbol portrays how the Congo-angolan people viewed the interaction between the spiritual and material world, or in other words between the living and the dead; the Congo-angolan people believe that these worlds are inherently intertwined. An Nkisi is a spiritual object used for worship purposes, and have been found in places where enslaved Africans have lived…

https://www.thoughtco.com/vodou-veves-4123236 shows some interesting links between Voodoo and the Cross illustrated below and appears to represent a gateway or cross roads. This sign was transmitted to Haiti and New Orleans etc via the slave trade from West Africa... probably from slave centres and more than likely linked to the circle and crosses of the Nkisi Sarabanda..

There is a device on Portuguese Black Crab (shown below) swords manufactured in that region but with a cross incorporated in each Quillon and said to have been sharpened for close quarter work. Did this design flow from or to the Portuguese weapon or is it simply a coincidence?

There seems to be no logical reason why African tribal swords would have a Christian Cross cut in the end of a blade..and the coincidental concept may be relevant but further research is needed. My suggestion backed by the above is that this is a home grown device locked into the Voodoo and like practice of regional tribes from ancient times.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

THE CROSS PART 3.

Reference;

A. African Art by Frank Willet page 65 cave drawings lower Congo and page 109 Egypt in Africa. ( a description of the old fashioned Myth)

See above post my deliberate inclusion of the Black Crab sword and its Cross decorated Quillons and compare it with the cross design in the broad leaf shaped blades of West African tribal swords herein.

The cross format has to be looked at in more detail and although there are those who from the old fashioned school who think everything is somehow related to The Egyptian Era that arguement will be addressed in a moment.

For now the link between religious constructs of the Portuguese can be examined in viewing the cave drawings described in Reference A

which says Quote. "at Mbafu Cave in the Lower Congo an area where Portuguese influence was very strong in the late 15th C...and where the crucifix has become a power symbol used by tribal chiefs when they sit in judgement. The crude cave wall drawings show various cross insignia but interestingly most outstanding is a group of figures; one with a pectoral cross standing on a platform; with a Latin Cross.

These motifs seem to commemorate the consecration of Don Henrique, son of King Alphonso the first of the BaKongo as the first Congolese Bishop in 1518." Unquote.


With this in mind and viewing the likeness to the cross on tribal blades I agree that these are linked in some way and perhaps in the power imbued in a tribal chief by the two styles of religion thus the same cross design in both ; Tribal and Christian.

Turning to Egypt The author goes into simple but compelling detail in a short chapter which demolishes again the old theory that was dominant in the 19thC about Egypt and it being the source of everything!

Chronology in this regard is vital. To infer direct connections without the intervening links between Egyptian objects and others made 2, 3 or 4 millennium later in Africa is dangerous. For example it has been claimed that the akua ba doll of Ashanti is derived from the Ankh, the Egyptian symbol for life, which does have its roots in the same region to 16th C terracotta dolls but nothing whatsoever to do with the Egyptian Ankh in either case.

Parallel development in unrelated tribal systems seems to be the only link~ in other words a basket weave from Ancient New Zealand peoples has nothing to do with Eskimo baskets in Northern Canada.

Unfortunately traces of such old fashioned and outdated influence and belief still exist in certain writers and we must be on our guard to point this out where it is found to have crept back in....

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

THE BOOK... AFRICAN ART BY FRANK WILLETT IS FREELY AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH AT http://muhomor.net/books/African-Art-Frank-Willett.pdf

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

I noted an extraordinary sword example from this region with a standard hilt but zoo omorhic and geometric blade including a Cross already dealt with. The snake is particularly interesting.

Wikepedia notes Quote" In Africa the chief centre of serpent worship was Dahomey, but the cult of the python seems to have been of exotic origin, dating back to the first quarter of the 17th century. By the conquest of Whydah the Dahomeyans were brought in contact with a people of serpent worshippers, and ended by adopting from them the beliefs which they at first despised.

At Whydah, the chief centre, there is a serpent temple, tenanted by some fifty snakes. Every python of the danh-gbi kind must be treated with respect, and death is the penalty for killing one, even by accident. Danh-gbi has numerous wives, who until 1857 took part in a public procession from which the profane crowd was excluded; a python was carried round the town in a hammock, perhaps as a ceremony for the expulsion of evils.

The rainbow-god of the Ashanti was also conceived to have the form of a snake. His messenger was said to be a small variety of boa, but only certain individuals, not the whole species, were sacred.

In many parts of Africa the serpent is looked upon as the incarnation of deceased relatives. Among the Amazulu, as among the Betsileo of Madagascar, certain species are assigned as the abode of certain classes. The Maasai, on the other hand, regard each species as the habitat of a particular family of the tribe."Unquote.

Tortoise Note the Tortoise between the hilt and the snake. See http://www.allfolktales.com/folktales.php for some of the important West African Myths and stories concerning the Tortoise which was revered as being the cleverest animal and a legendary force ..