Central African for ID

[JeffS]

Posting this for a friend. Can anyone give me information on what this is and potential age I can pass on?

[RobT]

Hi JeffS,

It is a central African mambele sword. The hilt isn't the typical hourglass shape but, since I have one that is atypical also, it could be that variants are commonly found in some of the various groups that use this sword. You can get plenty more information online and on this forum.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Ian]

Hi Jeff,

Yes, this one is a mambele from the various tribal groups of Zaire/Central African Republic. The picture you posted was hard to see any details, so I photoshopped it so we can see it better. The attached illustrations come from Jan Essen. Tribal Arts Monograph, Vol 1, No 1: The sickle weapons. The second picture lists the various tribal groups in its legend. There has been conjecture whether these were swords or throwing knives. In general, if the weapon had an obvious handle then it is considered a sword/knife/ If it has a bare metal end or perhaps metal wrapped with a leather pouch then it is considered a throwing knife. Some apparently served in both capacities.

As far as age, it's very hard to say from the picture. The sword does seem to have some age, perhaps from 1900 +/-. Interesting carved hilt, possibly ivory but probably bone.

Regards, Ian

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[Jim McDougall]

Hi Jeff,
As RobT has noted, and Ian has wonderfully detailed and furnished that outstanding reference, these interesting swords are from the Azande people in NE regions of Congo bordering S. Sudan.

As the elusive arms writer Torben Flindt (Bukharen arms) once told me, "ethnographic weapons have no geographic boundaries", and while these interesting swords are of course primarily from the regions noted, it seems they had a degree of use in the late 19th century in the Sudanese campaigns during the Mahdiyya.

I recall in the 2002 remake of "The Four Feathers" with the late Heath Ledger, there was a scene with him in a cavalry charge where while he is wielding a kaskara, tribesmen around him have these Azande 'mambela'. My first thoughts were 'Hollywood license', however looking further it seems some serious research had been done. There were many tribal forces involved in these campaigns in the Sudan, which accounted for the curious spectrum of arms found in use in these Sudanese contexts.

In discussions ever the years there has been a great deal of debate, as Ian has noted, whether certain African weapons were throwing knives , or swords. I think Ian's explanation best serves that dilemma.

The blade on this weapon seems to have some age, which I agree could put it into the latter 19th c. and in the periods of the Sudan campaigns, and later into the Anglo-Egyptian occupation period. It seems many, if not most of these weapon forms in the holdings of famed museums like Pitt-Rivers etc. were collected in the 20s and 30s. Many of these are seen in the references now published.

Clearly as seen in the illustration Ian shows, the handle is of the same form which seems to have become a popularized style, and as traditional arms, like many ethnographic forms, these are often generationally remounted.

Best regards,
Jim

[Sajen]

I've read somewhere that this sort of swords are designed for holding these swords in one hand and in the other hand a shield and these swords can reach the opponent behind the shield and to put down the shield of the opponent but frankly said I don't know if it's a true story but the design of the sword would fit this tale.
Jeff, is the handle from ivory?

Regards,
Detlef

[JeffS]

Originally Posted by Sajen

I've read somewhere that this sort of swords are designed for holding these swords in one hand and in the other hand a shield and these swords can reach the opponent behind the shield and to put down the shield of the opponent but frankly said I don't know if it's a true story but the design of the sword would fit this tale.
Jeff, is the handle from ivory?

Regards,
Detlef

I dont have it in hand but I will ask him to take better photos. I think he will be thrilled to learn he has an authentic cultural artifact from his time there. Thank you all for the fascinating information.

[Ian]

Hi Detlef,

Yes, I've read similar stories about these swords "reaching around" shields to cause damage, similar to the reported use of shotels. No less authority than Richard F Burton (The Book of the Sword) commented on this manner of use for the shotel. Burton, an expert swordsman, expressed disdain for this type of swordplay.

In the reference I quoted above for the illustration, it is said that the African sickle swords/throwing knives are likely derived from much earlier Egyptian weapons. Egyptian influence in the time of the Pharaohs extended beyond Sudan into Central Africa. These swords/knives have likely gone through periods when this style was mainly used as a sword or mainly used as a throwing weapon.

Regards, Ian

[Sajen]

The small clasp at the blade near the handle is for fastening a leather or fabric band which you put around your wrist so that the sword doesn't get lost in combat, I've seen these swords with these bands. I don't think that these swords are intended as throwing knives.
Attached are three similar swords from different ethnicities as comparison.

1. Binja/Budja 87 cm long
2. Yakoma/Sango 67 cm
3. Bandia/Boa 81 cm

I think that the one in question fits to No. 3

[Changdao]

That the sickle swords of the Congo-Ubangui region were used to reach around shields is indeed something that has been said, though there are no sources that comment on it directly. As Ian says, it is an inference made from Burton's commentary on shotels. At any rate, it is not implausible, given that basically every people where these swords were used also used large shields that could cover a man. Some are more sickle-like while others (Ngombe and Ngbandi examples, for instance) are functionally more like warpicks.

Burton is dismissive of the shotel and its wielders, but that is typical of 19th century Europeans (for example with kaskaras in Sudan or tulwars in India). They are literally stating that you cannot fence with them, and its true, in the sense that you can't fence military saber style with these swords, with quick moulinettes and parry-riposte actions. This bias makes such comments sort of meaningless for historical weapon study. All these swords are conceived for a totally different swordsmanship system, and that's how they should be understood.

Egyptian influence is also something that has been thrown around in the literature. I believe it is most unlikely, given the spatial and temporal links between both events. Iron khopesh existed but were pretty rare, and they were not in use neither in Meroitic Sudan nor in the environs of Lake Chad, which are the regions through which any supposed Egyptian influence had to reach Central Africa. This "theory" has no historical basis and should be discarded out of hand. These swords were an indigenous development within a comprehensive regional military system.

As for their use, they were obviously melee only implements. They are not only not suited for throwing, but coexisted in the same societies with actual throwing knives intended for such a use. 19th century sources clearly state that both (sickle swords and throwing knives) were distinct implements.

Schweinfurth, one of the main 19th century sources on the Azande, wrote:

The principal weapons of the Niam-niam are their lances and their trumbashes. . . . The trumbash of the Niam-niam consists ordinarily of several limbs of iron, with pointed prongs and sharp edges. Iron missiles very similar in their shape are found among the tribes of the Tsad basin. . . The trumbashes are always attached to the inside of the shields, which are woven from the Spanish reed, and are of a long oval form, covering two-thirds of the body ; they are ornamented with black and white crosses or other devices ; and are so light that they do not in the least impede the combatants in their wild leaps. An expert Niam-niam, by jumping up for a moment, can protect his feet from the flying missiles of his adversary. Bows and arrows, which, as handled by the Bongo, give them a certain advantage, are not in common use among the Niam-niam, who possess a peculiar weapon of attack in their singular knives, that have blades like sickles

Colonel Chaillé Long, describing an engagement in which Azande auxiliaries fought under him:

I confess that I never saw a more perfect ideal of the warrior, not alone in muscular display, but in the bounding élan with which he flew rather than ran - the right hand grasping the huge knife, while with bouclier pressed closely to his side, he met the enemy. Covering his body with it with wonderful quickness from the deadly arrows, that his adversary in vain expended upon the broad shield, he threw himself upon him and cut and stabbed the defenceless 'Yanbari' to death

[Ian]

Changdao, thank you for your comments! As you so correctly point out, Europeans like Burton had little appreciation of local sword tactics and viewed these qualities through a different martial perspective.

The use of "hook" weapons is actually widespread and not confined to iron weapons. In my part of the world, indigenous Australians had a form of wooden club, called a leangl, that was made from a tree branch. It had a sharply angled, pointed "beak" that was roughly at right angles to the handle. This was used to strike around an opponent's shield. It was a devastating weapon and considered among their most lethal clubs. There are similar examples among Oceanic groups, illustrating parallel development among different cultures. A good idea is a good idea wherever it occurs.

Regards, Ian


P.S. Attached are a couple of mine from the same general area. One has an interesting hilt of woven wire and copper wrap.
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[Jim McDougall]

In my earliest days of collecting, one of my key references, and my ideal, was Richard Burton and my now tattered copy of his "Book of the Sword" (1884). His comprehensive study of the ethnographic and historical arms of ancient times I think reflect many of the Victorian notions comparing the influences of the swords of ancient times to modern ethnographic forms.

The interesting shapes and styling of many ethnographic examples in many cases can be visually compared to these ancient forms as seen in instances of various iconography, but no direct lineage chronologically is proven in these cases, as compelling as they may be. It seems more potentially atavistic adaptions recognizing ancient traditions.

While a brilliant scholar and indeed swordsman, Burton did have his Anglo-centric posture on things and some of his notions did reflect what Christopher Spring ("African Arms & Armor") referred to as 'western pragmatism'. This went to the case of the African 'throwing knives' and in the same perspective the idea of the 'reaching around shields' pertaining to the Ethiopian shotels.

In fact, the 'throwing knives' in some cases were indeed thrown, however in the broader spectrum, with African arms as discussed, often it was a matter of elaborate design which was in a sense, 'for show'. These were in my opinion used in certain events and perhaps even confrontations as a kind of bearing weapon, and not intended for actual combat.

It is truly a great thing to have this kind of discussion and sharing of observations, which really helps in not only offering some most helpful insights for the owner of this sword, but for those of us hoping to learn more on these arms. I just wanted to thank Jeff for posting this and everyone who have shared so much information.

Changdao, very well put regarding the interpretation of the use of many ethnographic forms as applied in terms of western use techniques, and deeming them ineffective through misundertanding.

All best regards
Jim

[Sajen]

See also here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU3bcnxx18k