Boa short sword
The boa short sword is a short sword or dagger from Central Africa . It is mainly used by the boa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . These weapons are also manufactured and used by other different ethnic groups such as Zande , Bagbwe , Makere , Lokele , Mongelima , Angba , Bandia , Binja and Manyema .
The short sword has a symmetrical , double-edged blade . The distinct ricasso is characteristic shortly after the grip . Sometimes incisions are made in this part of the blade. The actual blade is narrow and pointed. But there are also versions with a round place . The blades are usually decorated on one half with longitudinal grooves, which were carved out by chasing , and circular openings. The blade is usually made of iron , but there are specimens made of copper . The relatively small handle has a slight X-shape, is made of wood and is usually polished or wrapped with metal wire. The total length is about 45-70 cm.
The short sword was also used as primitive money.
Because of the decorative elements on the blade (lines, circular openings), the short swords used to be considered a work of Zande. On the other hand, the Bango spoons were long believed to be the work of the neighboring boa, because the handles resembled the incised faulty sharpening of short swords.
literature
- Johanna Agthe , Karin Strauss: Arms from Central Africa. Verlag Museum für Völkerkunde , Frankfurt am Main 1985, ISBN 3-88270-354-7 , p. 131: Fig. 121 & Fig. 122.
- Manfred A. Zirngibl , Alexander Kubetz: panga na visu. Handguns, forged cult objects and shields from Africa. HePeLo-Verlag, Riedlhütte 2009, ISBN 978-3-9811254-2-9 . Pp. 142–143: Figs. 318–320, 322–324, p. 299
- Manfred A. Zirngibl : Rare African Handguns , Morsak, 1983, ISBN 3-87553-198-1 , p. 80
- Julien Volper : The Concave and the Convex: Ivory Spoons of the Northeastern Congo in Tribal Art Magazine Winter 2013, pp. 102-109 [1]
Web links
- Boa short sword at ezakwantu.com http://www.ezakwantu.com/Gallery%20African%20Weapons%20-%20Central%20African%20Weapons.htm ( Memento from January 1st, 2016 in the Internet Archive )