Nkutshu knife
The Nkutshu knife or dagger is a traditional status weapon of the Nkutshu from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Similar knives are also found among the Kusu and Tetela .
The blades are multi-pointed and made of steel . Some examples have an iron weighting block in the pommel of the grip . For this reason, in the 19th century , at the time of the race for Africa , there were imaginative accounts in the European press . According to this, the Nkutshu should drop their heavy knives on the heads of their opponents in the shelter of tall trees . The blade should therefore stabilize the knife like the tail unit of a free-fall bomb . In truth, however, the iron weighting pad is a symbol of trapped wealth. The handles can with copper sheet, copper wire and nails embellished his. There are also variants with blades made of wood .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Christopher Spring : African Arms and Armor. British Museum Press , 1993, ISBN 0-7141-2508-3 , pp. 84-85
- ^ Kusu : University of Iowa
- ↑ Manfred A. Zirngibl : Seltene African handguns , Morsak, 1983, ISBN 3875531981 , p. 110
- ↑ a b c Manfred A. Zirngibl , Alexander Kubetz: panga na visu. Handguns, forged cult objects and shields from Africa. HePeLo-Verlag, 2009, ISBN 978-3-9811254-2-9 , pp. 164, 304
- ^ A b Johanna Agthe , Karin Strauss: Arms from Central Africa. Museum für Völkerkunde , Frankfurt am Main 1985, ISBN 3-88270-354-7 , pp. 157–158
- ↑ Nkutshu knife at Smithsonian Institution