Belawa Short Sword
Somali, Somalia
Steel, buffalo horn, brass, tin
Late 19th century

This type of short sword, known as belawa, would have originally been carried in a sheath covered in soft, white sheep's leather. There are two distinct pommel designs - one with a single metal tang projecting from the center, and this type, with three metal tangs that make the handle resemble a crown. This type of handle, with horn and steel in interleaved strata, is particularly complex and beautiful (Spring, Christopher. African Arms and Armor. 1993).

This example wears an impression on the back of the handle that reads "Col. John Caswell 1910." This could very well be the same Colonel John Caswell who served as the Chief of Ordnance of the General Staff for the Massachusetts National Guard around this time. An article in the New York Times (9 May 1911) described him returning from a big game hunting trip in Africa (these typically occurred in east Africa) in 1911. The article described his narrow escape from a cheetah attack and that he returned with 29 heads for the Agassiz Museum at Harvard. That museum is known as the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology today, and their database reveals Caswell retrieved his specimens in Kenya in 1910, which is the right time and place to collect this sword.    

23 in :: 58 cm

InventoryID #13-1409

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