Onzil or Musele Knife
Kota, Gabon
Iron, wood, copper, brass
Late 19th century

Often called a "bird head" knife for its resemblance to the African Hornbill (Calao), the onzil or musele knife was a symbolic emblem of religious prestige and social authority that was never intended for use as a knife. The onzil knife played a specific role in the context of several of the many religious societies that existed among the groups inhabiting the Ogowe basin; for the Kota, this included the Mungala and the Bwiti.

Bird head knives symbolically represented weapons that were metaphysically aimed at hurting anyone who acted antisocially against the village community by practicing witchcraft or sorcery. The hornbill is a creature much admired in Africa for its persistence and intelligence (Blackmun & Hautelet, Blades of Beauty and Death, 1990; Westerdijk, The African Throwing Knife, 1988).

The final evolution of the bird-head knife had a connected top part that incorporated the triangular "eye" within its solid composition. Earlier versions of Kota throwing knives had a distinct wing and crown, and the triangular "eye" was merely implied. This piece seems to be a model that deliberately separeated the wing and crown, yet the triangular eye is easy to see. One detail that strongly implies that the separated design seen here is deliberate (and not the reult of damage) is that the bevels seen on the left side of the crown (top right part of the eye) match its shape carefully as it falls short of connecting with the right element of the wing. The small protrusion jutting right from the wing doesn't match the shape of the element to which it should be connecting. 

There is an old inventory number on the handle that I cannot decipher. 

12 in :: 30.5 cm

InventoryID #13-1788

SOLD