Kaskara Broadsword in Crocodile Sheath
Bedja / Hadendoa / Beni Amer / Bideyat, Sudan / Ethiopia
Iron, wood, crocodile, leather
Late 19th century

Although the spear or javelin was most often the primary offensive weapon of both infantry and cavalry in Sudanic Africa, the sword was undoubtedly a man’s most prized and prestigious possession and would rarely leave his side in peace or war. The straight, double-edged sword known as kaskara was an essential possession of most men from Chad through Darfur and across Egypt’s Red Sea province. Slung over the shoulder with a short leather strap, the kaskara was carried across the back and parallel to the ground or with the sheath held between the upper arm and body.

The cruciform hilt and flaring quillons are distinctive identifiers of this sword, which could be kept in a simple sheath or – in this instance – a bold and flamboyant sheath. Some of the blades were made of Sudanese iron, while many incorporated imported European steel blades, which were traded in the area as early as the fifteenth century. This piece is covered in Koranic and talismanic inscriptions that were etched with acid onto the blade (Spring, African Arms and Armor, 1993; Zirngibl & Kubetz, Panga Na Visu, 2009).

44 in :: 112 cm

InventoryID #13-1271

SOLD