West African Arm Dagger
Northern Hausa / Mandingo, Ghana
Iron, wood, leather
Early 20th century

The arm dagger was a weapon widely used by people across the Sahara and Sudanic Africa, from the central Sahara to North Cameroon, from Nigeria to Somalia. It was worn in a sheath attached to the inner side of the left forearm by a loop, usually of leather but sometimes of metal or other materials. The blade pointed to the elbow and the hilt rested against the inside of the wrist, from which position it could be quickly drawn. Like the Tuareg’s takouba swords, the blades were often of European manufacture. Broken swords were sometimes filed down into arm dagger blades.

The variety of daggers, knives, and short-bladed weapons characteristic of particular areas of Sudanic Africa is vast. Minor variations in design depended more on the creativity of the individual artisans than on tribal differences. (Fischer & Zirngibl, Afrikanische Waffen, 1978; Wolf-Dieter Miersch, personal communication, 2018; Spring, African Arms and Armor, 1993).

14 in :: 35.5 cm

InventoryID #13-1633

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