Short Sword with Iron Pommel
Tubu, Chad / Niger / Mali
Iron, wood, leather, crocodile
Late 19th / early 20th century

The Tubu people, who are spread across Mali, Chad, and Niger, carried knives with a distinctive arrowhead-shaped iron pommel, which they affixed to short and long knives alike. These blades were made by the casted blacksmiths of the Tubu-Daza of Tibesti, Ennedi, and Wadai (Chad), yet many daggers of this type have made their way to faraway destinations like northern Nigeria and Somalia via a system of long distance trade by caravan.

The Tubu (Toubou) are studied in two groups: the Teda and the Daza (Dazagra). They are believed to share a common origin and speak two closely related languages (Ginzberg, African Forms, 2000; Spring, African Arms and Armor, 1993; Tirri, Islamic and Native Weapons of Colonial Africa, 2007; Westerdijk, African Metal Implements, 1984). 

17.25 in :: 44 cm

InventoryID #13-2351

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