Short Sword with Large Iron Pommel
Tubu, Chad / Niger / Mali
Iron, leather, snakeskin, crocodile skin
Early 20th century

The unique pommel design seen here is found on blades of the Tubu. The way the sheath terminates in two points is intended to invoke the tongue of a lizard. 

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). 

24 in :: 61 cm

InventoryID #13-1966

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