Ceremonial Knife, Anger
Nuba, South Sudan
Iron, wood, leather
Late 19th century

This large knife, technically classified as a throwing knife, was found among the Nuba of Kordofan. Its design is a variation of the Ingessana’s muder (“the scorpion”). The Ingessana describe the various parts of this knife in anthropomorphic terms: the head (upper blade), tooth (cutting edge), neck (the blade above the crossbar), breasts (the tip and protuberance on the crossbar), and loins and legs (shaft and grip). However, the incised designs often depict zoomorphic characters: scorpion, water bug, millipede, deer, spider, snake, and lizard (Spring, African Arms and Armor, 1993). 

While this heavy blade could certainly be used functionally, its purpose was more symbolic. For the Nuba-Tira, the knife was an important part of the ensemble of the holder of the highest rank, the urdhini:

“The urdhini carry emblems of their status: a ceremonial throwing knife, called anger, and a tall bamboo stick, the top of which is carved in the crude likeness of a bull's head. The stick, cut by the urdhini himself, is carried always. The throwing knife is kept in the house and only taken out for ceremonial occasions. The new urdhini either orders himself a new throwing knife from the Arab blacksmiths at Ngortu or Mafluh, south of Tira, or takes over the throwing knife of another man who is too old to need it any longer” (Nadel, S.F. The Nuba: An Anthropological Study of the Hill Tribes in Kordofan. 1947).

26.75 in :: 68 cm

InventoryID #13-1407

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