Throwing Knife, kpinga
Yangere, Central African Republic / Cameroon
Iron, vegetal fiber
Late 19th / early 20th century

The Yangere were a small Banda group of about 14,000 who separated from the tribe in 1840 and moved west into Gbaya territory in southwestern C.A.R. and Cameroon. Their name simply means "they who split off."

The Yangere embraced many aspects of Gbaya culture in addition to sharing much of their Banda culture with the Gbaya. Indeed, the Gbaya had never used small throwing knives such as these, but they would subsequently. The Yangere adopted the Gbaya's word for these small throwing knives, kpinga (The Gbaya called their own, larger sickle knives za).

Long after the times of tribal warfare had ended and traditional iron-working ceased in 1920, many family heads among these tribes still kept and treasured throwing knives as precious family heirlooms, regarding them with "a sort of religious awe."

Westerdijk calls this type the most well-balanced of the Yangere styles (The African Throwing Knife, 1988).

14 in :: 35.5 cm

InventoryID #13-2459

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