European Machete in African Sheath
Banjangi / Keaka / Ekoi, Nigeria / Cameroon
Steel, wood, pelt, textile, GRIPPER snap fastener
20th century

This piece is comprised of one part European manufacture and one part African manufacture. The machete and original handle were made in Europe, possibly by Ralph Martindale & Co. Ltd., however the blade doesn’t wear the characteristic Martindale stamp and crocodile (the blade wears the stamp “GBO,” which could point to a German company, since Cameroon was a German colony). Even today, similar machetes wearing the iconic three-groove look are sold by Martindale:

After being imported from Europe, this machete appears to have been truncated. The sheath, characteristic of those from the Banjangi, Keaka, and Ekoi, is composed of wood, leather, cotton, and a GRIPPER metal fastener snap of American manufacture.

Christopher Spring wrote a very meaningful passage in his 1993 book African Arms and Armor about the significant role a sheath like this would play in the effectiveness of the weapon:

Even within a specifically military context, an African weapon must be perceived as a part of a highly complex system of interdependent actions and beliefs from which it is quite inseparable. In common with certain types of wood sculpture, some weapons may only be empowered by the application of magical substances. No matter how thick the hide of a shield or how well-tempered the blade of a sword, both may be considered incomplete without the symbolic designs and devices applied to them. Accessories may also be of great importance and must be given equal recognition with the weapons to which they relate.

25.5 in :: 65 cm

InventoryID #13-1317

Price on Request