Subject: mercenary warrior
Culture: tribal Congolese = Azande, Mongo, Ngombe, others
Setting: Belgian Congo late 19th-early 20thc
Object: swords
Girafe / Mambeli
* Spring 1993 p87 f80
"Scimitars, mambeli, used by the Azande and, in similar forms, by the neighbouring Boa people of northeast Zaire. These weapons are said to have been developed to hook aside an opponent's shield to make way for a spear thrust. However, in order to do this a warrior would have to drop his own shield. Such speculation may therefore owe less to documented evidence than to the Western obsession with explaining form by function in the study of African weapons."
Ikakalaka
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Kumu
* Bowers Museum 2020-02-25 online > All swords of things: Five decorative short swords from the Congo
"Looking Sharp Several peoples have been associated with the manufacturing and use of these swords including the Ngombe and Poto speakers of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However, the characteristic markings of each sword might help distinguish them as being made by one group or another. Three of the objects have a specific geometric engraving as well as a protruding ridge on each side of the blade. In comparison, the other two objects do not have the same designs or the additional ridges. The differentiation of these stylistic attributes might indicate that these two groupings of swords came from two different cultural groups.
"The geometric patterns seen on most of these blades are intriguing due to the amount of detail and their consistent shape. It is clear from the sheer number of swords bearing the marking both within and without the Bowers’ collections that it was not an arbitrary aesthetic flourish. It could be that this design acts as an ideogram connected to symbolic tribal markings found on important individuals or it could have emblematic meaning that we are unable to decipher.
"Definitely Not Pointless Just by looking at these swords, it is obvious that their purpose exceeds physical harm. A blacksmith would be primarily concerned with ensuring a sword was strong, balanced, effective, and easy to maneuver before he would be concerned with beautification. While these five objects contain functional offensive and defensive elements, their supplemental decorative embellishments suggest they were likely used to glorify its owner. Owning an item as unique as this would signify your status, rank, title, and/or function to the rest of the society. Furthermore, it has also been suggested that these swords were utilized as marriage currency for the Gonji Ngombe.
"The Cutting Edge The mediums and techniques required in the creation of these swords also suggest that they were not common items. The construction of the blades and additional metal wrappings around the grips requires complex metal working; the weaving of the organic fibers involves basketry; and the triangular wooden grips demonstrate a carver’s prowess in woodcarving."
Ngala
* Capwell 2009 p211
"These Ngala swords from Zaire, with their unique form of sickle-shaped blade, were sometimes used for a particularly gruesome form of execution. The victim was secured to the ground with his head tied to a supple tree bent over for the purpose. At the moment of decapitation the head was catapulted into the distance."
* Withers/Capwell 2010 p79
"Congolese Ngala knives appear in three main forms. The first is very long, double-edged and curved in a shallow, graceful arc. The second is shorter and wider, the blade often tear-shaped with one or two ridges. The third is almost a form of machete -- wide-bladed and long, decorated with ridges, profuse file-lines and cross-hatching. The leading edge is recurved and the trailing edge cut into a series of cuspings, the point forming a stout hook. These knives were often taken to be decapitation implements, but are more likely to have had ceremonial significance. Closely related to the Ngala knife is that of the neighbouring Ndjembo. This is of similar length but straight until it divides into two long points that curve inwards in a crescent shape."
* Geary/Xatart 2007 p173
"Certain types of weapons or implements have been in high demand -- be it for their extraordinary forms or their associated context .... In the case of sickle-shaped iron knives with wooden handles from the Ngala, in the north-central DRC, both motivations seem to merge. Fischer and Zirngibl call them 'beautiful and effective' and emphasize their use in executions, even presenting an Austrian artist's rendering of such a scene."
* Spring 1993 p
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