Original 19th Century Central Africa Congolese Bantu Peoples Tribal Sape Dagger and Kondo Style Sickle Sword – 2 Items Original Items

Original Items: Only One Lot Available. The Bantu peoples are an ethnolinguistic grouping of approximately 400 distinct native African ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages. The languages are native to 24 countries spread over a vast area from Central Africa to Southeast Africa and into Southern Africa. There are several hundred Bantu languages. Depending on the definition of “language” or “dialect”, it is estimated that there are between 440 and 680 distinct languages. The total number of speakers is in the hundreds of millions, ranging at roughly 350 million in the mid-2010s (roughly 30% of the population of Africa, or roughly 5% of the total world population). About 60 million speakers (2015), divided into some 200 ethnic or tribal groups, are found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone.

The Items In This Lot:

– Sape/Sapi Dagger or Short Sword: We believe this to be of Congo origin given the design and comparison between other examples. The blade on this has the appearance of a spear tip and is constructed from iron with a wood handle. There is heavy oxidation and pitting on the iron blade.

Specification:
Blade Length: 9 ½”
Blade Width: 2 ¼” at widest point
Blade Type: Spear
Handle Length: 5”

– Sickle Sword: Double edge curved blade with crude wooden handle. There are scattered areas of simple designs, mostly visible towards the handle. The blade does have extensive pitting and oxidation.

Specification:
Blade Length: 19”
Blade Width: 3 ½” at widest point
Handle Length: 6”

A great pair of edged weapons ready for further research and display.