4. CHAPTER FOUR: THE VALUE OF NINETEENTH CENTURY ETHNO- HISTORY IN STUDYING DECORATIVE METALWORK IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
4.7.2: THE MANUFACTURE OF KNIVES FOR GENERAL USE
Author, date Metal Length cm. Width (circum- ference) mm
Mass, g Locality
Trevor, 1930 Copper No details Ca. 600 100 specimens
Thompson, 1947 Copper Copper
45.0 45.0
50.0 48.0
800 620
Makudzi River Phalaborwa
Hanisch, 1974 Copper 50.0 Phalaborwa
More, 1974 Copper Ca. 45.0 Friede, 1980 Copper
Copper
46.5 46.0
12.8 to 13.0 13.8 to 15.0
852 1093
Zoutpansberg Pilgrim’ Rest
Ackerman, 1983 Copper 51.0 Phalaborwa, 7
specimens
Herbert, 1984 Copper Repeats Haddon’s
details
Killick, 1991 Tin 45.0 55.0 510 Messina area
Van der Merwe, &
Scully, 1991
Copper No details
Miller, & Van der Merwe, 1994
No details
Miller, 1995 Copper No details
Bisson, 2000 Copper Repeats
Lindblom’s details Miller, Killick, &
Van der Merwe, 2001
Copper 45.0 Phalaborwa
district, 5 specimens
(1927) describes the knives made by the Venda as resembling a sword, while Stayt (1931) suggests that their shape is that of a small spear head and are about 15 cm long, with a tang just long enough for a handle grip, and bent over to form a ring. A cord through the ring enabled the wearer to display the object around his neck (Stayt, 1931).
The decoration of the sheath is described by Junod (1927), like others elsewhere, as being made from two pieces of wood and fastened together with braided iron wire.
Similar information on the structure of the knife is provided by Wikar (1779), Campbell (1822, Burchell (1953), Moffat (1844) and Casalis (1965) amongst the cultural groups in central southern Africa, while McLaren (1918) confirms related information for the Xhosa.
The knives from central southern African were generally double-bladed they were triangular in shape and tapered to a point. The blades were fixed into a short wooden handles and decorated with carved ivory. The sheaths were made with two slips of wood, sometimes decorated with ivory (Campbell, 1844; Moffat, 1842; Burchell, 1953; Casalis, 1965).
The Shona cultural group made distinctive knives which were commented upon by visitors to the region such as Blennerhassett & Sleeman (1893: 302) who noted that the wire works on these knives was “well-done”. Ellert (1984) presents a description of knives, swords and daggers manufactured by the Shona. The iron blade (bakatwa) was beaten out from a central ridge so that one cutting edge was slightly higher than the opposite edge, and was generally 43.0 to 100.0 cm long. The blade was set into a wooden handle (Ellert, 1984). A smaller and similar version of this knife was the sheath knife (banga) with a single edged blade and secured in a double sided wooden scabbard virtually identical to the large bakatwa without the wooden carving, (Ellert, 1984)
Figure 4.7 A map showing the distribution of knives made by various cultural groups in southern Africa. Information gathered from literary data.
Table 4.4 Information on knives from a variety of cultural groups who made them for utilitarian and ceremonial use sourced from literature (Period19th century).
Author, date Cultural group Blade width cm Blade length cm
Sheath length cm
Materials / decoration
Wikar, 1779 Tswana No measurements No information
Campbell, 1822 Tswana No information
Burchell, 1824 Tswana No measurements No information
Methuen, 1846 Tswana No information
Lichtenstein, 1928 Botswana No information Wooden sheaths
Moffat, 1842 Tswana 15.0 Wire work on sheath
Blennerhasset &
Sleeman, 1893
Shona No measurements Wire decoration on handle
Read, 1902 Ovambo Ellenberger, 1912 S. Sotho
McLaren, 1918 Xhosa No measurements Carried in a sheath Muller &
Snelleman, 1926 (a)
Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi Zambezi
3.3 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.5 1.5 2.1 2.0 2.5 2.8 4.0 3.8 3.0 2.4 1.5 1.0
48.0 38.0 38.0 28.0 38.0 37.5 33.5 28.3 41.5 14.5 29.5 22.0 16.5 11.5 6.0 5.4
14.0 14.5 13.0 14.0 16.0 15.0 15.0 15.7 26.0 15.0 33.0 23.5 17.5 12.5 6.8 5.8
Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Handle: brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding Brass wire binding
Author, date Cultural group Blade width cm Blade length cm
Sheath length cm
Materials / decoration Zambezi 3.0 22/23.5 16.5 Double sheath, brass wire
binding Miller and
Snelleman, 1926
Zambezi 1.8 56.5 59.5 Entirely bound with brass wire
Junod, 1927 Venda ‘Kind of sword’
Hahn, 1928 Vedder, 1928
Ovambo Berg Damarar, Namibia
No measurements
Stayt, 1931 Venda 15.0 Tang bent to form a ring
for carrying purposes Hambly, 1937 Ovambo 48.0 to 73 .0 Scabbard width: 5.0 to 7.0
cm Shaw, 1938 Ovambo (short
knife) Long knives
14.0
20.0 to75.0
19.0 Width of sheath: 26.5 cm Copper twisted
rectangular wire Wooden scabbard Hemans, 1945 Ndebele No measurements Decorated wooden sheath
Casalis, 1965 S. Sotho Wooden sheaths
Van Tonder, 1966 Mpukushu
Hatton, 1967 Shona / Ndebele No information Larson, 1975 Mpukushu
Snowden, 1940 Shona(a) Shona (b) Shona (c) Shona (d)
4.0 4.0 1.2 3.0
31.0 36.0 46.0 30.5
45.0 47.0 50.0 45.0
Wire and carving Wire and carving Wire with carving Wire and carving
Van Tonder, 1966 Mpukushu No details
Mackenzie, 1975 Shona No details
Davison, 1984 Lobedu 15.0 No sheath
Ellert, 1984 Shona (bakatwa) Shona
3.0 3.0 18.0
43.0 to 100.0 Dewey, 1986,
1997 (b)
Shona (chisvo) Shona (bakatwa) Shona (bakatwa) Shona
Shona (AK-47)
3.5 3,4
16.0 16.0
14.5 28.3 92.0
Bands of wire binding Binding wire throughout Bands of brass wire Binding of brass wire Copper wire binding Spring, 1993 Shona (bakatwa)
Shona (bakatwa)
71.0 Brass wire binding Brass wire binding, plus geometric carving
The Table 4.4: shows that the appearance of knives made of iron were more prevalent in the areas noted for the high summer rainfall or savannah region. Public and private collections have published information gathered from ethnologists showing that the majority of knives were made by the Shona and cultural groups to the north of the Limpopo River. Their measurements illustrate that there is uniformity in the widths of blades which range 1.0 to 5.0 cm. The blade lengths ranged from 5.4 to 56.6 cm. The sheaths, were made from wood and were decorated with wire; brass wire which was more frequently noted than copper. The length of sheaths varied from 5.8 to 100.0 cm.
Some were reported to be decorated with carving.