Zulu Axe Stabbing weapon

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Here's my latest finds for my Zulu collection. The Zulu's apparently had a morbid fear of the Martini Henry socket bayonet. In fact, they were more frightened of that than they were the 577/450 round. It is claimed that this style of axe was a partial answer to the socket bayonet. The blade was extended at the front to form a sword-like extension. Although what they hoped to achieve with this is debatable. The Martin Henry, when fitted with the bayonet, had a reach of around six feet, well beyond the capabilities of the axe - which was only about 27 inches.

The shield was a recent purchase off the dreaded ebay. It is without doubt a genuine 19th century shield of a type known as the 'umbumbuluzo.' This was a small fighting shield often used in prefference to the much larger 'isihlangu' type. This particular example measures 30X15 inches. I believe I dropped lucky with this one. It hadn't been on ebay for much more than an hour and had a 'buy it now' price of £200. That may seem expensive for a rather battered and buckled example. But after soaking in water for five hours, I was able to straighten it out reasonably well and add a new pole to help keep it rigid. An example in the condition it is in now could set you back in excess of £500 from a dealer.

[Gunny Hartmann]

That's an interesting looking axe for sure!...

[douglas2496]

Very interesting and unusual items, thanks for showing!

[Woolgar]

A fascinating collecting focus!

nick

[big ned]

You're getting some nice pieces together now Steve!

The Commoner's axe is very nice, Often these are from different Bantu tribes like the Sutu, Swazi or Tsonga, and were often traded between themselves. But the design of yours is, imo, definitely Zulu. It certainly appears to be a purpose made battle axe rather than merely ceremonial just by looking at the style and heft of it, it's practically a knobkerrie with a hooking/stabbing blade attached for pulling down opponents shields and thrusting.

I believe that these types of battle axe's were soon dropped from impi use shortly after the Zulu war of 1879 due to the changing face of warfare and the availability of basic firearms, but were still used in sacrificial ceromonies when cattle were ritually slaughtered. It's a lovely piece, made for purpose, and not a mere lightweight symbol of tribal stature/office or tourist item.

Again, with the shield, I believe that too is a genuine item rather than a tourist piece. The previous one was not convincing for me, but this one certainly appears right. It's an interesting field in which you've started collecting, and getting very popular and therefore expensive, so I wish you all the best and get as much while you can!

I'm looking forward to see whatever you pick up next!

Regards, Ned.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

Hi Ned, and thanks for the complements. I must admit that I entered into the restoration of the shield with some trepidation. I really wasn't sure what would happen. I had contacted a woman in the restoration department at the Royal Armouries in Leeds for advice on the best way to go about it. After aknowledgement from her over the request there was no further contact, so I just jumped in feet first.

Now it's funny you should mention about wanting to see what I pick up next. About 40 minutes ago I won an item on ebay for the princely sum of £13.57p. It was advertised as an old African tribal shield. Looking at the pictures it looked like a Zulu dance shield, and it is definately old as well. It has to be well worth the money if it is a period item - even if it is only about 18 inches in length!

regards,
Steve.

[rogge16]

Very interesting indeed. Really nice, Steve. Thanks for showing.

Luke

[Walkwolf]

Fascinating topic Steve, and great history in these items..........!

[SteveR]

You did an outstanding job on the shield friend.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Very educational. I knew nothing about these before reading this thread.

Cheers, Ade.