Swazi Spear: Circa 1950

Authentic Africa is honored to have the following Zulu and Swazi selections hand picked and commentary information provided by Mr. Gordan Crawford renown collector and the author of “African Weapons: The Wanderings of a Collector.”

“Stepping into the land of the Swazi (also called Emaswati or Ngwane) is in many ways stepping into the past. Swaziland, which is home to the last African monarch to wield full political power, has preserved many of the old Nguni people’s ways. The Swazi people have the following traditional weapons: spears, clubs, axes and shields. The leaf shaped spearhead has a tang embedded in the wooden haft, which is glued into position using a glue of vegetable origin. This joint is reinforced with wire, woven around the joint. In the past brass and copper wire was normally used in this weaving. Often the butt of older spears haft will be covered with leather from a cow tail. The spear “sikhali” always has a shaft of a light pale colored wood that as with other Swazi wooden implements is kept clean so that the wood grain can be admired. There is a trade in old African weapons today that assumes a weapon that is really old will have a soot blackened haft from being stored under the roof of a smoke filled hut. This is generally true but it is not the case in Swaziland, where the people regard such a weapon as dirty and in need of a clean. Indeed I tried for many years to get a traditional Swazi wooden headrest. Eventually a Swazi friend told me that he finally found one for me. When he produced it I was surprised to see that it looked freshly carved. In his attempt to clean the item he had scrapped the headrest so that I now had what appeared to be a recent copy and not a true antique. I have been told that some old Swazi spears had barbs that would “disembowel” the victim. However I have never seen such a weapon.”

"Please note that any spear seen with hairy animal skin binding is new. Old spears always loose all the hair on the hide within a few years. The reason many “tourist” spears have animal skin sewn around the haft is that the original weaving is a dying art and sewing skin on is quicker. Originally hide was occasionally used for this but without exception it was never sewn on. Instead it was a tube of hide cut from the tail that was then shrunk on."

Age has been a true friend of this spear. The wooden haft/shaft has obtained a shiny darkened attractive patina. Age cracks are at a minimum. The spearhead and wiring are both in extremely good condition. The spear overall has been crafted very well which attributes to its fine balance.

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Dimensions: 53 1/2 inches long.

Wt: 5 lbs.

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