Sudanese or, Eritrean dagger

[Mervyn Mitton]

We often see these small Arab style daggers in South Africa - the troops in WW2 bought them whilst in Ethiopia,Sudan and in Eritrea. The skin is always camel and usually the handle is bone or, wood. This one is quite attractive since it has brass and turned local stones. They would carry it either tied around the arm - with the handle downwards - or, as a belt dagger.

Arm daggers usually have a longer handle (as shown in the post last Aug) and a different point.

Just a quick post to keep the momentum going............

[Mervyn Mitton]

The blades on most Arab daggers are up-turned at the end - this is for a sharp upward thrust that goes under the ribcage and can penetrate to the heart. The metal for the blade is nearly always from old car and jeep springs - which blunts very easily and goes rusty - as here !

[Guest Zulu57]

Hi your dagger is a post WW2 bilao dagger from Somalia.

[Mervyn Mitton]

Zulu - nice that you have identified it's origins. As you mention in an earlier reply these little daggers move around in upper Africa and get sold in the bazaars. Quite an attractive little piece. Are daggers your main collecting interest ? Mervyn

[Guest Zulu57]

Mervyn

I collect many different ethnographic weapons spears, swords, daggers and clubs from Africa, Asia, India and Indonesia. I got the bug back in the 1990s after attending a show and traded some custom knives for a barong and a Moro Kris sword. As you can tell from my tag here I have a large part of my collection dedicated to Zulu weapons.

[Guest Zulu57]

Here are a group of Somalia Bilao daggers and a longer sword. These are old versions dating from 1890-1916.