British Museum: Africa (Forged Metal)

POWER, POLITICS AND CULTURE

The equation between forged metal, power, leadership and personal achievement is still strong in Africa. Iron-bladed weapons, agricultural implements and metal currency, which brought military and economic strength to ancient kingdoms, continue to be celebrated in contemporary cults, masquerade and ceremonial.

In the past the creative power of the blacksmith was transferred via the weapons he forged to the hand of the warrior and from there to the leader of the people. In contemporary Africa, arms and armour may symbolise independent nationhood, as in the national flags of Kenya and Lesotho. Weaponry may also signify a people's heritage or the legitimate ownership of the land, as in the respective forms of the 'cultural weapons' of the Zulu of South Africa and the Shona battleaxe of Zimbabwe. Among the Edo of Nigeria and the Akan peoples of Ghana, iron-bladed ceremonial swords remain the primary symbol of power in contemporary politics.

 

Emblems of power

1 Sword and sheath

Iron, wood, and leather

Kru people, Liberia, 19th century

The forerunners of such swords may have inspired the early European travellers’ accounts of the ham-shaped weapons they observed in use along the Guinea coast.

 

2 Chief's sword and sheath

Iron, leather, skin, and brass

Berom people, Nigeria

20th century

Chief's sword

Metal, and wood

Cameroon Grasslands

20th century

 

3 Ceremonial battleaxe

Iron and wood

Tsonga people, South Africa

Early 20th century

Axes of elaborate form such as this were probably not intended for use as weapons but rather as potent symbols of chiefly power. The Tsonga and other peoples of the region, such as the Venda, set great store by firearms and traded vigourously for them with the Portuguese.

 

4 Ceremonial knife

Iron, wood, and copper

Mangbetu people, Democratic Republic of Congo, 19th century

More substantial knives of a similar form were used by the Mangbetu as weapons and tools, though this slimmer version was primarily an emblem of rank and status.

 

5 Two ceremonial axes

Iron, copper, wood, and raphia

Nsapo and Wongo peoples, Democratic Republic of Congo

Early 20th century

The miniature heads on the openwork iron blade of the Nsapo axe perhaps represents subordinate peoples. The Wongo axe is of a type carried over the shoulder by chiefs on important occasions. The blade issuing from the mouth of the figure suggests the power and authority of the chief’s words.

 

6 Prestigious weapon

Iron, wood, copper and leather

Ngombe people, Democratic Republic of Congo

Early 20th century

Ngombe weapons were adopted, as symbols of power, by chiefs and other dignitaries among the various peoples of the region. Their designs were also imitated by smiths among the Teke who lived far to the south of the Ngombe.

 

 

ARMS AND ARMOUR

Many fine examples of iron-bladed African weaponry were inevitably acquired by European colonial powers during the late 19th century. These artefacts and the complex traditions which inspired their production were thereafter often ruthlessly suppressed by the colonial authorities in Africa. Shields, helmets and body armour, which were once widely used not only as protection from iron but also as means of declaring ethnic affiliation or of demonstrating status, began to lose their significance.

When initially displayed in the West, African arms and armour were viewed by many as material symbols of the primitive savagery from which the continent was being delivered. To add insult to injury, they were then largely omitted from the serious study and display of African material culture during the post-colonial period, partly through fear of their negative connotations, partly through ignorance of their true social significance and the artistry of their production.

The reverence with which these artefacts continue to be regarded in many African societies today demands a re-evaluation of their past and present use - not just in warfare and hunting, but in ritual, political, magical and religious, economic and even sporting contexts.

 

FORGED METAL

The miraculous transformation, through fire, of rock into molten metal created the material from which cultural artefacts were forged. Smelting became a metaphor for creation and procreation; in the mythology of some African societies the Creator God is a blacksmith. This mythology invested metal objects including agricultural tools, currency and particularly weaponry, with a special potency. In different ways the smith himself was - and still is - perceived as having magical powers and indulging in secretive practices which set him apart from the rest of the community.

The smelting of metal, often in large and complex furnaces, followed by the forging of the resulting ingots into bladed artefacts may be seen as the high technology of pre-industrial African material culture. In this respect it had much in common with the arms and technology industries of contemporary industrialised societies throughout the world. However, the extraordinary variety of form and embellishment on these artefacts elevates them from the realm of the utilitarian to that of virtuoso artistry and suggests a deeper significance in their function. Contemporary African artists, both female and male, continue to explore and expand these traditions of working in metal.

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