Length: 39.000 cm (min.)
Length: 39.000 cm (min.)

Gift of the Trustees of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum

AOA 1954.+23.938, 940, 941, 942

Room 25: Africa

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Sudan Past and Present: From the Islamic Period to the Modern World

Copper tribute blades

To hear an audio description of this object, written especially for blind and partially sighted visitors, follow this link: Audio description (2m 33s) (mp3 format, 1.75 MB). To download, right click and 'save target as' (PC) or hold down 'Control' key and click, and select 'Download Link to Disc' (Mac).

For many years Sudan has been home to no less than 570 different tribal groups and the material culture is as diverse as the population. One such group is the Azande, today dispersed between the modern states of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are united by a common language and organized into kingdoms ruled by different members of a single royal dynasty. In common with many other Central and Sudanic African peoples, the Azande made and used throwing knives as currency before the introduction of imported scrap metal and coinage in the twentieth century.

Produced by the Nzakara and Ngbandi, vassal peoples on the periphery of Azande influence, these stylized, copper versions of iron throwing knives were circulated throughout the Azande kingdoms, along with a wide range of luxury items. They were not exchanged on a commercial basis, but rather as part of a complex system of tribute-giving which maintained the delicate balance of power which existed in the de-centralized Azande empire.