A Ngulu is an execution sword used by the Bantu peoples (including the Ngombe, Doko, Ngala, etc.) of the Congo Basin.
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A Ngulu is an execution sword used by the Bantu peoples (including the Ngombe, Doko, Ngala, etc.) of the Congo Basin.
It resembles the Khopesh, the sickle-sword of ancient Egypt, except that it has a much more massive blade, made of iron, with a non-cutting back and a semi-circular concavity. The handle, often surrounded by metal wire, ended with two large wooden buttons and a smaller one. It could be one or two blades and was used for capital executions by beheading (the condemned was kept seated, head extended and attached to a branch). [1] : This design was selected for cult and execution knives. A knife was created which symbolized the inexorableness on the judgment and execution. This execution knife became a symbol of power and, in a few variations became a ceremonial knife for tribal chieftains. At executions, the condemned man was tied to the ground with ropes and poles. His head was fastened with leather straps to a bent tree branch. In this way it was ensured that the man's neck would remain stretched. After the decapitation, the head would be automatically catapulted far away.
The Ngulu beheading was forbidden by the Belgians during the Free State of Congo period (1885-1908). The weapon, deprived of its function, took an even stronger symbolic and ceremonial value. From the 20th century, the Ngulu was worn during the ritual dance known as Likbeti, at the end of which the weapon was used to decapitate a goat whose flesh was then consumed by the whole tribe. [2]
A dagger is a fighting knife with a very sharp point and usually two sharp edges, typically designed or capable of being used as a thrusting or stabbing weapon. Daggers have been used throughout human history for close combat confrontations, and many cultures have used adorned daggers in ritual and ceremonial contexts. The distinctive shape and historic usage of the dagger have made it iconic and symbolic. A dagger in the modern sense is a weapon designed for close-proximity combat or self-defense; due to its use in historic weapon assemblages, it has associations with assassination and murders. Double-edged knives, however, play different sorts of roles in different social contexts.
A knife is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of wood, bone, and stone, over the centuries, in step with improvements in both metallurgy and manufacturing, knife blades have been made from copper, bronze, iron, steel, ceramic, and titanium. Most modern knives have either fixed or folding blades; blade patterns and styles vary by maker and country of origin.
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pillory at the bottom of the frame, holding the position of the neck directly below the blade. The blade is then released, swiftly and forcefully decapitating the victim with a single, clean pass; the head falls into a basket or other receptacle below.
Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is inevitably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the involuntary functions that are needed for the body to function.
The kukri or khukuri is a type of short sword with a distinct recurve in its blade that originated in the Indian subcontinent. It serves multiple purposes as a melee weapon and also as a regular cutting tool throughout most of South Asia. The kukri, khukri, and kukkri spellings are of Indian English origin, with the original Nepalese English spelling being khukuri.
A cutlass is a short, broad sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard. It was a common naval weapon during the early Age of Sail.
A tantō is one of the traditionally made Japanese swords that were worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The tantō dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. Tantō were used in traditional martial arts. The term has seen a resurgence in the West since the 1980s as a point style of modern tactical knives, designed for piercing or stabbing.
A blade is the portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with an edge that is designed to puncture, chop, slice or scrape surfaces or materials. Blades are typically made from materials that are harder than those they are to be used on. Historically, humans have made blades from flaking stones such as flint or obsidian, and from various metal such as copper, bronze, and iron. Modern blades are often made of steel or ceramic. Blades are one of humanity's oldest tools, and continue to be used for combat, food preparation, and other purposes.
A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed-blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother Jim Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight.
Knowledge about military technology of the Viking Age is based on relatively sparse archaeological finds, pictorial representation, and to some extent on the accounts in the Norse sagas and laws recorded in the 12th–14th century.
The butterfly sword is a short dao, or single-edged sword, originally from southern China, though it has also seen use in the north. It is thought that butterfly swords date from the early 19th century. Several English language accounts from the 1840s describe local militia in Guangdong being trained in the "double swords", short swords with a hook extending from the guard, and fitting into a single scabbard.
The kirpan is a curved, single-edged blade that Khalsa Sikhs are required to wear as part of their religious uniform, as prescribed by the Sikh Code of Conduct. It is commonly manifested as a dagger or knife in the present-day. Traditionally, the kirpan was a full-sized talwar sword around 76 cm in length. However, British colonial policies and laws introduced in the 19th century reduced the length of the blade. According to the Sikh Rehat Maryada, "The length of the sword to be worn is not prescribed". It is part of a religious commandment given by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699, founding the Khalsa order and introducing the five articles of faith which must be worn at all times, the kirpan being one of five Ks.
Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodworking for knife and sword handles, and often leatherworking for sheaths. Bladesmithing is an art that is thousands of years old and found in cultures as diverse as China, Japan, India, Germany, Korea, the Middle East, Spain and the British Isles. As with any art shrouded in history, there are myths and misconceptions about the process. While traditionally bladesmithing referred to the manufacture of any blade by any means, the majority of contemporary craftsmen referred to as bladesmiths are those who primarily manufacture blades by means of using a forge to shape the blade as opposed to knifemakers who form blades by use of the stock removal method, although there is some overlap between both crafts.
Ngulu may refer to:
A knife fight is a violent physical confrontation between two or more combatants in which one or more participants are armed with a knife. A knife fight is defined by the presence of a knife as a weapon and the violent intent of the combatants to kill or incapacitate each other; the participants may be completely untrained, self-taught, or trained in one or more formal or informal systems of knife fighting. Knife fights may involve the use of any type of knife, though certain knives, termed fighting knives, are purposely designed for such confrontations – the dagger being just one example.
Historically, Chinese swords are classified into two types, the jian and the dao. A Jian is a straight, double-edged sword mainly used for stabbing, and has been commonly translated into the English language as a longsword; while a dao is a single-edged sword mainly used for cutting, and has been translated as a saber or a "knife".
An executioner's sword is a sword designed specifically for decapitation of condemned criminals. These swords were intended for two-handed use, but were lacking a point, so that their overall blade length was typically that of a single-handed sword. The quillons were quite short, and mainly straight, and the pommel was often pear-shaped or faceted.
Knife legislation is defined as the body of statutory law or case law promulgated or enacted by a government or other governing jurisdiction that prohibits, criminalizes, or restricts the otherwise legal manufacture, importation, sale, transfer, possession, transport, or use of knives.
Native American weaponry was used by Native American warriors to hunt and to do battle with other Native American tribes and European colonizers.
Ikakalaka, also called the African Konda sword, is a type of sword which originated in the 19th century among the Mongo people in the northwestern parts of what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are known for the ornamentation on the blade. It has become a staple of popular culture in the 21st century thanks to its blade design and shape.
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