African Arts Gallery

Ngombe Knife (N° 19882)

In northwestern Zaire, south of the Ubangi River,live the 6000 Moswea-Ngombe of Bantu language. Their neighbors are the Ngbandi and the Ngbaka and various banda groups. They knew no god but expected favors from their ancestors, among them health and prosperity. Their throwing knives used for hunting were used as currency. This sickle knife, comparable to those of the Mangbetu, has a handle sheathed in copper wire and a blade with a reddish oxidized patina. In Africa, before the colonial period, payments were never made in coins; transactions were made using cowries, beads, cattle, kola nuts, but also metals, especially iron. These primitive currencies were used for commercial and social exchanges, particularly for dowries, but they could also be used as parade objects or throwing weapons. In northwestern Zaire, south of the Oubangui River, live the 6000 Moswea-Ngombe of Bantu language. Their neighbors are the Ngbandi and the Ngbaka and various banda groups. They knew no god but expected favors from their ancestors, among them health and prosperity. Their throwing knives used for hunting were used as currency. For info: For info