Knife - Za - Ngbaka - DR Congo

Old and heavy knife 'bwambwa' Ngbaka
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Height: 44.5 cm
Period: early 20th century (or very late 19th)
Provenance: Swedish auction house; ex collection Sven-Erik Johansson, Varberg - Sweden

This knife model was invented by the Ngbaka but adopted and widely used by the Ngombe. The Ngbaka recounted how their cultural hero, Seto, carried one and described it as the 'wife' of another of their blades, the za sali, which was the husband.

The making of Ngbaka knives required several days of forging work and was costly. Although they could be effectively used as weapons, their value made such acts impractical; Westerdijk wrote: "its owner would only throw it as a last resort, or when he believed he had a good chance of retrieving it." Therefore, the primary role of this weapon was as a symbol of power, wealth, and prestige. Known as ngwolo or bwambwa, this type of weapon was mainly carried by village chiefs, elders of the lineage, and other notables as a symbol of prestige. They were brandished during important funerals, used in initiation ceremonies, and even carried by the police during the colonial period (Westerdijk, The African Throwing Knife, 1988).

Last photograph of an Ngbaka chief and his knife.

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