Knife "ondo" - Mbugbu/Banda - DR Congo

Pocket knife “ondo” Mbugbu/Banda
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Max height: 42 cm
Period: early 20th century
Materials: wrought iron, antelope leather
Provenance: formerly from a private Belgian collection

The 19th century, marked by upheaval, long migrations, and inter-tribal wars, resulted in the dispersal of the Banda, once united, across a vast geographic area, split into small independent populations speaking about fifty distinct dialects. Likewise, Banda weapons display a wide diversity of styles, often radically diverging from traditional aesthetics.

Banda knives were historically reserved for military use (for stopping the advance of an enemy force, for example), but their function evolved after the 1920s to include peaceful and spiritual purposes, such as instruments for ritual dancing. This metamorphosis is the combined result of the decline of conflicts in the 20th century and the Banda people’s enduring emotional attachment to their knives (Westerdijk, The African Throwing Knife, 1988).

While some researchers use the presence of an ear (the small pointed protrusion between the wing and the crown) to delineate Banda knives in the east from Banda knives in the west, other researchers have documented knives with an ear originating from groups in the central-southern Banda territories, namely the Mbugbu (Felix, Kipinga, 1991).

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