Zulu Iklwa. 1879 Zulu War Stabbing Spear.
This Zulu Iklwa is a Zulu War bring back and dates to the late 1870’s. After the punitive attack on the Zulu capitol of Ulundi in 1879, many such trophies were collected by the troops and brought back to the UK as souvenirs. Finding one now-a-days however is not so easy!
The 310mm hand forged blade has a flattened diamond section with raised medial ridge. The blade is 38mm at its widest and is in great condition with a wonderful patina and clear forging marks that add to its character.
The blade is secured firmly within the haft and woven ilala palm binding was added to strengthen the bond. The palm binding is in excellent condition. Traditionally there were three types of binding used to secure the blade into the haft – wire, cow tail and Ilala palm.
The 745mm haft has a wonderful patina and flares moderately at the end.
While the Zulu King was responsible for providing his warriors (Impis) with shields, the individual Zulu warrior was responsible for his own weaponry. As such, the length and breadth of a warrior’s Iklwa blade was very much a status symbol. The more steel a warrior could afford to purchase and have forged into a blade, the wealthier and more important he was. The same applied to the choice of binding for the blade. Ilala palm was free to harvest, wire could be traded (but was often stolen from the newly installed telegraph system) and a cow tail could only be obtained by killing a cow. Cattle held great importance to the Zulus and cattle ownership was the indicator of an individual’s wealth and status.
The size of the blade on this iklwa and the use of ilala palm binding on the haft suggests that this iklwa probably belonged to a young warrior. These young warriors were used by Cetshwayo to form the horns of the traditional Zulu attack, their youth giving them the necessary speed across broken ground with which to reach and attack the flanks of their enemy.
This Iklwa has a total length of 1,055mm (105.5cm).
This is an excellent example of a young Zulu warrior’s weapon and will make a great addition to any Anglo-Zulu War collection.
