Wrist Knife Item Number: Aj148 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Flat round wrist knife with leather shields. Leather strip covering outside is held on with iron clips. Leather covering on inside part of blade where wrist fits. Held on with copper wire wound around leather.

History Of Use

Wrist knives, or fighting knives, are widely used in several communities in east and south Africa, and are an essential feature of traditional dress among the Turkana and Karamojong. Traditionally worn by men, the wrist-knife serves both as a defensive weapon, and also a multi-purpose blade for utilitarian tasks. Wrist knives usually have a narrow ring of leather or hide around the blade as a sheath to protect the wearer from accidental injury. Their multi-use and light-weight made them very useful to the semi-nomadic Turkana and Karamojong people. Under British colonial rule, the Turkana were prohibited from carrying most kinds of weapons, a measure which likely limited use of wrist knives.

Cultural Context

Decorative; utensil; weapon.