Gilê
Gilê
Afar or Issa
Afar Region, Abyssinia (Northern Ethiopia) - Italian Eritrea (Eritrea) - French Somaliland (Djibouti) - British Somaliland (Somaliland)
First half of the 20th century (ca. 1925)
Steel, wood, brass, iron
Blade: 36,5cm
Hilt & Blade: 48,9cm
Hilt, Blade, Sheath: 56,8cm
Collection Date: 2016
Collection Number: 467
Ex. Late Lew Waldman Collection: Fayetteville, New York, USA (2016)
The dagger, jile, or gilê in Afar, from the coastal region of the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa, are used by Afar and the Somali clans alike. The double- edged curved steel blade is plain with a raised central ridge. I- shaped hardwood hilt finely bound in brass wire around the central grip. A heavy brass pommel cone at the end. Leather sheath adorned with brass rings, bands, and studs. The chape is bound in a consistent manner as the hilt grip in coiled brass wire. Attached is its original leather belt and iron buckle. The sheath resists full insertion of the blade, likely a result of temperature/moisture shrinkage. A heavy and very good gilě, fighting example with a well crafted blade.
[1] http://vikingsword.com/lew/w1021/w1021.html
[2] http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6926
[3] W. O. Oldman. “Illustrated Catalogue of Ethnographic Specimens”. List No. 87. Vol. vii. Item No. 12 (19765)
[4] Spring, Christopher. 1993 “African Arms and Armor”. Page 104 – 105
[5] https://swordis.com/blog/jile-dagger/
[6] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1911-24-a
[7] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1979-01-218-a-b
[8] https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1999-13-1