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Dimitri André

Whole collection 7X lot rare ancient Tepeth Egolu finger knives + 4X warrior Matheniko bracelets from Karamoja, north-eastern Uganda.

Estimated age: 1930-1940 (knives); 1970 (bracelets).

Dimensions: finger knives: 4.9 cm x 8.2 cm, 5.1 cm x 7.7 cm, 5.7 cm x 7.8 cm, 3.8 cm x 8.2 cm, 3.6 cm x 7.7 cm, 4.6 cm x 8.1 cm, 3.1 cm x 9.2 cm; Matheniko warrior bracelets: diameter: from 6.4 cm till 7.3 cm, it depends by the piece.

Finger knives:

Name: the Karamojong word for this type of knife is Egolu (pl. Nygolui).

Used by Tepeth tribe, a Turkana tribe which lives on the valleys of mount Moroto, mount Kadam and mount Napak, sited close to the Uganda-Kenya border.

Materials: iron and copper. The knives are a bit rusty due to their age.

Some informations about Tepeth tribe:

The present inhabitants of Karamoja are the Karamojong tribes. The main Karamojong tribes are 7: the Matheniko ("The Bulls"; Moroto area), the Bokora ("The Turtles"; Kangole area), the Pian ("The Lightings"; Namalu area), the Jie ("The Warriors"; Kotido area), the Dodoth ("The Ostriches"; Kaabong and Kidepo area), the Jiye (The Jie of South Sudan), the Nyangatom ("those of the yellow trumpet"; Omo valley, Ethiopia and nearby South Sudan-Ethiopia border), scattered all along the Karamojong area. The Karamojong tribes are related to Masai people, forced to move centuries ago from their original lands located in Ethiopia by the arrival of arabian tribes from the north. The original inhabitants of Karamoja weren't Masai tribes, but - together with other two tribes - a Turkana-related tribe called Tepeth. During the last centuries, Tepeth people has been defeated by Karamojong tribes, and forced to reach the highest valleys of mount Moroto, mount Kadam and mount Napak where at present times they're living of small agriculture and sheep-rearing, organized in grass-made villages each one governed by a council of seniors. The Ik (known as "Teuso" too) and the Nyangia tribes were part of the original inhabitants of Karamoja too, and as the Tepeth they've been defeated by the arrival of the Karamojong tribes and they're still alive on the mountains of Karamoja, the Ik on mount Morungole and the Nyangya on the hills of north-western Karamoja. The finger knives are a special handmade article of all Turkana tribes, findable just in north-eastern Uganda and north-western Kenya, used since ancient times as weapon, to defend, to attack, and for daily works. The finger knives were used in the past among the tribes as a very valuable currency too. We found these ancient knives on 1986 on mount Kadam, where a part of Tepeth people is located under the name of Kadamas.

Matheniko warrior bracelets:

Name: the Karamojong word for this type of warrior bracelet is Amulanyan (pl. Namulanyanae). The Namulanyanae bracelets were worn only by Matheniko warriors. In the past, they were used among the Matheniko warriors as a very valuable currency too.

Tribe: Matheniko tribe, Karamojaland, north-eastern Uganda.
 
Materials: brass. These bracelets have been made by Matheniko people using as coarse material used Kalashnikov (AK-47) bullets (the Karamoja region was still a guerrilla zone until few years ago). On the bracelets is easily visible the x mark typical of Matheniko tribe.

Origin: collected on 1988 in Loputuk, on the northern foothills of mount Moroto, central Karamoja.

Whole collection 7X lot rare ancient Tepeth Egolu finger knives + 4X warrior Matheniko bracelets from Karamojaland

Whole Collection 7X lot Tepeth Egolu finger knives Turkana finger knife + 4X warrior Matheniko bracelets Karamojong Karamoja Uganda Kenya South Sudan Ethiopia Masai Pokot Topotha african currency

African Art

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31 October

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This object is no longer available, but there’s still lots to explore

Whole Collection 7X lot Tepeth Egolu finger knives Turkana finger knife + 4X warrior Matheniko bracelets Karamojong Karamoja Uganda Kenya South Sudan Ethiopia Masai Pokot Topotha african currency

1061 objects

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African Art

This object is no longer available, but there’s still lots to explore

Whole Collection 7X lot Tepeth Egolu finger knives Turkana finger knife + 4X warrior Matheniko bracelets Karamojong Karamoja Uganda Kenya South Sudan Ethiopia Masai Pokot Topotha african currency

1061 objects

Related collections