Original Victorian Era Zulu War Knobkierie with Woven Wire Binding
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Original Item: Only One Available. This is a very nice example of the classic ZULU Warrior's knobkerrie battle club.
Shaft measures 23 inches in length including heavy 4.25" diameter hardwood ball head. The neck immediately under the ball for a depth of almost 2" is bound in neatly woven fine copper wire, along with two .5" woven wire rings at mid shaft and shaft base.
A very upmarket knobkerrie for a ZULU Impi leader that was brought home to England as a "war trophy" by some red jacketed British Infantryman who was very grateful to return in one piece.
To think these Zulu knobkerries and Zulu spears were what the Martini Henry equipped soldiers were facing. Says a lot for the bravery of the Zulus warriors!
Impi is a Zulu word for any armed body of men. However, in English it is often used to refer to a Zulu regiment, which is called an ibutho in Zulu. Its beginnings lie far back in historic tribal warfare customs, when groups of armed men called impis battled. They were systematized radically by the Zulu king Shaka, who was then only the exiled illegitimate son of king Senzangakona, but already showing much prowess as a general in the army of Mthethwa king Dingiswayo in the Mthethwa-Ndwandwe war in the early 1810s.
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