The ikul, or peace knife, was instituted by an early Kuba king to supersede the decidedly martial ilwoon (war sword). In 1910 one ikul commanded 5,000 cowrie shells on the local market—the equivalent of eight yards of European trade-cloth (Ginzberg 2000: 177).

Vide Hurst 1997: 36–7; Westerdijk 1984: 36–7.

REFERENCES

Ginzberg, Marc, and Lynton Gardiner. African Forms. Milan: Skira Ed., 2000.

Hurst, Norman. Ngola: the Weapon as Authority, Identity, and Ritual Object in

Sub-Saharan Africa. Cambridge, MA: Hurst Callery, 1997.

Westerdijk, Peter. African Metal Implements: Weapons, Tools and Regalia.

Greenvale: Hillwood Art Gallery, 1984.