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Lightweight, wooden, ball-headed clubs like this one from South Africa are commonly termed ‘knobkerries’. ‘Knopkieri’ is a word used in Afrikaans, a Dutch-based language, but which is itself a mixture of the !Kung (Kalahari bushmen) term ‘kieri’ meaning ‘club’ and the English ‘knop’ or ‘knob’, alluding to the rounded head. In some examples the head is hollow and doubles up as a snuff container.

This club is finely made and would have been a prestige object known to its Zulu owner as an Iwisa. It features a fluted and segmented head and a decorative striped band around the shaft made of iron, copper and brass wire. Although less often used than the spear and shield in warfare, the Iwisa was part of male everyday dress, carried as a means of self-defence (to be both wielded and thrown) and as an accessory for hunting. It was also the traditional weapon of execution under paramount chief Shaka (1787-1828), whereby repeated blows were delivered to the back of the head. Shaka executed thousands, both enemies and his own people, in his quest to unite the Zulu tribes and transform them into fearsome warriors and a potent military machine.

In recent times, the Zulu political movement Inkatha have claimed the inalienable and ancient right of the Zulu man to bear arms, and both Iwisa and spears have been designated as Cultural Weapons by the South African government.