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Assegais
An assegai or assagai (Arabic ''az-zaġāyah'', Berber ''zaġāya'' "spear", Old French ''azagaie'', Spanish ''azagaya'', Italian ''zagaglia'', Middle English ''lancegay'') is a pole weapon used for throwing, usually a light spear or javelin made up of a wooden handle and an iron tip. Area of use The use of various types of the assegai was widespread all over Africa and it was the most common weapon used before the introduction of firearms. The Zulu, Xhosa and other Nguni tribes of South Africa were renowned for their use of the assegai. ''Iklwa'' Shaka of the Zulu invented a shorter stabbing spear with a two-foot (0.61 m) shaft and a larger, broader blade one foot (0.3 m) long. This weapon is otherwise known as the ''iklwa'' or ''ixwa'', after the sound that was heard as it was withdrawn from the victim's wound. The traditional spear was not abandoned, but was used to range attack enemy formations before closing in for close quarters battle with the iklwa. Thi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xhosa People
The Xhosa people, or Xhosa language, Xhosa-speaking people (; ) are African people who are direct kinsmen of Tswana people, Sotho people and Twa people, yet are narrowly sub grouped by European as Nguni people, Nguni ethnic group whose traditional homeland is primarily the Cape Provinces, Cape Provinces of South Africa, however the skulls from Mapungubwe empire shows that they have always been in Southern Africa like their kinsmen and had developed a sophisticated culture as well as civilization. They were the second largest racial group in apartheid Southern Africa and are native speakers of the Xhosa language, IsiXhosa language. Presently, approximately eight million Xhosa speaking African people are distributed across the country, and the Xhosa language is South Africa's second-most-populous home language, after the Zulu, again we must qualify the former statement as in great countries like China, Xhosa and Zulu language would not be classified as different languages, rather ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
An African Soldier Or 'Askari' On Guard Duty At No
An, AN, aN, or an may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Airlinair (IATA airline code AN) * Alleanza Nazionale, a former political party in Italy * AnimeNEXT, an annual anime convention located in New Jersey * Anime North, a Canadian anime convention * Ansett Australia, a major Australian airline group that is now defunct (IATA designator AN) * Apalachicola Northern Railroad (reporting mark AN) 1903–2002 ** AN Railway, a successor company, 2002– * Aryan Nations, a white supremacist religious organization * Australian National Railways Commission, an Australian rail operator from 1975 until 1987 * Antonov, a Ukrainian (formerly Soviet) aircraft manufacturing and services company, as a model prefix Entertainment and media * Antv, an Indonesian television network * ''Astronomische Nachrichten'', or ''Astronomical Notes'', an international astronomy journal * ''Avisa Nordland'', a Norwegian newspaper * ''Sweet Bean'' (あん), a 2015 Japanese film also known as ''An'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Close Quarters Battle
Close-quarters combat (CQC) or close-quarters battle (CQB) is a tactical situation that involves a physical fight with firearms involved between multiple combatants at short range. It can occur between military units, police/corrections officers and criminal elements, and in other similar situations. In warfare, it usually consists of units or teams of varying size engaging the target or attacking personnel with personal weapons within a distance of up to 100 meters (110 yards), from proximity hand-to-hand combat to close-quarter target negotiation with usually automatic weapons. In the typical close combat scenario, the attackers try a very fast, violent takeover of a vehicle or structure controlled by the defenders, who usually have no easy method to withdraw. Because attacking and defending personnel, hostages/civilians, and friendly personnel can be closely intermingled, close-quarters combat demands a rapid assault and a precise implementation of lethal force. The operators ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Throwing Spears
A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the aid of a hand-held mechanism. However, devices do exist to assist the javelin thrower in achieving greater distance, such as spear-throwers or the amentum. A warrior or soldier armed primarily with one or more javelins is a javelineer. The word javelin comes from Middle English and it derives from Old French ''javelin'', a diminutive of ''javelot'', which meant spear. The word ''javelot'' probably originated from one of the Celtic languages. Prehistory There is archaeological evidence that javelins and throwing sticks were already in use by the last phase of the Lower Paleolithic. Seven spear-like objects were found in a coal mine in the city of Schöningen, Germany. Stratigraphic dating indicates that the weapons are about 400,000 year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Almogavars
Almogavars ( es, almogávares, an, almugávares, ca, almogàvers and pt, almogávares ar, Al-Mugavari) is the name of a class of light infantry soldier originated in the Crown of Aragon used in the later phases of the Reconquista, during the 13th and 14th centuries. Almogavars were lightly clad, quick-moving frontiersmen and foot-soldiers. They hailed from the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal. In the Crown of Castile, the inner organization was managed by King Alfonso X of Castile in the Siete Partidas. At first these troops were formed by farmers and shepherds originating from the countryside, woods and frontier mountain areas. Later, they were employed as mercenary, mercenaries in Italy, Latin Greece and the Levant. Etymology There are several theories as to where this name comes from ar, المغوار; pl. ar, المغاوير, ''al-mughāwir'', lit=Raiders, or ''al-mukhābir'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Amalinde
The Battle of Amalinde was an armed confrontation between two Xhosa chiefs of the Rharhabe House, which took place in October 1818 just outside of what is today King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. on the eve of the fifth Xhosa War. Chief Ngqika had close ties with the British, while his uncle, Chief Ndlambe, had no such agreements and painted Ngqika as someone selling out his people in return for personal gain. Chief Ndlambe was assisted in the battle by the senior, King Hintsa and his Gcaleka warriors. When chief Ngqika was defeated in the battle, he retreated and appealed to the British for protection. A British-led force commanded by Colonel Thomas Brereton then seized 23,000 head of cattle from Ndlambe's people in retaliation, leading to the battle of Grahamstown. Background and causes The two contending AmaXhosa chiefs of the Rharhabe House were Chief Ngqika and his paternal uncle, Chief Ndlambe. Ngqika's father, Mlawu, died when Ngqika was too y ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilum
The ''pilum'' (; plural ''pila'') was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about long overall, consisting of an iron shank about in diameter and long with a pyramidal head, attached to a wooden shaft by either a socket or a flat tang. Design A ''pilum'' had a total weight of between , with the versions produced during the earlier Republic being slightly heavier than those produced in the later Empire. The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip, but the shank was sometimes made of softer iron. The softness could cause the shank to bend after impact and so render the weapon useless to the enemy. Some believe that the ''pilum'' was not meant to bend after impact but that bending came from improper handling/removal of the weapon when it became stuck in an object. If a ''pilum'' struck a shield it might embed itself, the bending of the shank would force the enemy to discard his shield as unusable without removing the ''pilum'', which would be t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falarica
Falarica, also Phalarica, was an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon that was sometimes used as an incendiary weapon. Design The Falarica was a heavy javelin with a long, thin iron head of about 90 centimeters in length attached to a wooden shaft of about equal length. The iron head had a narrow sharp tip, which made the falarica an excellent armour-piercing weapon. The Iberians used to bind combustible material to the metal shaft of the weapon and use the falarica as an incendiary projectile. The incendiary javelin would hit the shields or siege works of the enemy often setting them ablaze. The falarica could also be launched by the use of spear throwers or siege engines to increase its range and velocity. the besieged were protected and the enemy kept away from the gates by the falarica, which many arms at once were wont to poise... when hurled like a thunderbolt from the topmost walls of the citadel, it clove the furrowed air with a flickering flame, even as a fiery meteor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rarabe KaPhalo
Rarabe ka Phalo (about 1722 - 1787) was a Xhosa Prince and the founder of the Right Hand House of the Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ... nation. Rarabe was the eldest son and right hand son of King Phalo ka Tshiwo. Rharhabe died near present-day Dohne in the Eastern Cape province. Family He fathered the following known children ( Mlawu ka Rarabe (Great son), Ndlambe ka Rarabe, Sigcawu ka Rarabe, Cebo ka Rarabe (Right Hand son), Hlahla ka Rarabe, Nzwane ka Rarabe, Mnyaluza ka Rarabe, Ntsusa ka Rarabe (a daughter) and Nukwa ka Rarabe. Death Rharhabe-Qwathi War Rharhabe's daughter Ntsusa married the Qwathi chief Mdandala, who as dowry(lobola) sent a miserable hundred head of cattle to Rharhabe. This was seen by Rharhabe as a great insult for some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soliferrum
Soliferrum or Soliferreum (Latin: ''solus'', "only" + ''ferrum'', "Iron") was the Roman name for an ancient Iberian ranged pole weapon made entirely of iron. The soliferrum was a heavy hand-thrown javelin, designed to be thrown to a distance of up to 30 meters. In the Iberian language it was known as ''Saunion''. Design The soliferrum was forged from a single piece of iron which usually measured 1.5 to 2 meters in length and around one centimeter in diameter. This missile weapon had a narrow, barbed tip so it could pierce shields and armour. The tip of the soliferrum came in several forms. In its simplest form, it had only a sharpened tip but usually it had two small spikes or even more. These spikes had one or several hooks, so the weapon would be hard to extract after it had penetrated an enemy's body. The central part of the soliferrum was usually thickened to facilitate the grip of the weapon. Sometimes there were moldings of about ten centimeters long in the middle of the wea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bantu Language
The Bantu languages (English: , Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a large family of languages spoken by the Bantu people of Central, Southern, Eastern africa and Southeast Africa. They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages. The total number of Bantu languages ranges in the hundreds, depending on the definition of "language" versus "dialect", and is estimated at between 440 and 680 distinct languages."Guthrie (1967-71) names some 440 Bantu 'varieties', Grimes (2000) has 501 (minus a few 'extinct' or 'almost extinct'), Bastin ''et al.'' (1999) have 542, Maho (this volume) has some 660, and Mann ''et al.'' (1987) have ''c.'' 680." Derek Nurse, 2006, "Bantu Languages", in the ''Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics'', p. 2:Ethnologue report for Southern Bantoid" lists a total of 535 languages. The count includes 13 Mbam languages, which are not always included under "Narrow Bantu". For Bantuic, Linguasphere has 260 outer languages (which are equivalent to languages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtisia
''Curtisia dentata'' (commonly known as the Assegai tree or Cape lancewood, af, Assegaai, xh, Umgxina, zu, Umagunda) is a flowering tree from Southern Africa. It is the sole species in genus ''Curtisia'', which was originally classed as a type of "dogwood" (''Cornaceae''), but is now placed in its own unique family Curtisiaceae. It is increasingly popular as an ornamental tree for gardens, with dark glossy foliage and sprays of pure white berries. The bark of this tree is a very popular component of traditional African medicine, leading to overexploitation and a decline in the species in some areas of South Africa.''Curtisia dentata'' in BoDD – Botanical Dermatology Database The tree is protected in South Africa. Name [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
