Ngulu (arma)

Ngulu
	; Ngulu en el Museo de Brooklyn
	[editar datos en Wikidata]

El Ngulu es una espada de ejecución utilizada por los pueblos bantú (incluidos los Ngombe, Doko, Ngala, etc.) de la cuenca del Congo.

Características editar

Similar a una khopesh, la espada-hoz del antiguo Egipto, excepto que tiene una hoja mucho más maciza, hecha de hierro, con un dorso no cortante y una concavidad semicircular. El mango, a menudo cubierto de alambre de metal, terminaba con dos grandes botones de madera y uno más pequeño. Podía ser de una o dos hojas y se utilizaba para ejecuciones capitales por decapitación (se mantenía al condenado sentado, con la cabeza extendida y atado a una rama).^[1]

Historia editar

La decapitación por ngulu fue prohibida por los belgas durante el período del Estado Libre del Congo (1885-1908). El arma, privada de su función, adquirió un valor simbólico y ceremonial aún más fuerte. A partir del siglo XX, el ngulu se llevaba durante la danza ritual conocida como likbeti, al final de la cual el arma se utilizaba para decapitar a una cabra cuya carne era luego consumida por la tribu.^[2]

Galería editar

Ngulu del pueblo Ngombe
Ngulu de doble hoja, uso ceremonial
Ngulu, detalle de la hoja
Ngulu, detalle de la hoja

Referencias editar

↑ Fischer, Werner (1978) et Zirngibl, Manfred A., Afrikanische Waffen: Messer, Dolche, Schwerter, Beile, Wurfwaffen=African weapons: knives, daggers, swords, axes, throwing knives, Prinz-Verlag : This design was selected for cult and execution knives. A knife was created which symbolized the inexorableness on the judgment and execution. This execution knife became a symbol of power and, in a few variations became a ceremonial knife for tribal chieftains. At executions, the condemned man was tied to the ground with ropes and poles. His head was fastened with leather straps to a bent tree branch. In this way it was ensured that the man's neck would remain stretched. After the decapitation, the head would be automatically catapulted far away.
↑ Wolfe, Alvin William (1961), In the Ngombe tradition : continuity and change in the Congo, Evanston, Northwestern University Press, pp.

Datos: Q1984306
Multimedia: Ngulu / Q1984306

[1] Fischer, Werner (1978) et Zirngibl, Manfred A., Afrikanische Waffen: Messer, Dolche, Schwerter, Beile, Wurfwaffen=African weapons: knives, daggers, swords, axes, throwing knives, Prinz-Verlag : This design was selected for cult and execution knives. A knife was created which symbolized the inexorableness on the judgment and execution. This execution knife became a symbol of power and, in a few variations became a ceremonial knife for tribal chieftains. At executions, the condemned man was tied to the ground with ropes and poles. His head was fastened with leather straps to a bent tree branch. In this way it was ensured that the man's neck would remain stretched. After the decapitation, the head would be automatically catapulted far away.

[2] Wolfe, Alvin William (1961), In the Ngombe tradition : continuity and change in the Congo, Evanston, Northwestern University Press, pp.

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