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Date | Original Topic | 2nd March 2001 | Assegai By Alan Critchley There has been much comparison to 'Zulu' in the use of chants, shield beating, music and stabbing spears used in the film 'Gladiator'.
I saw a letter in the Telegraph of 1 March 2001, which claims that the assegai has nothing to do with the Zulus. He claims it is a Berber word which passed through many languages and became tranformed according to the form of language at the time. He also claimed it never existed below the Sahara.
Anyone know how the Zulus came to use the word?
Alan | Date | Replies | 3rd March 2001 | John Young Alan,
The Zulu did not use the word assegai, it is we English-spealking people that did.
The Zulu for spear is umkhonto.
Spears themselves are sub-divided as to their use. An isiphapha is a hunting spear.
An isijula is a weapon of war. The stabbing spear is an iklwa.
The same goes for a knobkerrie, the Zulu or that weapon is an iwisa.
John
| 9th April 2001 | Rob Glennen Alan ,
The stabbing spear "Iklwa" gets its name from the sound it makes when being thrust into and then taken from its unfortunate victim .The assegai comes from the language of the Bantu tribes .The Washing of Spears by Donald R Morris goes into it a great depth. | 11th April 2001 | John Young Re-Rob's reply, the etymology the word is ultimately from Arabic az-zaghAya the assegai, from al- the + zaghAya assegai.
The word appears to have come into common usuage by those hearing the Arabic speaking slavers, who operating in southern Africa use it.
John
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