A mbanja is a knife, and a

cold weapon A cold weapon (or white arm) is a weapon that does not involve fire or explosions (such as the act of combustion) as a result from the use of gunpowder or other explosive materials. Ranged weapons that do not require gunpowder or explosive mat ...

. Its blade normally is made of iron, and hilt made of leather, and is frequently decorated with patterns. The mbanja is a unique

melee A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...

weapon, which is also a throwing weapon. As it such it closely resembled the

tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Indigenous peoples and nations of North America. It traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. In pre-colonial times the head was made of stone, bone, or antler, and Eur ...

References

Knives {{Knife-stub