The swagger stick. A 'knobkerrie' is more than just a weapon
- Wits University
"Although it looks very dangerous it is actually not meant to kill anybody," says Professor Hlonipha Mokoena.
"The idea that it is a killing object it is actually a colonial idea. It's not that the Zulu tribe did not get into fights and end up fighting each other using them but they were not made as a weapon it had other purposes."
Mokoena, an associate professor at Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (Wiser), shared her knowledge into the origin and the history of the knobkerrie in an interview with CapeTalk/702's Eusebius Mckaiser.
"The 'knobkerrie' is a short stick with a knob at the top, traditionally used as a weapon by mostly Zulu and Xhosa tribes. Lately, it has been seen also being used as a fashion statement by youngsters, calling it a swagger stick." Read the full story on 702's website.
Mokoena argues that the Knobkerrie is not just a weapon as people assume but it can be used for ceremonial purposes.