Судан и Большой Ближний Восток

234 III. Судан и его соседи of this weapon has been done. The second sword from the North’s book 1 also appeared in a publication of Khalili’s collection by David Alexander who briefly discussed the origins of this type of swords. 2 The real material, however, is quite abundant, but the swords are scattered among many, mostly private, collections, which makes their study not an easy task. Besides, some more field work, similar to that of GrahamReed and EdwinHunley (see below), would bemost welcome, as such swords are still in use in different parts of the Sudan — though now mostly for ritual purposes (wedding festival dances and the like). 3 Such a research would verify geographical distribution of kaskara variants, the latter being known rather vaguely (in fact, we have some concrete information from Darfur and from Beja areas in East Sudan only). Recent developments in the Sudan, though, make my wishful thinking dated back to the late 1990s, completely unrealistic… Fortunately, since the draft of this paper has been written in 1998, some seminal works by Dr EdwinHunley on various aspects of kaskara elements/ construction have been published, 4 which would spare me 1 North A. Op. cit. Pl. 23b. 2 Alexander D. The Arts of War. P. 211–12. 3 See a story about kaskara makers in Kassala (the main centre of kas- kara manufacturing in Sudan since the 2nd quarter of the 20th C.), by Hiba Morgan—an al-Jazeera journalist who became well-known through reporting on anti-Bashir protests in Khartoum in 2019: Centuries old trade of sword making under threat in Sudan. 14 July 2017. URL: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xKGAb6XUKAc (accessed: 30.08.2022). Another similar ‘story’: Swordsmiths keeping Sudanese traditions alive. 1 March 2018. URL: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiwvGpbYhms (accessed: 30.08.2022). 4 They are published on the Vikingsword: Medieval Sword Resource Site , in the Ethnographic Arms &Armour section: Hunley E. Kaskara Fuller Styles & Names. URL: http://vikingsword.com/ethsword/hunley/kaskara_fullers.pdf; Hunley E. Kaskara Cross-guards/Quillons . URL: http://vikingsword.com/ ethsword/hunley/kaskara_guards.pdf; Hunley E. The Social Economics of Small Craft Production: The Sword and Knife Makers of Kassala, Eastern Sudan, September 1984 [Modified October 2010]. URL: http://www. vikingsword.com/ethsword/hunley/kassala.pdf (all accessed: 30.08.2022). To this list two not less revealing articles on ‘Ali Dinar’s highly decorated swords should be added: Hunley E. The Sudanese Kaskara Sword in Silver