There is very little wrjtten documentation about the wrist guards worn by bowmen.

Normally functional, vvith no special claim to artistic merit, they are usually worn on the left wrist, to protect the archer's forearm from being bruised by the recoil of the bowstring.

In the Western world a wrist guard is likely to be a leather gauntlet; in some parts of Africa a pad may be worn.

In Rwanda the Tutsi used a thick bracelet made of a grass hoop covered with plaited grass in a chequer pattern of black and white.

A massive wooden wrist guard (igitembe) is a rare object.

As described by Celis, this one comes from Burundi. There seems to be no other mention of such guards in the literature. This may in part be due to the fact that they do not look like archers' wrist guards, and may be taken for bracelets.

Please look page 157 of "Africa" the art of a continent - Prestel.

If you have more information concerning this object, its symbolism, its ritual use, its ethnos group, do not hesitate to leave us a comment while clicking over the lower button...

+/- 1970

Burundi

Tutsi

18 x 18

0.532