Fighting bracelets

Scope note

Weapons of Africa worn on the wrists and designed for close combat, consisting generally of a metal disk with a central hole and a gap to allow them to be slipped onto the wrist, the outer edge of which is either sharpened like a knife blade or furnished with one or more projections for clubbing or slashing an opponent; sheaths may be worn on both edges. They are used in both actual and ceremonial combat, and worn as signs of manhood or status, or as ornament.