Shotel
ሾተል · shotel
An Ethiopian sickle-curved sword with a rhino-horn hilt and no guard, used to hook a rider and pull him from his horse.
Quick Facts
About the weapon
The shotel is a curved sword from northern Ethiopia and southern to central Eritrea, used by the Amhara, Tigray and other highland peoples; in Amharic it is written ሾተል. Under Emperor Amda Seyon I there were elite shotel units called Axurarat Shotelai, part of the Chewa regiments. In southern Shewa, the shotel was gradually replaced by swords with European sabre blades called gurade. A more precise dating of its origin we have not been able to establish. The blade is flat and curved, diamond in cross-section and usually double-edged. Total length ranges between 76 and 102 cm, the blade averages 40 to 64 cm, and the sword weighs 0.9 to 1.8 kg. It almost always has a guardless hilt of three pieces of rhinoceros horn, though wood and bakelite hilts also exist. The shotel delivered devastating cuts, especially against riders; it could hook and pull a fighter from his horse or reach around a shield to hook the opponent. Traditional fencing involved many jumps and lunges. Fighters carried round shields strapped to the forearm and kept the other hand free to control the horse with a single rein, often without a bit. The European visitor Remedius Prutky often used the word shotel for a butcher's knife. Outside combat, the shotel was also a mark of status and, sources say, was said to attract women.