Macana
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The term macana, of Taíno origin, refers to a number of different wooden weapons used by the various native cultures of Central and South America.
The earliest meaning attributed to macana is a sword-like weapon made out of wood, but still sharp enough to be dangerous.[1] The term is also sometimes applied to the similar Aztec weapon, which is studded with pieces of obsidian in order to create a blade, though some authorities distinguish this item by using the Nahuatl name macuahuitl.
In modern Spanish the word has broadened to refer to various types of blunt wooden weapons, especially a police nightstick.
[edit] External links
- Picture of a sharpened macana with no obsidian edge (Spanish)
- Pictures from the Codex Ixtlilxochitl featuring the macuahuitl. (Spanish)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Decades de Orbe Novo (written in the early 16th century):
- Cominus hi certant vt plurimum, ensibus oblongis, quos macanas ipsi appellant, ligneis tamen, quia ferrum non assequntur...
- "In hand to hand combat they generally use long swords, which they call macanas, which are however made of wood, as they don't have knowledge of iron." (p. 127)
- armatum ... arcubus putà & sagittis, machanísque, id est, ensibus amplis, ligneis, oblongis, vtráque manu agitandis...
- "...armed ... for example with bows and arrows, and macanas—that is, with large, wooden, long swords which are wielded two-handedly" (p. 180)
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