Glagwa Explained

A Glagwa is a bell-shaped shield of the Wandala peoples of northern Cameroon.^[1]

Uses

This type of shield was usually worn with an armor. It was made of leather (cow, buffalo or elephant),^[2] sometimes of hammered metal. The Zulgo, Lamang, Guduf, or Bana tribes also used this type of shield. Its name changed according to the tribes (for example the Zulgo people called them a "tlokwo") but it was the Wandala who invented this type of shield.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Barbier-Mueller Museum
2. Bawuro M. Barkindo, Studien zur Kulturkunde : - Volume 91 - 1989, p.123
3. Benitez et Barbier, Boucliers d'Afrique, d'Asie du Sud-est et d'Océanie, Musée Barbier-Mueller, p.46-49