Hunga Munga

Basic Information

The hunga-munga (also known by a wide range of local names) was a thrown weapon native to central Africa something between a knife and a hatchet. They are distinguished by long, convoluted blades that curve around the handle in such a way that - in theory at least - a hit at any angle should ensure that a blade makes contact with the target.

There is some evidence that these weapons are capable of inflicting significant injuries when used correctly, but as against that they appear to have been difficult to use well and expensive to manufacture, often serving as a status symbol as much as a weapon.

The European hurlbat is a very similar (if less visually impressive) weapon with a lot more of the hatchet about it.

Sources

Bibliography

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

• Either a bit of cultural flavour or another shiny thing for PCs … if they are serving as a mass produced weapon anywhere then something very odd has happened.
• This is also a traditional name for poorly charted rivers in unexplored parts of "darkest Africa".