Machete/saw comboMexican artisanAgustín Cruz Tinoco using a machete to carve woodMexican machete, from Guerrero, 1970. bull horn handle, hand forged blade (hammer marks visible)Campos Hermanos Mexican machete with blade 75 centimeters long and 93 total.
Amachete (/məˈʃɛti/;Spanish pronunciation:[maˈtʃete]) is a broadblade used either as an agricultural implement similar to anaxe, or in combat like a long-bladedknife. The blade is typically 30 to 66 centimetres (12 to 26 in) long and usually under 3 millimetres (1⁄8 in) thick. In theSpanish language, the word is possibly a diminutive form of the wordmacho, which was used to refer to sledgehammers.[1] Alternatively, its origin may bemachaera, the name given by the Greeks and Romans to thefalcata.[2][3] It is the origin of theEnglish language equivalent termmatchet,[4] though this is rarely used. In much of the English-speaking Caribbean, such as Jamaica,[5] Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago, the termcutlass is used for these agricultural tools.[6]
In various tropical and subtropical countries, the machete is frequently used to cut throughrainforest undergrowth and for agricultural purposes (e.g. cuttingsugar cane).[7] Besides this, inLatin America a common use is for such household tasks as cutting large foodstuffs into pieces—much as acleaver is used—or to perform crude cutting tasks, such as making simple wooden handles for other tools.[7] It is common to see people using machetes for other jobs, such as splitting opencoconuts, yard work, removing small branches and plants, chopping animals' food, and clearing bushes.[7]
Machetes are often considered tools and used by adults. However, manyhunter–gatherer societies and cultures surviving throughsubsistence agriculture begin teaching babies to use sharp tools, including machetes, before their first birthdays.[8]
People in uprisings sometimes use these weapons. For example, theBoricua Popular Army are unofficially calledmacheteros because of the machete-wielding laborers of sugar cane fields of pastPuerto Rico.[9]
Many of the killings in the 1994Rwandan genocide were performed with machetes,[10] and they were the primary weapon used by theInterahamwe militias there.[11] Machetes were also a distinctive tool and weapon of theHaitianTonton Macoute.[12]
In 1762, theBritish capturedHavana in alengthy siege during theSeven Years' War. Volunteermilitiamen led by Pepe Antonio, aGuanabacoa councilman, were issued with machetes during the unsuccessful defense of the city.[13] The machete was also the most iconic weapon during theindependence wars in Cuba, although it saw limited battlefield use.[14]Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, owner of thesugar refineryLa Demajagua nearManzanillo, freed his slaves on 10 October 1868. He proceeded to lead them, armed with machetes, in revolt against the Spanish government.[15] The firstcavalry charge using machetes as the primary weapon was carried out on 4 November 1868 byMáximo Gómez, a sergeant born in theDominican Republic, who later became the general in chief of theCuban Army.[16]
Some countries have a name for the blow of a machete; theSpanishmachetazo is sometimes used in English.[18] In theBritish Virgin Islands,Grenada,Jamaica,Saint Kitts and Nevis,Barbados, Saint Lucia, andTrinidad and Tobago, the wordplanass means to hit someone with the flat of the blade of a machete or cutlass.[19] To strike with the sharpened edge is to "chop". Throughout the English-speaking islands of theCaribbean, the term 'cutlass' refers to a laborers' cutting tool.[19]
TheBrazilian Army's Instruction Center on Jungle Warfare developed a machete-style knife with a blade 25 cm (10 in) in length and a very pronouncedclip point. This machete is issued with a 13 cm (5 in)Bowie knife and asharpening stone in the scabbard; collectively called a "jungle kit" (Conjunto de Selva inPortuguese); it is manufactured by Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil (IMBEL).[20]
Good machetes rely on the materials used and the shape. In the past, the most famous manufacturer of machetes inLatin America and the Spanish-speakingCaribbean was Collins Company ofCollinsville,Connecticut.[22] The company was founded as Collins & Company in 1826 bySamuel W. Collins to makeaxes.[23] Its first machetes were sold in 1845[24] and became so famous that a machete was calledun collin.[25] In the English-speaking Caribbean, Robert Mole & Sons of Birmingham, England, was long considered the manufacturer of agricultural cutlasses of the best quality. Some Robert Mole blades survive as souvenirs of travellers to Trinidad,[26] Jamaica, and, less commonly, St. Lucia.[citation needed]
Colombia is the largest exporter of machetes worldwide.[27]
The southernBrazilian state ofRio Grande do Sul has a dance called thedança dos facões (machetes' dance) in which the dancers, who are usually men, bang their machetes against various surfaces while dancing, simulating a battle.Maculelê, anAfro-Brazilian dance and martial art, can also be performed withfacões. This practice began in the city ofSanto Amaro, Bahia, in the northeastern part of the country.[28]
In theJalisco region ofMexico, Los Machetes is a popular folk dance. This dance tells the story of cutting down sugar cane during the harvest. Los Machetes was created by Mexican farm workers who spent a great amount of time perfecting the use of the tool, the machete, for harvesting. Traditionally, real machetes are used while performing this dance.[30]
Thepanga ortapanga is a variant used inEast andSouthern Africa. This name may be ofSwahili etymology; not to be confused with thepanga fish. Thepanga blade broadens on the backside and has a length of 41 to 46 cm (16 to 18 in). The upper inclined portion of the blade may be sharpened.[31]
Other similar tools include theparang[32] and thegolok[33] (fromMalaysia andIndonesia); however, these tend to have shorter, thicker blades with aprimary grind, and are more effective on woody vegetation.
Thetsakat is a similar tool used inArmenia for clearing land of vegetation.
^Verwimp, P. (2006). "Machetes and Firearms: the Organization of Massacres in Rwanda".Journal of Peace Research.43 (1):5–22.doi:10.1177/0022343306059576.
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