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Nile Lechwe Antelope & Jile Daggers of Afar and Issa Tribes 5 Francs Djibouti Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry (Unity Equality Peace)

Nile Lechwe Antelope & Jile Daggers of Afar and Issa Tribes 5 Francs Djibouti Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry (Unity Equality Peace)

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Nile Lechwe Antelope & Jile Daggers of Afar and Issa Tribes 5 Francs Authentic Coin Money for Jewelry and Craft Making

Obverse: A laurel wreath around Djibouti coat of arms: Two fists holding Jile daggers, a round shield over a spear and a star on the top

Lettering: REPUBLIQUE DE DJIBOUTI
Translation: Republic of Djibouti.

Reverse: Head of Nile Lechwe Antelope. Ostrich feathers above. Catfish beside.
Lettering: · UNITE ···EGALITE ··· PAIX ·
5 FR.
Translation: Unity ··· Equality ··· Peace
5 Francs.

Features
Issuer Djibouti
Period Republic of Djibouti (1977-date)
Type Standard circulation coin
Years 1977-1999
Value 5 Francs
5 DJF = USD 0.028
Currency Franc (1977-date)
Composition Aluminium
Weight 3.75 g
Diameter 31.1 mm
Thickness 2.3 mm
Shape Round
Technique Milled
Orientation Coin alignment ↑↓
Number N# 4383
References KM# 22, Schön# 19

Wikipedia:
Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Somaliland in the south, Ethiopia in the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east. Across the Gulf of Aden is Yemen. The country has a total area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).

In antiquity, the territory together with Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somaliland was part of the Land of Punt. Nearby Zeila, now in Somaliland, was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates. In the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established following treaties signed by the ruling Dir Somali sultans with the French and its railroad to Dire Dawa (and later Addis Ababa) allowed it to quickly supersede Zeila as the port for southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden.[9] It was subsequently renamed to the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967. A decade later, the Djiboutian people voted for independence. This officially marked the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti, named after its capital city. The new state joined the United Nations the same year, on 20 September 1977. In the early 1990s, tensions over government representation led to armed conflict, which ended in a power-sharing agreement in 2000 between the ruling party and the opposition.

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The national emblem of Djibouti was introduced after attaining independence from France on 27 June 1977. It was made by Hassan Robleh. It is bordered on the sides with laurel branches. Within this perimeter there is a vertical spear, in front of which is a shield. Underneath the shield, two hands rise away from the spear, both of which carry a large machete. These two hands symbolize the main two ethnic groups of the nation: the Afar and the Issa. The spear is topped by a red star. The star symbolizes the unity between the Issa and the Afar peoples.

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The Jile is a curved dagger ranging in length from 30 to more than 50 cm. The handle is typically made of wood or more rarely from buffalo or rhinoceros horn. The pommel often ends with three teeth of bronze, zinc or silver. The middle tooth is the most prominent. The double-edged blade is shaped like an asymmetrical leaf and today is typically made from salvaged metal, usually iron or steel from broken car and truck springs. The sheath is made of wood wrapped in leather, though it can sometimes have brass plates attached near the handle. The sheath always has an extra long tip, sometimes embellished with metal upholstery that can have an enlarged knob on the end. The sheath is worn on a belt around the waist and attached to the belt with a circular or square buckle or more rarely sown on. The dagger's handle often indicates the social status of the person who wears it. The concave side of the blade is used to cut.

Use
It is commonly used in traditional events, such as dances, though it is still a weapon and has been used in times of dispute. However, there are societal and Islamic norms that must be followed in order to avoid defamation. The qolxad or jile should only come out of its sheath in extreme cases of conflict.

The jile is an integral part of being an Afar nomad in the Horn of Africa. It is one of the indispensable paraphernalia of the nomad. It serves as both a weapon of self-defense, useful object, and adornment that is the pride of the nomadic warrior and is also considered a symbol of virility. The jile is used to slaughter sheep, carve wood, and cut hair. Craftsmen or blacksmiths of traditional knives have long been a highly respected trade but have also been a symbol of the artisanal heritage of Djibouti.

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The Nile lechwe or Mrs Gray's lechwe (Kobus megaceros) is an endangered species of antelope found in swamps and grasslands in South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Nile lechwe can visually signal and vocalize to communicate with each other. They rear high in the air in front of their opponents and turn their heads to the side while displaying. Females are quite loud, making a toad-like croaking when moving.[3] When fighting, males duck their heads and use their horns to push against each other. If one male is significantly smaller than the other, he may move next to the larger male in a parallel position and push from there, which prevents the larger male from pushing with all his force.

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The Afar (Afar: Qafár), also known as the Danakil, Adali and Odali, are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. They primarily live in the Afar Region of Ethiopia and in northern Djibouti, as well as the entire southern coast of Eritrea. The Afar speak the Afar language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family. Afars are the only inhabitants of the Horn of Africa whose traditional territories border both the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

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The Issa clan has produced numerous noble Somali men and women over the centuries, consisted of a King (Ugaas) and including many Sultans. Traditionally, the Northern Dir (Issa and Gadabuursi) men ruled these settlement pockets until the European colonial powers changed the political dynamics of Djibouti, Somaliland and Ethiopia during the late 19th century.

In Djibouti, which was colonized by France under the name of the French Coast of Somalis, (up until 1967, then to the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas), there were also tensions between Issa and Afar, as the Issa and other Somalis natives of Djibouti sought to connect with Somalia independent since 1960. Most Afar preferred the fate of France. Mahamoud Harbi was a major leader of the independence movement but was killed in 29 September 1960 and his comrades Djama Mahamoud Boreh and Mohamed Gahanlo disappeared on a flight from Geneva to Cairo. Officially, they were killed in a plane crash, but a possible role of the organization de l'armée secrète is speculated. In 1977 Djibouti gained its independence, but did not unite with Somalia. Under Hassan Gouled Aptidon, Djibouti developed into the one-party state of the Rassemblement Populaire pour le Progrès (RPP) In which the interests of the Afar minority were little considered. In 1991-1994, there was therefore a civil war in Djibouti between the Issa-dominated government and the Afar rebels of the FRUD. Finally, other opposition parties were admitted and Afar was involved in the government, while Issa still dominated political life. In 1999 Ismail Omar Guelleh, a nephew of Hassan Gouled Aptidon, succeeded Djibouti as his successor.

In the Awdal region of Somaliland there were battles with the Gadabuursi, another Dir subclans. The conflict drove some of the Issa to escape to Ethiopia in the late 1990s. A refugee camp was opened at Degago/Ayisha. A second wave of Issa refugees left the coastal town of Zeila in 1991 after fighting with the SNM of the Isaaq and Gadabuursi. The Issa organization United Somali Front had previously tried to connect Zeila to Djibouti. In the same year, the north-west of Somaliland, including Awdal under the leadership of the SNM as Somaliland, a country which has as of 2019 not been recognized by any country. In the lower house of the Somaliland Parliament (House of Representatives), six out of 82 were members of Issa in 2005. Since the 2005 elections, only one Issa (as a member of the government division UDUB ) has been represented. This decline is mainly explained by the fact that the Issa in Awdal instead of to Somaliland are increasingly oriented towards the neighboring Djibouti.

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Shannon Smith
Very nice coins! So glad to have these in...

Very nice coins! So glad to have these in my collection now!!