Editing Machete

{{Short description|Type of broad and heavy knife}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
[[File:Gerber Machete (cropped).jpg|thumb|Machete/saw combo]]
[[File:Agustín Cruz Tinoco working.jpg|thumb|Mexican artisan [[Agustín Cruz Tinoco]] using a machete to carve wood]]
[[File:Mexican machete.JPG|thumb|Mexican machete, from Guerrero, 1970. bull horn handle, hand forged blade (hammer marks visible)]]
[[File:Machete Campos Hermanos N°22.jpg|thumb|Campos Hermanos Mexican machete with blade 75 centimeters long and 93 total.]]

A '''machete''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|ʃ|ɛ|t|i}}; {{IPA|es|maˈtʃete}}) is a broad [[blade]] used either as an  agricultural implement similar  to an [[axe]], or in combat like a long-bladed [[knife]]. The blade is typically {{convert|30|to|66|cm|in}} long and usually under {{convert|3|mm|in|frac=16}} thick. In the [[Spanish language]], the word is possibly a diminutive form of the word ''macho'', which was used to refer to sledgehammers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=machete|title=Online Etymology Dictionary|work=etymonline.com|access-date=10 December 2016}}</ref> Alternatively, its origin may be ''[[makhaira|machaera]]'', the name given by the Greeks and Romans to the [[falcata]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archivoshistoria.com/la-falcata-arma-iberica-o-mito-romantico/|title = La falcata ¿mito romántico o realidad? - Archivos de la Historia|date = 8 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.armas.es/arma-blanca/el-machete-abriendose-paso-en-jungla-y-combate|title = El Machete: Abriéndose paso en jungla y combate - Mundo Armas| last1=Es | first1=Armas }}</ref> It is the origin of the [[English language]]  equivalent term ''matchet'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/matchet |title=matchet |work=Dictionary/thesaurus |publisher=The Free Dictionary |access-date=7 February 2009}}</ref> though this is rarely used. In much of the English-speaking Caribbean, such as Jamaica,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1481752359 Blair, Teresa P. ''A-Z of Jamaican Patois (Patwah),'' Page 49, Google Books Result]</ref> Barbados, Guyana, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago, the term ''[[cutlass]]'' is used for these agricultural tools.<ref name= "Klein">{{cite magazine | last=Klein | first=John | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/ | title=What Is a Machete, Anyway? | magazine=The Atlantic | date=21 October 2013 | access-date=15 January 2015}}</ref>

== Uses ==

=== Agriculture===
In various tropical and subtropical countries, the machete is frequently used to cut through [[rainforest]] undergrowth and for agricultural purposes (e.g. cutting [[sugar cane]]).<ref name="FranzRogers2012">{{Cite book |last1=Franz |first1=Carl |last2=Havens |first2=Lorena |editor1-last=Rogers |editor1-first=Steve |editor2-last=Rogers |editor2-first=Felisa Churpa Rosa |date=2012 |title=The People's Guide to Mexico |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2YZgJJXj1YC&pg=PA278 |edition=14th |location=Berkeley, Calif. |publisher=Avalon Travel |pages=277–278 |isbn=978-1-61238-049-0}}</ref> Besides this, in [[Latin America]] a common use is for such household tasks as cutting large foodstuffs into pieces—much as a [[cleaver (knife)|cleaver]] is used—or to perform crude cutting tasks, such as making simple wooden handles for other tools.<ref name="FranzRogers2012"/> It is common to see people using machetes for other jobs, such as splitting open [[coconut]]s, yard work, removing small branches and plants, chopping animals' food, and clearing bushes.<ref name="FranzRogers2012"/>

Machetes are often considered tools and used by adults. However, many [[hunter–gatherer]] societies and cultures surviving through [[subsistence agriculture]] begin teaching babies to use sharp tools, including machetes, before their first birthdays.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/how_babies_work/2013/04/09/bad_parenting_ideas_that_are_actually_good_for_some_babies.html|title=Give Your Baby a Machete|last=Day|first=Nicholas|date=9 April 2013|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=19 April 2013}}</ref>

=== Warfare ===
People in uprisings sometimes use these weapons. For example, the [[Boricua Popular Army]] are unofficially called ''[[Los Macheteros|macheteros]]'' because of the machete-wielding laborers of sugar cane fields of past [[Puerto Rico]].<ref name="Martin2011">{{cite book|last=Martin|first=Gus|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of Terrorism, Second Edition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I_jh4VBi_HYC&pg=PA490|date=15 June 2011|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4129-8016-6|page=490}}</ref>

Many of the killings in the 1994 [[Rwandan genocide]] were performed with machetes,<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Verwimp | first1 = P. | title = Machetes and Firearms: the Organization of Massacres in Rwanda | journal = Journal of Peace Research | volume = 43| issue = 1 | pages = 5–22| year = 2006 | doi = 10.1177/0022343306059576| doi-access =  }}</ref> and they were the primary weapon used by the [[Interahamwe]] militias there.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mary |last=Braid |title=The Jungle Massacre: African rebels who revel in their machete genocide |work=[[The Independent]] |date=3 March 1999 |access-date=6 February 2009 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-jungle-massacre-african-rebels-who-revel-in-their-machete-genocide-1077954.html |archive-date=12 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112170811/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/the-jungle-massacre-african-rebels-who-revel-in-their-machete-genocide-1077954.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Machetes were also a distinctive tool and weapon of the [[Haiti]]an ''[[Tonton Macoute]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haitianmedia.com/index.php/46 |title=Tonton Macoute |work=Haiti History |publisher=Haitian Media |access-date=6 February 2009 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103074957/http://www.haitianmedia.com/index.php/46 |archive-date=3 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1762, the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] captured [[Havana]] in a [[Siege of Havana|lengthy siege]] during the [[Seven Years' War]]. Volunteer [[militia]]men led by Pepe Antonio, a [[Guanabacoa]] councilman, were issued with machetes during the unsuccessful defense of the city.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cubanow.net/articles/why-did-english-take-over-havana |title=Why Did The English Take Over Havana? |first=Mildrey |last=Ponce |year=2007 |publisher=Cuba Now |access-date=6 February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714143344/http://www.cubanow.net/articles/why-did-english-take-over-havana |archive-date=14 July 2014  }}</ref> The machete was also the most iconic weapon during the [[History of Cuba#Antislavery and independence movements|independence wars]] in Cuba, although it saw limited battlefield use.<ref>{{cite book |first=John Lawrence |last=Tone |title=War and Genocide in Cuba, 1895–1898 |publisher=[[University of North Carolina Press]] |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8078-3006-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OxRVaAPpeCsC |chapter=Chapter 10: Mal Tiempo and the Romance of the Machete |pages=126–127}}</ref> [[Carlos Manuel de Céspedes]], owner of the [[sugar refinery]] ''La Demajagua'' near [[Manzanillo, Cuba|Manzanillo]], freed his slaves on 10 October 1868. He proceeded to lead them, armed with machetes, in revolt against the Spanish government.<ref>{{cite book |title=Cuba |first=A G |last=Gravette |edition=5the |publisher=New Holland Publishers |isbn=978-1-84537-860-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7B51dAgT8MC |chapter=Chapter 7: The Southern Peninsula |page=106 |date=28 September 2007}}</ref> The first [[cavalry]] charge using machetes as the primary weapon was carried out on 4 November 1868 by [[Máximo Gómez]], a sergeant born in the [[Dominican Republic]], who later became the general in chief of the [[Cuban Liberation Army|Cuban Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/minfar/defensa_ingles/imaximo.htm |title=Major General Máximo Gómez Báez |access-date=6 February 2009 |work=Revolutionary Armed Forces |publisher=Gobierno de la Republica de Cuba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000649/http://www.cubagob.cu/otras_info/minfar/defensa_ingles/imaximo.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The machete is a common [[Sidearm (weapon)|side arm]] and tool for many ethnic groups in [[West Africa]]. Machetes in this role are referenced in [[Chinua Achebe]]'s ''[[Things Fall Apart]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/things/summary.html |title=Plot Overview |work=Things Fall Apart |publisher=[[SparkNotes]] |access-date=6 February 2009}}</ref>

Some countries have a name for the blow of a machete; the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''machetazo'' is sometimes used in English.<ref name="Sturges2010">{{cite book|last=Sturges|first=James Walter|title=Machetes in the Trunk: Three Weeks in Panama|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=plSb1MoA0hQC&pg=PA31|date=August 2010|publisher=James Sturges|isbn=978-1-4404-8664-7|page=31}}</ref> In the [[British Virgin Islands]], [[Grenada]], [[Jamaica]], [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]], [[Barbados]], Saint Lucia, and [[Trinidad and Tobago]], the word ''planass'' means to hit someone with the flat of the blade of a machete or cutlass.<ref name="Allsopp">{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage |first=Richard |last=Allsopp |publisher=[[University of the West Indies Press]] |year=2003 |isbn=978-976-640-145-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PmvSk13sIc0C |pages= 184, 442–443}}</ref> To strike with the sharpened edge is to "chop". Throughout the English-speaking islands of the [[Caribbean]], the term 'cutlass' refers to a laborers' cutting tool.<ref name="Allsopp"/>

The [[Brazilian Army]]'s Instruction Center on Jungle Warfare developed a machete-style knife with a blade {{convert|10|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} in length and a very pronounced [[Blade#Knife patterns|clip point]]. This machete is issued with a {{convert|5|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on|0}} [[Bowie knife]] and a [[sharpening stone]] in the scabbard; collectively called a "jungle kit" (''Conjunto de Selva'' in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]); it is manufactured by Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil ([[IMBEL]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.snstecnologia.com.br/imbel3/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=117 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429033710/http://www.snstecnologia.com.br/imbel3/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=68&Itemid=117 |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 April 2021 |title=Conjunto de Selva |work=Produtos |publisher=[[IMBEL|Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil]] |access-date=20 February 2012 }}</ref>

The machete was used as a weapon during the [[Mau Mau rebellion]], in the Rwandan Genocide, and in [[South Africa]], particularly in the 1980s and early 1990s when the former province of [[Natal Province|Natal]] was wracked by conflict between the [[African National Congress]] and the [[Zulu people|Zulu]]-nationalist [[Inkatha Freedom Party]].<ref name="Cavaleri2005">{{cite book|last=Cavaleri|first=David P.|title=The Law of War: Can 20th Century Standards Apply to the Global War on Terrorism?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gq820_ESKXgC&pg=PA66|year=2005|publisher=DIANE Publishing|isbn=978-1-4379-2301-8|page=66}}</ref>

== Manufacture ==
[[File:A craftsman sharpening a machete in Lira, Uganda.jpg|thumb|A craftsman sharpening a machete]]
Good machetes rely on the materials used and the shape. In the past, the most famous manufacturer of machetes in [[Latin America]] and the Spanish-speaking [[Caribbean]] was Collins Company of [[Collinsville (Canton, Connecticut)|Collinsville]], [[Connecticut]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/consularservice01jonegoog |first=Chester Lloyd |last=Jones |title=The Consular Service of the United States: Its History and Activities |year=1906 |publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]] |location=Philadelphia |page=[https://archive.org/details/consularservice01jonegoog/page/n86 72]}}</ref> The company was founded as Collins & Company in 1826 by [[Samuel W. Collins]] to make [[axe]]s.<ref>{{cite book |first=Henry J. |last=Kauffman |title=American Axes: A Survey of Their Development and Their Makers |chapter=III: The Nineteenth Century |publisher=Masthof Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-1-883294-12-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ZiYCZRdHwC |page=30}}</ref> Its first machetes were sold in 1845<ref>{{cite book |title=Collins' Machetes and Bowies, 1845-1965 |first=Daniel Edward |last=Henry |publisher=Krause Publications |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-87341-403-6 |page=15}}</ref> and became so famous that a machete was called {{lang|es|un collin}}.<ref>{{cite book |first=Oliver |last=La Farge |title=A Pictorial History of the American Indian |url=https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistory00lafa |url-access=registration |publisher=Crown Publishers |year=1956 |page=[https://archive.org/details/pictorialhistory00lafa/page/219 219]}}</ref> 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,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/6121694|title=1566: Vintage Trinidad Machete in Leather Sheath : Lot 1566|work=liveauctioneers.com|access-date=10 December 2016}}</ref> Jamaica, and, less commonly, St. Lucia.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

[[Colombia]] is the largest exporter of machetes worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2014/04/12/activos/190612|title=Colombia líder – La Prensa|date=12 April 2014|website=laprensa.com.ni|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-date=14 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140414094016/http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2014/04/12/activos/190612|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Cultural influence ==
[[File:Flag of Angola.svg|thumb|The [[Flag of Angola]]]]

The [[flag of Angola]] features a machete, along with a [[cog-wheel]].

The southern [[Brazil]]ian state of [[Rio Grande do Sul]] has a dance called the ''dança dos facões'' (machetes' dance) in which the dancers, who are usually men, bang their machetes against various surfaces while dancing, simulating a battle. ''[[Maculelê (dance)|Maculelê]]'', an [[Afro-Brazilian]] dance and martial art, can also be performed with ''facões''. This practice began in the city of [[Santo Amaro, Bahia]], in the northeastern part of the country.<ref>{{cite book |first=John Lowell |last=Lewis |title=Ring of Liberation: Deceptive Discourse in Brazilian Capoeira |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1992 |isbn=978-0-226-47683-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/ringofliberation0000lewi |url-access=registration |chapter=3: Capoeira in Salvador |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ringofliberation0000lewi/page/54 54]–55}}</ref>

In the [[Philippines]], the ''[[Bolo knife|bolo]]'' is used in training in ''[[eskrima]]'', the indigenous [[Filipino martial art|martial art]] of the Philippines.<ref name="Wilson2004">{{cite book|last=Wilson|first=Frederick T.|title=A Sailor's Log: Water-tender Frederick T. Wilson, USN, on Asiatic Station, 1899–1901|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pb7vSZgl5BYC&pg=PA130|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Kent State University Press|location=Washington|isbn=978-0-87338-782-8|page=130}}</ref>

In the [[Jalisco]] region of [[Mexico]], 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Los Machetes - Folk Dance Fun! |url=https://www.sallysseaofsongs.com/2015/05/los-machetes-folk-dance-fun.html | author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Sally's Sea of Songs |access-date=March 16, 2024}}</ref>

== Similar tools ==
The '''''panga''''' or ''tapanga'' is a variant used in [[East Africa|East]] and [[Southern Africa]]. This name may be of [[Swahili language|Swahili]] etymology; not to be confused with the [[panga fish]]. The ''panga'' blade broadens on the backside and has a length of {{convert|16|to|18|in|cm|0|order=flip|abbr=on}}. The upper inclined portion of the blade may be sharpened.<ref>{{cite book |title=Farm Implements for Small-scale Farmers in Tanzania |first=Björn |last=Mothander |author2=Finn Kjærby |author3=Kjell J. Havnevik  |publisher=Nordic Africa Institute |year=1989 |isbn=978-91-7106-290-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0N0mJ8cvM2gC |pages=36–37}}</ref>

Other similar tools include the ''[[parang (knife)|parang]]''<ref>{{cite book |title=A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times: In All Countries and in All Times|first=George Cameron |last=Stone |author2=Donald J. LaRocca |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-486-40726-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4Rp_Qx9in4C |pages=481–482}}</ref> and the ''[[golok]]''<ref>{{cite book |title=A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times: In All Countries and in All Times |first=George Cameron |last=Stone |author-link=George Cameron Stone |author2=Donald J. LaRocca |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-486-40726-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A4Rp_Qx9in4C |page=249}}</ref> (from [[Malaysia]] and [[Indonesia]]); however, these tend to have shorter, thicker blades with a [[primary grind]], and are more effective on woody vegetation.

The [[wikt:ցաքատ|tsakat]] is a similar tool used in [[Armenia]] for clearing land of vegetation.

Other similar tools include:

* [[Billhook]]
* [[Dusack]]
* [[Golok]]
* [[Kopis]]
* [[Kukri]]
* [[Seax]]
* [[Sorocaban Knife]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Machetes}}

{{Knives}}
{{Forestry tools}}
{{Garden tools}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Machetes| ]]
[[Category:American inventions]]
[[Category:Edged and bladed weapons]]
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