Looking like an axe, the onzil has a calao-shaped blade. Its handle is often made of wood. Sometimes handles are made of ivory. The onzil served as sacrificial weapons or for war. The Kotas called them osele or musele, and the Fangs called them onzil. Early forms of this style knife, associated with the Fang people, had shorter straight handles. Kota people are neighbors of the Fang and likely adopted this style of knife from them.