African Dagger Shula (?)

[Rick]

Sturdy blade with two fullers ; long unsharpened false edge .
Handle is horn of some sort with traditional incised decoration ; nice engraving in the fuller .
Brass scabbard with three attachment loops for a baldric ?

This blade has kissed the sharpening wheel at some point in its history by the look of the wavy grind line on one side .
Everything is tight ; a good working example .
I don't see too many of these around ; this example is larger than the ones shown in Tirri .

Berber ?

[Emanuel]

Hello Rick,

I've seen similar creatures advertised as a Moroccan Berber Shula, but I've found no mention of it in Stone's book and no info on the net. Is this a modern type of dagger or does it have any ancestry? The thick blade recalls the flyssa no? I'm wondering how it feels in hand, is it well balanced?
Regards,
Manolo

[Miyamoto]

Nice one!

The blade and its decoration is verry similar to the Morroccan "wedding" Nimcha sword.

[Rick]

Yes , well balanced . Good for slashing moves .
The handle feels quite good in the hand .
I'd find it hard to believe that this form is a recent development .

Berber swords are fairly scarce also for that matter .

[Emanuel]

The blade on the wedding Nimcha is very thin though. This one is nice and thick, quite beautiful.
Do Berbers and Kabyles still keep traditional blades, if not in use then at least as part of ritual dress? The wedding Nimcha and the khodme daggers seem so poor compared to the Shula...

[Emanuel]

I couldn't resist posting this interesting shula which just ended on ebay http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6625317236&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
It features the same horn and rivets construction as the usual type, but the hilt is carved into various shapes and the blade doesn't feature the wide fuller, false edge and nice squigles on the blade. This one has a crude zigzag only.
Is this a jump to the tourist market?

Regards,
Manolo

Reminds me of the handle of some berber swords, so the work may still be local.
http://www.oriental-arms.com/photos/items/91/000091/ph-2.jpg


I attached a picture of the shula in question for easier viewing...

[Rick]

The blade does look pretty dodgy .

[Valjhun]

I've bid on that, but someone wanted it more than me. The most beautifull hilt I ever encountered on a shula. The price went to high for me, but if the blade is thick enough I would say that it was at least tempting. :)