Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MOROCCAN AND A ZANZIBARI NIMCHA.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 22nd September 2016, 01:11 AM

I touched on the interesting puzzle surrounding the use of a Persian/Baluch word and thus the reflection of that word in describing the Moroccan Regional and Zanzibar Regional sword generally known as The Nimcha.
This thread shows similarities and differences in the weapon used in two distinctly different regions yet carrying the same name. The only actual real common denominator is the name! The blade, Hilt, Quillons, Guard and even how it is suspended plus the decoration and Scabbard are different. It is as if some one from each region copied a sword but added all the regional variety of style to their own version. In essence I suspect that is the message from the famous Butin Charts of Nimcha from these different locations.

Nimcha means half sword... It could mean short sword...but from Persian / Baluchi who had no contact between Zanzibar and Morocco~ or did they? Both Burton and Tipu Tib used Baluchi mercenaries as guards into and out of central Africa...in doing so the cross Saharan trade routes were at their beckoning thus the name/general style may have spread to Moroccan and North African neighbors of Morocco...or direct.

Another simple explanation cites the mispronunciation of another weapon...The Shamshiir...(Shamshir~ Nimcha) Anything is possible...

Could the name Nimcha mean something else such as sharp on one edge? Half Sword...Generally that could satisfy the same name being used on each sword...

Nimcha also means half jacket...actually a waistcoat commonly worn by Baluchis but is a word from the Uzbekistan region and straddling central Asia.

Is it possible that the sword's name spread because it was carried by Baluchi mercenaries (Nimcha; waistcoat wearers) employed by Omani rulers including Saiid bin Sultan all down the Zanj, Zanzibar, and in the service of the Sultans before and after Saiid's Reign in 1804 to 1856... and focused on Zanzibar from about 1830. See http://www.indiana.edu/~ctild/Centra...ry/Accessories and note Nimcha waistcoat picture...on a website looking at Turkic and Iranian dialect and lexicography..Baluchistan straddles two countries ...Iran and Pakistan.

The previous post notes that the sword is referred to as a large saber ...when if the word is meant to describe small(half) swords how can it be also be described as meaning large?

Given that it seems Morocco developed a sword of this nature before Zanzibar with that particular similar grip to the hilt; Which way did influence flow? Who could have transmitted style/form to the Indian Ocean? Actually there are many... There were big battle fleets in the Indian Ocean from Ottoman, Mameluke, Venetian and Portuguese in the 15th/16thC any one of which could be responsible for this transmission or War as a key pointer. It could have bounced off Indian designers and on to Zanzibar through trade...via any of the important sea trader families in the Indian Ocean. The same can be said about Omani influence; already illustrated by the sword at post #1 at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15325 showing how the weapon had diffused to African countries probably through Zanzibar at least as far as Tunisia !!

The exact form of technical transfer may never be pinpointed, however, the common denominator appears to be Trade...and from what appears to be an original design concocted in the Mediterranean basin for which a strong indicator may be Italian ( Genoa may well be in the frame ) The other design indicator of the huge chopping blade is at #19 and #24 which points to a mixed stable of blade decorators and is difficult to tie down to a specific country but somewhere in the Central or Eastern Mediterranean...Italian or Ottoman?

Finally, is it plausible that the sword originally began in East Mediterranean centres diffused West to North African countries and South down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean Zanzibar Regions but that its name rebounded from there to encompass the Moroccan Regional style absorbing the name Nimcha through some link with The Baluchi Mercenaries of Oman/Zanj and by trans North African trade routes? I therefor suggest War and Trade as being primary movers in this regard.

Your comments are invited..

22nd September 2016, 01:11 AM	#39
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Nimcha~ What's in a word? I touched on the interesting puzzle surrounding the use of a Persian/Baluch word and thus the reflection of that word in describing the Moroccan Regional and Zanzibar Regional sword generally known as The Nimcha. This thread shows similarities and differences in the weapon used in two distinctly different regions yet carrying the same name. The only actual real common denominator is the name! The blade, Hilt, Quillons, Guard and even how it is suspended plus the decoration and Scabbard are different. It is as if some one from each region copied a sword but added all the regional variety of style to their own version. In essence I suspect that is the message from the famous Butin Charts of Nimcha from these different locations. Nimcha means half sword... It could mean short sword...but from Persian / Baluchi who had no contact between Zanzibar and Morocco~ or did they? Both Burton and Tipu Tib used Baluchi mercenaries as guards into and out of central Africa...in doing so the cross Saharan trade routes were at their beckoning thus the name/general style may have spread to Moroccan and North African neighbors of Morocco...or direct. Another simple explanation cites the mispronunciation of another weapon...The Shamshiir...(Shamshir~ Nimcha) Anything is possible... Could the name Nimcha mean something else such as sharp on one edge? Half Sword...Generally that could satisfy the same name being used on each sword... Nimcha also means half jacket...actually a waistcoat commonly worn by Baluchis but is a word from the Uzbekistan region and straddling central Asia. Is it possible that the sword's name spread because it was carried by Baluchi mercenaries (Nimcha; waistcoat wearers) employed by Omani rulers including Saiid bin Sultan all down the Zanj, Zanzibar, and in the service of the Sultans before and after Saiid's Reign in 1804 to 1856... and focused on Zanzibar from about 1830. See http://www.indiana.edu/~ctild/Centra...ry/Accessories and note Nimcha waistcoat picture...on a website looking at Turkic and Iranian dialect and lexicography..Baluchistan straddles two countries ...Iran and Pakistan. The previous post notes that the sword is referred to as a large saber ...when if the word is meant to describe small(half) swords how can it be also be described as meaning large? Given that it seems Morocco developed a sword of this nature before Zanzibar with that particular similar grip to the hilt; Which way did influence flow? Who could have transmitted style/form to the Indian Ocean? Actually there are many... There were big battle fleets in the Indian Ocean from Ottoman, Mameluke, Venetian and Portuguese in the 15th/16thC any one of which could be responsible for this transmission or War as a key pointer. It could have bounced off Indian designers and on to Zanzibar through trade...via any of the important sea trader families in the Indian Ocean. The same can be said about Omani influence; already illustrated by the sword at post #1 at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15325 showing how the weapon had diffused to African countries probably through Zanzibar at least as far as Tunisia !! The exact form of technical transfer may never be pinpointed, however, the common denominator appears to be Trade...and from what appears to be an original design concocted in the Mediterranean basin for which a strong indicator may be Italian ( Genoa may well be in the frame ) The other design indicator of the huge chopping blade is at #19 and #24 which points to a mixed stable of blade decorators and is difficult to tie down to a specific country but somewhere in the Central or Eastern Mediterranean...Italian or Ottoman? Finally, is it plausible that the sword originally began in East Mediterranean centres diffused West to North African countries and South down the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean Zanzibar Regions but that its name rebounded from there to encompass the Moroccan Regional style absorbing the name Nimcha through some link with The Baluchi Mercenaries of Oman/Zanj and by trans North African trade routes? I therefor suggest War and Trade as being primary movers in this regard. Your comments are invited.. Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 22nd September 2016 at 06:05 AM.