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Old 4th September 2013, 05:39 PM   #68
Ibrahiim al Balooshi
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Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kahnjar1
Ibrahiim..........Are you planning on addressing the issue raised by Gavin?
I for one would be interested to see where this goes...........and I am sure there are others who would be interested also.


Salaams khanjar 1... As you well know... I have addressed the issue many times, however, as noted there is a log jam.

Of the many thousands of rehilted non Omani blades on Omani long hilts sold via Muscat I am certain there are quite a few foreign people holding made up swords of the style I have outlined in their collections. The rule is simple;

Straight, not flexible on a long Omani Hilt= Not an Omani Dancing Sword= Fake.

SwordsAntiqueWeapons ..Your comment about the tip of the sword is because the sword is moving, twisting, flexing and displayed as more pointed than usual but this is only an optical illusion ...see also the optical effect on the parade past below. It is a standard Omani, straight, flat, spatulate, flexible, round tipped, dancing sword.

Your remaining paragraph covers purely so far as I can see conjecture on the whyfors of cuts in the Terrs shield and sumations on pilgrimage carriage of sword/swords... none of which has a bearing on this case and which are simply unproven guesses. Most terrs have cuts in them caused by the mimic fight morelikely..and since after all the blades are very sharp. In the case of a Terrs having actually been used in combat with the Omani Battle Sword I can imagine cuts in the shield in that function. You will recall the reason why the Terrs was awarded/ordered to be included in the pageants with the 1744 dancer?

Unless you are about to re write Omani Sword History please be advised that there is no evidence of stiff fighting blades on Omani Dancing swords... the vast number of rehilted tourist swords , has however, created its own weather pattern. The source has been identified as has the rehilting region (Muttrah) and the date from about and after 1970 til now viz;

Germany/Europe>Ethiopia>Yemen/Saudia>Sanaa>Salalah/Muscat>Muttrah Souk>World.

The dancing sword has been carried by tribal infantry in Oman since 1744 but only for the dedication ... the parade ... and march past in front of the Bussaidi Ruler; The straight dancing sword could well be described as the Bussaidi Dynastic Sword and I can show a sketch of it carried by tribal infantry in the 19th C... That doesn't make it a fighting weapon. I have to say however that it certainly adds fog to the situation..!! It was, however, a dancing sword and is still used today only for that and the pageants.

I think the biggest mistake is in classing the sword as a fighting weapon because it feels, looks and appears to be so. This has fooled visitors and collectors alike for a very long time. The fact that it can apparently chop an arm off, cut a man in half, or that the warriors weilding it look war-like, vicious , deadly ...etc etc is purely coincidental..they probably are but not with that sword.

Now firstly to be absolutely clear and specific and we are not talking about any other combination such as battle swords... The long Omani flexible dancing Sword on the long hilt, called The Sayf or Saif is purely for pageants and dancing and I think that is agreed...

Secondly what seems to be questionable is a stiff bladed fighting version on the same long hilt. This is not the case. Any stiff variants are relatively recently cross hilted as detailed by me as not genuine.

( Owners of the fake version with the stiff blade may pontificate untill they are blue in the face but that will never change the scenario..If it doesn't flex ... if its stiff ... its not an Omani dancing sword... and there is no other category to slot it into since by definition its a 1970 (from and to-date) fake. A Tourist sword.

I have seen these stiff bladed swords and some are in excellent disguise and clearly went for a considerable sum .. They are accompanied by well made Omani Scabbards and occasionally superb furniture..I have never seen one in the ownership of a local... they all seem to be externally owned... why? Perhaps because they all traversed the souk system which created them and were outed to foreign ownership from about 1970 (thus they are tourist swords) and since Omani men don't use them... because... the blades don't flex.

Anyone conducting research into these stiff blades should keep that in mind.


Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.
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Last edited by Ibrahiim al Balooshi; 4th September 2013 at 07:07 PM.
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