Kattara for comments

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

Excellent points Iain! and I need to use these concise methods of asserting key points that you guys have well established as effective in moving forward with this complex discussion. However, old dog...'new', or better , different, tricks Its the writer in me

I would like to note first of all that this discussion is an absolute gift, as even in the 90s, the subject of Omani swords was a complete mystery, and these were anomalies among ethnographic weapons. Even Elgood in writing his book on Arabian weapons (1994) noted that the history and origins of these swords were unclear, and even asking Omani personages about them when he was in Arabia researching gave no clear answers. I recall that even when one of these cylindrical hilt swords turned up (including one I obtained) it was a major event among collectors, and these were considered 'rare'. In recent reading on Arabian history, Oman is scarcely mentioned as far as I could find in the references I used. It is mentioned how difficult it was for anyone to get in there, and these were prominant figures in the academic world.

What I do know is that the Omani swords I saw around those times, including the one I had, seemed invariably to have Solingen 'type' blades. I also had a pata which had a blade of 'Solingen' type ,again, with the three central fullers and the often seen cosmological array in motif with sun, moon and stars. This seemed to of course suggest that the blades entering the Red Sea trade were indeed filtering into North Africa for kaskaras and takoubas as well as into Ethiopia, Arabia and to trade moving toward India and the western trade centers there.

Concerning the use of the familiar markings, in this case particularly the 'Passau wolf'. As has long been well established, these highly stylized zoomorphic marks, usually chiselled free form, when entering other cultures departed thier original intent as quality oriented guild marks. They assimilated quite understandably into the native parlance common to the spectrum of beliefs or perceptions held in those contexts. Typically these were magical or talismanic beliefs believed to represent power transmitted to the blade and the user. We have seen many examples of these kinds of interpretations with the various markings found on kaskara and takouba blades which commonly are described in native context, and are often native applied renderings of the long established repertoire of makings seen on European blades generations before. It is also is known that in many cases, certain makers would adopt certain markings, it was not necessarily a universal or random circumstance. Some makers actually had stamps used rather than the freestyle renderings, especially in the case of the 'dukari' or half moons which were indeed practically universal, however thier exact meanings could have wide interpretation.

In the case of the Omani sayfs, I personally believe that there was at some time in earlier years at least some presence of European blades, and while they of course would have been present on combat oriented swords, even if the pageantry profiled weapons were indeed a separate type weapon, at least some makers may have added them. If presuming that the war dance was performed by veteran warriors, it would stand to reason that these kinds of markings would be considered symbolic in terms of valorious service, and not necessarily in the same parlance as perceived on the combat blades.

With the recent changes in opening the long restricted boundaries in Oman, and the clearly described advent of burgeoning commercial trade with particular respect to weapons, it seems that the traditional aspects of these weapons have been dramatically clouded by those activities. I would presume that there would be wide variation in choice of blade types as well as adoption of select markings of as many interpretations as would be found in any modern commercial setting. There are of course going to be the usual ranges of skill, knowledge and resources of makers producing the products as well. It seems clear, as Iain has noted, that modern examples of these blades which have probably as Ibrahiim has asserted been produced locally for decades, if not even the last hundred years, were probably made for pageantry as the use of firearms had placed the sword in secondary status as a weapon in combat.
It seems with that respect, much as in North Africa, certain makers whose families had long standing following of traditions in producing blades might use these venerable markings while others with less distinct ties might not include them. It is the same with fullering, blade forms etc. these characteristics would follow practices of the maker maintaining his own traditions.

There you have it, concisely itemized oh well.

All the best,
Jim

Salaams Jim ~ Your post is key to the understanding of Oman as a virtually closed country until about 1970.

A point that I should clear up is on the wolf view by Omanis who routinely used wolf skin on the abu futtila butt next to the cheek as opposed to their reaction to wolf attacks on their livestock (especially the Bedu) where the wolf would be ruthlessly hunted and once caught its head would be stuck on a pole to ward off other "evil influences"...In the case of inclusion on weapons and the "Passau Woolf" it seems clear that it is a talisman.

The Omani people will have had a lot of contact through meeting a lot of English (and French and other nationalities) with swords no doubt some of which had Passau Woolf marks and whereas they would not neccessarily have adopted the weapons they could easily have copied the mark.. They did the same with Raj Crown marks..It is pertinent to point out that the most efficient tried and tested weapons on the doorstep that they must have seen almost daily were the Indian Hindu dynasty weapons stretching back far into history... and how many of those extremely varied weapons were copied into the Omani armoury... None! bar the Hyderabadi shamshir and only because of the vast and growing importance of the Khojas in Muscat and that was essentially a court sword. The only thing they ever copied off an Indain sword was the Raj Crown... and they still do in Ras Al Khaimah.

The problem inherrent with asking Omani people anything is the syndrome of them agreeing to anything you want to tell them or ask them about ~which is only their polite way of dealing with something they dont know the answer to... Sometimes the answer to a how old is this ? sort of querry is limited to their own experience or that of their father or grandfathers time scale... How old is this Old Omani Battle Sword... 150 years, 80 years depending on who they think owned it...This is particularly when dealing with older people, who after all, had zero education and most stuff they know arrived in their knowledge base by myth legend or tradition... passed down through the ages embroidered and changed to suit the wind direction..

Your well placed note on stamps and passau wolf comments reminds me how turbulent this subject can get as I have never seen a European stamp on a flexible dancing sword except in the case of one dodgey blade with european numbers on it.. all the other stamps are Arabian. Naturally I have to sideline swords that I know have been Omani hilted such as the Solingen combo sword earlier # 229; top picture.

As we cruise toward 10,000 hits on this thread I still see some interesting areas which need probing as to date; no one has pin pointed the production centre of the old or new Sayfs and work needs polishing on the weird blades at my earlier hypothesis and if there are any Schiavonas in the mixture... etc

I need to get into a couple of Museums and also examine data at the Funoon centre to see if clarity on dates can be obtained.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.