Albanian Jambiya

Emanuel · 6th January 2007, 04:30 PM

Hi Mark,

Very nice piece you have there. I have an article called "Head-Hunting in the Balkans", Durham M. Edith, Man Vol23 (1923):19-21
It mentions a practice in Montenegro of taking ennemy heads as late as the turn of the 20th century. Apparently they used "the short and heavy 'hanzhar'" never for stabbing but to sever the head at one blow.
This is confusing because I assume hanzhar to be "khanjar" which is the jambiya you're showing...which is a stabbing weapon. I think such a khanjar as yours may have been used in Kosovo and Montenegro, possibly due to Albanian presence. Now if you look at the Serbian knives, they're very different...almost like small yataghan knives...those could be used to sever heads maybe.
I can send you the article if you're interest.
Regards,
Emanuel

6th January 2007, 04:30 PM	#7
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hi Mark, Very nice piece you have there. I have an article called "Head-Hunting in the Balkans", Durham M. Edith, Man Vol23 (1923):19-21 It mentions a practice in Montenegro of taking ennemy heads as late as the turn of the 20th century. Apparently they used "the short and heavy 'hanzhar'" never for stabbing but to sever the head at one blow. This is confusing because I assume hanzhar to be "khanjar" which is the jambiya you're showing...which is a stabbing weapon. I think such a khanjar as yours may have been used in Kosovo and Montenegro, possibly due to Albanian presence. Now if you look at the Serbian knives, they're very different...almost like small yataghan knives...those could be used to sever heads maybe. I can send you the article if you're interest. Regards, Emanuel