Recent Jambiya and a new Khanjar

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams archer~ In respect of the 7 ringer ~Yes I understand. The dagger is not Omani. The Quba is slightly fatter and the silver belt attachment is thin ..The rings are wrong for the Omani type. The silver work is more akin to Yemeni style "sand cast" and the decoration on the hilt is typical for the non Omani description. Its from Saudia with Yemeni influence. Probably from Faifa(sometimes spelled Fifa) in Saudia in the southern corner; Though this is under research for an exact location see the website NOTE 1. below for a reference.. Your part picture of an Omani Khanjar illustrating the rings and belt section doesnt show the hilt so I cannot say if it is the Royal or the other khanjar (Muscat) which has a tee shaped hilt on 7 rings..Show the whole item and I will tell you its provenance please.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

NOTE 1; For a picture of similar go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/mytripsmypics/4318547823/

NOTE 2; See The Omani Khanjar for a work in progress on Omani style.

?? Check the first pic of this post.

[archer]

Salaams Ibrahiim, In trying to clarify I've muddled things a bit. My last post shows an older Khanjar belt attachment from an eight ringed Muscat Khanjar.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15038
I was trying to show how different the newer one is by comparison. What is the link attaching the belt to the Khanjar called? Great photo of a very proud young man and his Dagger. Thanks, Steve Oh, Checked and your right rings are cast as two joined halves. See photo.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by archer

Salaams Ibrahiim, In trying to clarify I've muddled things a bit. My last post shows an older Khanjar belt attachment from an eight ringed Muscat Khanjar.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=15038
I was trying to show how different the newer one is by comparison. What is the link attaching the belt to the Khanjar called? Great photo of a very proud young man and his Dagger. Thanks, Steve Oh, Checked and your right rings are cast as two joined halves. See photo.

Salaams archer ~ ... No its not confusing although of all the khanjar types in Oman this is the style that most people become unstuck upon. Many simply jump to the conclusion that because it has 7 rings it must be Omani. The fact is that it does look similar to the untrained eye. Often, however, in the case of the Saudia/Yemeni variant the body is thinner or less broad and the Quba is fatter moreover the work is different as it contains a lot of sand cast technique whereas Omani craftsmen use more chasing, embossing(repousse) and engraving. The Saudia Yemeni hilt configuration is quite distinct. What confuses the inexperienced even more is the similarity in hilt between the Yemeni and the Salalah (Dhofari Omani) khanjar but after handling a few hundred the diferences become obvious...

I remember your nice 8 ringer which is a Muscat Khanjar even though 8 rings is quite an odd configuration they do exist and differ from the Royal Khanjars by having a normal hilt (and an extra ring).

Your first picture shows another weapon with different configuration and a fatter Quba and sand castings and a strange ring set-up on a blade unknown in Oman; This weapon belongs in the Yemen/Saudia Group as illustrated by my picture previously and so far as I can deduce is from Faifa in the southern tip of Saudia that used to belong to Yemen. The similarities to this and the Royal Omani Khanjar and the Muscat variant are obvious but the precise link is undocumented as yet.

I am searching to discover the name of the securing chain (its name does not exist in any reference Ive seen) and as yet I need to interview the Yemeni souk shop-man here in Buraimi.

The interview has just been done and he confirms the above paragraphs on location for the dagger style though as well as pinpointing the Jazan in Southern Saudia he insists on using the term Hababi which though I can find no place of that name appears to be generic. He further confirms Faifa and that entire southern region as origin to that weapon. There were a few junior versions of that dagger in his store so I took a picture.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams all ~ Just swinging back doing damage control and so I can now confirm the existence of Habaabi as a place in the ballpark area known as the Fifa region, sometimes referred to as The Jazan Region (the 3rd port of KSA) and in the Yemen border encompassed by KSA in the 1920s. To ethnographic dagger enthusiasts it is also known as Habaabi when refering to daggers. Confused~ I was ~ It took me a year and a half to discover that lot. The similarities to the Royal Khanjar of Oman are remarkable thus I link its design as having migrated through trade from Muscat after the Royal Khanjar design by the Persian Princess Sheherazade for her husband Said Bin Sultan ~ The Ruler.
To link my thread The Omani Khanjar is worthwhile.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.