Zanzibari (?) Saif for Comment

TVV · 23rd December 2016, 07:04 AM

We really know very little about these swords. For other arms and armor, we have period artwork, provenance examples in collections, archeological finds, fencing manuals and of course, multiple articles and books on the subject. Not the case when it comes to these swords from Eastern Africa.

Elgood does not illustrate them, as his book does not expand to the Arab colonies along Eastern Africa. Spring does not even mention the weapons of Zanzibar and the other Arab trading posts, as his book is focused on pure African forms only and not on any he considers to be introduced from outside. Hales has some very nice examples and an interesting picture from the Comoros, where this hilt style was also popular well into the 19th century. And of course, we have Buttin's plates. There are occasional museum exhibit catalogues where a few of these swords are shown and invariably ascribed to the Maghreb in error.

I believe the hilt form evolved over the years. To me, Stu's sword looks like it belongs to a much older style from the 18th century or even earlier, when contact with the Portuguese influenced the complex guard shape with its D-ring. As we can see on the ivory hilted status symbol examples, the D-ring is gone, replaced by 3 quillons. It is possible that at some point during the 19th century, some less elaborate, more munitions grade examples had simplified guards.

As for the sword hand protection issue, I am not sure it was as important to the wearers of these swords during the 19th century as we are making it out to be. We know that with the ascent of Oman in the region, the other popular sword style was that of what we refer to as kattara, as can be seen on pictures of Tippu Tip and other prominent people from the Swahili coast in the late19th century. Of course, the kattara has no guard whatsoever. I guess the locals felt that blocking with a buckler was sufficient, or hand protection for the sword hand may not have been deemed crucial in an era where firearms were taking over as the primary weapon.

I guess, all we can do at this point is simply keep collecting photos and keep collecting examples of various quality and style until we start putting the puzzle together little by little. Of course, all of this is skewed by the prevalence of higher end examples: munitions grade items were far more likely to be discarded once functionally obsolete as there was very little incentive to keep them. The same applies to photos as most of the ones we have are staged portraits of notables and their families.

It is not easy, but learning is part of the fun.

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23rd December 2016, 07:04 AM	#12
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,666	We really know very little about these swords. For other arms and armor, we have period artwork, provenance examples in collections, archeological finds, fencing manuals and of course, multiple articles and books on the subject. Not the case when it comes to these swords from Eastern Africa. Elgood does not illustrate them, as his book does not expand to the Arab colonies along Eastern Africa. Spring does not even mention the weapons of Zanzibar and the other Arab trading posts, as his book is focused on pure African forms only and not on any he considers to be introduced from outside. Hales has some very nice examples and an interesting picture from the Comoros, where this hilt style was also popular well into the 19th century. And of course, we have Buttin's plates. There are occasional museum exhibit catalogues where a few of these swords are shown and invariably ascribed to the Maghreb in error. I believe the hilt form evolved over the years. To me, Stu's sword looks like it belongs to a much older style from the 18th century or even earlier, when contact with the Portuguese influenced the complex guard shape with its D-ring. As we can see on the ivory hilted status symbol examples, the D-ring is gone, replaced by 3 quillons. It is possible that at some point during the 19th century, some less elaborate, more munitions grade examples had simplified guards. As for the sword hand protection issue, I am not sure it was as important to the wearers of these swords during the 19th century as we are making it out to be. We know that with the ascent of Oman in the region, the other popular sword style was that of what we refer to as kattara, as can be seen on pictures of Tippu Tip and other prominent people from the Swahili coast in the late19th century. Of course, the kattara has no guard whatsoever. I guess the locals felt that blocking with a buckler was sufficient, or hand protection for the sword hand may not have been deemed crucial in an era where firearms were taking over as the primary weapon. I guess, all we can do at this point is simply keep collecting photos and keep collecting examples of various quality and style until we start putting the puzzle together little by little. Of course, all of this is skewed by the prevalence of higher end examples: munitions grade items were far more likely to be discarded once functionally obsolete as there was very little incentive to keep them. The same applies to photos as most of the ones we have are staged portraits of notables and their families. It is not easy, but learning is part of the fun.