Kattara for comments

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All,

Here are some pictures of a pair of identical blade marks made on apparently two different blade types at the same time and at the same position on each blade and on each side. I noted in my previous letter of swords leaching into the Omani system over the years however I would ask the forum a question;

~ Looking at the wear on these blades what would you attribute their age and where would you reckon they are from ~ ?

These of course are curved Omani Sayfs aren't they?... which attained Iconic status like a number of other Omani variants according to photos of various Sultans up to late 19thC and early 20th C. Known Iconic swords worn thus are Shamshir, Sayf, Zanzibari Nimcha, and Kattara both new and old(though, interestingly, not the somewhat fabled 17th C replacement variant blade for the old Kattara.)

The stamp is "God is Great" though in a form I have not, til now, seen. I would ignore the scabbards in both cases and hilt decoration as having been done relatively recently and of no significance perhaps.

Regards Ibrahiim.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams Forum,


Salaams, I have an important note for Forum,

Reference Motivate Publishing. The Craft Herritage of Oman. By Neil Richardson and Marcia Dorr in two volumes.

I have said that the straight weapon was called Kattara whilst the curved is called a Sayf. This is true and untrue to the extent that ;

1. Regionally there appears to be some flexible name useage/mixup.
2. People I ask just guess and say the first thing in their heads!
3. People don't know.

Here I give warning notice that we may have got it all the wrong way round.

The straight is a Sayf and the curved is a Kattara.

My reference is The Great Herritage of Oman by Richardson and Dorr, page 230. and page 455. I can seriously reccommend this book as the Omani artefact book .. The best I have seen... It even has reference pictures from My Fathers old store! I am embarrased somewhat by the fact that for decades I have been wrongly naming and referring to the swords when in fact they are the other way around....!!!

I started asking people a few months ago which was which and to my horror I realised no one had any proof and most were, as usual, guessing. Omani people call all swords Sayf or Saif or Kattara depending on which way the wind is blowing !! and come to think of it ... it makes little or no difference to them anyway. Trying to research under that arrangement drives me crazy !!

Forum please note! Straight Omani Swords are called Sayf and curved are Kattara. ~ I am very embarrassed and for the rest of the week I shall be wearing a set of donkeys ears !!

A curved Kattara in the Bait al Zubair collection looks to be 18/19thC and attributed possibly to German origin. (page 455 same ref.) The book also illustrates other curved kattara from Persia but used in Oman.

So the straight weapon is a Saif, The curved is a Kattara (or Kittara). There is another with a flambouyant wavy edge and a single fuller called Saif abu Falq. The blades with 3 fullers are termed abu thalath musayil. I heard the term for the first time today to describe the old Omani sword (turned down quillons ) as Yemeni Sayf !! though I proceed with great care along that road.

Some mystique continues to surround all things Omani and questions still arise in all sectors on origins particularly the so called European trade blades? I see a new derivative on the Old Omani Sword with a Royal Sa- idiyyah hilt. Regarding Ters Shields it is rumoured they came from Zanzibar and are of some amphibious animal hide that could be either/or Whale, Hippo, Rhino or Waterbuffalo.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

The straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara.

Salaams All,

There have been a few bombshells on the thread so far... a bumpy ride but I hope worth it eventually. Here is another ~

From a very well informed source within the Omani historical documentation record..page 450 of Richardson and Dorr (The Bible on Omani artefacts) says ;

Quote "The majority of steel blades used in Omani weaponry are of foreign origin. As late as the mid 20thC, however, many high quality Omani blades were produced by itinerant "gypsy" smiths who travelled from town to town working to commission. Today gypsy blade-makers no longer ply their trade but the traditional hand forging of Omani blades persists in a small number of workshops located in Northern Oman and Musandam".Unquote.

I believe that is the historical equivalent of a custard pie !!

This could well explain why:

1. The fact that no 2 Straight Sayf blades are the same.
2. No sword workshops appear anywhere to date (except in the Musandam)
3. The ghost like appearance of blades without proof of production.
4. My tilting at windmills.

Having now achieved thus far some reasonable details I am still looking at several discrepancies and need to confirm if there was a second thinner blade to the older sword sometime in about the 17th C. Regards Ibrahiim

"The straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

"The straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

Salaams All ~ Brilliant News !!!

I have just been visited by the national documents researcher of Abu Dhabi Culture and Heritage; Madam Ghaya Khalfan al Dhaheri who is from the oldest and most highly respected family in Al Ain and a specialist in all things "artefact" in the UAE. The UAE are our direct neighbors and we almost ... almost ...share the same city. Our part is in Oman and called Buraimi... Their part in the UAE called Al Ain. Each is a few minutes drive..In the old days it was all one.

She has confirmed the details of The Funoon and Razha and indicated that the mimic fighting dance is called Ayaaleh and coresponds to the same routine with Sayf and Terrs as in Oman.

She confirms the name for the Old Omani straight sword ~ The Sayf with turned down Quillons ~ as also being the correct name ie Sayf.... or Saif. Further more that the local name was Saif Yamaani. The straight flexible sword that superceded it is called Sayf also in the UAE. The Kattara is the curved sword though she added that they also called a curved variant Sayf Damasc... which I take to be a Shamshir.

On the question of manufacture of swords by some amazing fluke it turns out that about 100 years ago her great grandfather Rakan Ibn Suroor al Dhahiri made swords in Al Ain 20 minutes away! They used the bellows method to raise the heat in the small furnace combined with a special wood called Al Yaraabi from the Samar tree. Often the furnace would be run for more than two days solid, day and night, until a weapon was produced. They had a team of bellows men working in turns to push air into the forge. Rakan Ibn Suroor actually made a famous sword called dark cloud (Ghamaam) for the father of the late ruler known as Sheikh Zayed The Great. I may relate that amazing tale later..

What is astonishing is that we have now identified a manufacturing base right here... within a few kilometres of Buraimi and of course the name and a great contact and a historian of some notoriety.

Regarding the situation about Gypsies (Zutood) ... I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a band of Gypsies used to come to this region Al Ain/ Buraimi many years ago from Oman having arrived on the Omani coast by Dhow from India. They were she said very Indian in appearance and did weird dancing , didnt pray, spoke an unintelligible language, stole everything they could lay their hands on and after a few weeks suddenly they would vanish to the Gulf Coast and presumeably onto a Dhow for India until the next time...

It is not beyond belief that the same or similar Gypsies perhaps having learned their trade from Hyderabad? pedalled swords and made them on commission for Omanis as per my previous post. This is perhaps the loose cannon in the equation and though probably untraceable it does explain some of the mystique ... A wandering forge sword manufacturing team !

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

"The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

Salaams All,

At this point I would like to place before the Forum the results in numbered format to date so that the impact and direction of this thread can be fully seen. It may also act as a précis of the key results so far which are quite astonishing viz;

1. The Old Omani Battle Sword (Sayf) Turned down Quillons..dates to the beginning of Ibathi Islam marked by the appearance of the first Imam Ibn Julanda in 751 A.D. #65
2. It is similar in 11 ways to the Abbasid sword against which it was used. #5
3. It continued in service for around 1000 years; being passed down father to son, until its decline probably because of the advent of gunpowder and possibly because it was being superseded by a lighter more flexible blade but perhaps because the expertise in making the old blade had ceased to exist. #153
4. It has a living record in the Funoon, Razha and Agaaleh; traditional dance and martial mimicry from the inception of the first Imam and every year, many times, since. #56
5. It is called Sayf but its local name in the UAE and Omani Interior is Sayf Yamaani (the term for the sword from old Yemen) #157
6. It achieved Iconic status seen on a drawing at the waist of an(1890) 19th C. Sultan. #25
7. It was used in unison with a Buckler Shield (Terrs) made from an amphibious beast either Whale, Hippo, Water Buffalo or possibly Rhino. #155
8. It may have had a replacement hilt thinner and flexible fitted in the 17th C but detail is as yet unresolved.
9. A completely new blade appeared as a one piece "hilt blade and tang" possibly in the 18th and /or 19th C and 20th C and 21stC from external sources perhaps from Europe and /or local and / or other places like India; as yet unresolved.
10. The New Sayf retained the old name and the Buckler shield and was absorbed into the Funoon with a new style of handling and movement. #56 and 65
11. Local centres of production include Musandam peninsular and Al Ain/Buraimi. Nizwa may have made swords since they had the expertise to make copper utensils and iron tools using the bellows technique to increase the heat..#98 and157
12. A visitor (Mr Frazer) to Hormuz garrisoned by Omani troops noted in 1821….. that they wore a broadsword similar to a Scotish Claymore.
13. The famous British secretary ( Mr Ingrams) at the Royal Zanzibar Court in about 1910 noted that the Funoon / Razha sword dances were only performed by Omani men (born in Muscat… not Zanzibaris indicating the system was indeed Omani.)
14. Gypsies (Zutood) may have produced many swords in Oman with a wandering forge on commission. #156
15. The New Sayf gained popularity and Iconic status and seen in photographs on the waist of Zanzibari Sultans in the late 19th and early 20th C.
16. A flambouyant or zig zag bladed Sayf variant appeared at a point not yet determined but probably after 1821.#30
17. Sayf is the very old Arabic word for swords whilst Kattara may not even be an Arabic word at all and may have only joined the vocabulary in the 18th or 19th C with the advent of curved blades entering the arena from all points of the compass which in turn achieved VIP status like most styles of Omani swords photographed on the waist in Zamzibar etc. #21
18. A new nomenclature has been reported to Forum as "The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara". #155
19. Key reference material from The Omani Craft Heritage Documentation Project, Muscat Museum, Bait Zubair Museum and the Abu Dhabi Cultural and Heritage Foundation are offered as definitive proof so far along with almost 160 Forum letters many full of vital, excellent, helpful and constructive notes.

"The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Iain]

Thank you for the this detailed outline Ibrahiim. Your interactions with Madam Ghaya Khalfan al Dhaheri were particularly interesting to read about. This is absolutely the best possible method for conducting field research these days and I am grateful for you taking the time to do this and sharing it with us.

I also look forward to hearing the tale of the Dark Cloud sword!

All the best,

Iain

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Iain

Thank you for the this detailed outline Ibrahiim. Your interactions with Madam Ghaya Khalfan al Dhaheri were particularly interesting to read about. This is absolutely the best possible method for conducting field research these days and I am grateful for you taking the time to do this and sharing it with us.

I also look forward to hearing the tale of the Dark Cloud sword!

All the best,

Iain

Salaams Iain, ~Are you sitting comfortably? ~ Then I'll begin ~ Once upon a time ~About 100 years ago~
Rakan Ibn Suroor al Dhahiri, now recognised as a great sword maker on the Buraimi/ al Ain oasis which I believe was called Tawam in those days operated a bellows enhanced forge and using special high temperature burning wood as described. To keep the furnace hot a team of bellows men took it in turns to operate the hand blower system made of animal skins. Rakan was always in trouble at home because once started it took two days non stop work to complete a sword~ an absence which made his wife very angry !
The Sheikh .. Sheikh Zayed The Great .. and his entourage were involved in a sword fight and in his party was Rakan . The Sheikhs sword snapped in half and quickly Rakan handed him his own sword and thus without a weapon withdrew from the afray... fast! Zayed continued the fight finished off the enemy and noticed how fine had been the weapon which though given brutal hammering against the foe... seemed to be unscathed. Later as he handed back Rakans sword he remarked asking who made this fine blade? Rakan said it was he... Rakan the Swordmaker. Zayed was surprised and had heard of the master craftsman but hadnt realised he was in his group ... Rakan asked if he could make a sword for him.... and Zayed agreed.
It took 2 months on the forge to make the blade. Rakans wife would be furious!
When he delivered it to the Sheikh he was asked by Zayed... how is the blade?... to which he replied that it was an excellent edge and very strong to which he had given it the name Dark Cloud . Zayed The Great remarked that it had better be good because if it wasn't he would come back and test it on Rakan...
Soon after there was a meeting of all the leaders and a feast ensued ... preceeded by the slaughtering of a camel for the feast. An ideal opportunity to test the blade! The sheikh drew his sword and in one fell swoop cut the beast entirely in half!
Dark Cloud had spoken... In later years when the leader died the sword passed to the sons who fought and killed each other til finally Khaliffa took the weapon and hid it somewhere in the desert so it could not kill again.

Thus the story of Dark Cloud passed into folklore of The UAE.

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Jeff D]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

"The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

Salaams All,

At this point I would like to place before the Forum the results in numbered format to date so that the impact and direction of this thread can be fully seen. It may also act as a précis of the key results so far which are quite astonishing viz;

1. The Old Omani Battle Sword (Sayf) Turned down Quillons..dates to the beginning of Ibathi Islam marked by the appearance of the first Imam Ibn Julanda in 751 A.D. #65
2. It is similar in 11 ways to the Abbasid sword against which it was used. #5
3. It continued in service for around 1000 years; being passed down father to son, until its decline probably because of the advent of gunpowder and possibly because it was being superseded by a lighter more flexible blade but perhaps because the expertise in making the old blade had ceased to exist. #153
4. It has a living record in the Funoon, Razha and Agaaleh; traditional dance and martial mimicry from the inception of the first Imam and every year, many times, since. #56
5. It is called Sayf but its local name in the UAE and Omani Interior is Sayf Yamaani (the term for the sword from old Yemen) #157
6. It achieved Iconic status seen on a drawing at the waist of an(1890) 19th C. Sultan. #25
7. It was used in unison with a Buckler Shield (Terrs) made from an amphibious beast either Whale, Hippo, Water Buffalo or possibly Rhino. #155
8. It may have had a replacement hilt thinner and flexible fitted in the 17th C but detail is as yet unresolved.
9. A completely new blade appeared as a one piece "hilt blade and tang" possibly in the 18th and /or 19th C and 20th C and 21stC from external sources perhaps from Europe and /or local and / or other places like India; as yet unresolved.
10. The New Sayf retained the old name and the Buckler shield and was absorbed into the Funoon with a new style of handling and movement. #56 and 65
11. Local centres of production include Musandam peninsular and Al Ain/Buraimi. Nizwa may have made swords since they had the expertise to make copper utensils and iron tools using the bellows technique to increase the heat..#98 and157
12. A visitor (Mr Frazer) to Hormuz garrisoned by Omani troops noted in 1821….. that they wore a broadsword similar to a Scotish Claymore.
13. The famous British secretary ( Mr Ingrams) at the Royal Zanzibar Court in about 1910 noted that the Funoon / Razha sword dances were only performed by Omani men (born in Muscat… not Zanzibaris indicating the system was indeed Omani.)
14. Gypsies (Zutood) may have produced many swords in Oman with a wandering forge on commission. #156
15. The New Sayf gained popularity and Iconic status and seen in photographs on the waist of Zanzibari Sultans in the late 19th and early 20th C.
16. A flambouyant or zig zag bladed Sayf variant appeared at a point not yet determined but probably after 1821.#30
17. Sayf is the very old Arabic word for swords whilst Kattara may not even be an Arabic word at all and may have only joined the vocabulary in the 18th or 19th C with the advent of curved blades entering the arena from all points of the compass which in turn achieved VIP status like most styles of Omani swords photographed on the waist in Zamzibar etc. #21
18. A new nomenclature has been reported to Forum as "The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara". #155
19. Key reference material from The Omani Craft Heritage Documentation Project, Muscat Museum, Bait Zubair Museum and the Abu Dhabi Cultural and Heritage Foundation are offered as definitive proof so far along with almost 160 Forum letters many full of vital, excellent, helpful and constructive notes.

"The Straight is a Sayf and the Curved is a Kattara".

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Thanks

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Jeff D

Thanks

Salaams Jeff D, I think the points so far discovered also indicate the direction we need to proceed in... to finally conclude this part of the research. Im glad you like the detective work so far.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.
On The Buraimi Oasis.