The Omani Khanjar

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by blue lander

Do men still deploy these daggers to resolve disputes? Or is that all in the past? Do you have any information about how these were/are used as a weapon? I read that with the Jambiya they'd strike between the clavicles and split the body cavity open in one blow.

Sounds decidedly painful... Salaams Blue Lander... So far as I know the dagger is more symbolic of the head of the family and is a national Icon. Pulling a blade on someone is totally alien but even the act of taking the blade out during a dispute is awarded with a prison sentence... It is simply not on.
As a weapon it was classed as a defensive one..and the weapon seems to originate way back in the past as a skinning item... skinning animals and cutting meat. I have seen a Khanjar used to kill animals for feasts ie ...goats cows and camels.
The central ridge in the blade lends itself to the downward strike I suppose although I have no evidence of it in a fight...Certainly the broad blade is a vicious shape wherever it gets inserted but as I say... Iconic thesedays and not pulled in anger.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[blue lander]

Thank you. In the Omani Sayf thread we see many 100+ year old photos of men wearing Khanjars that look more or less the same as modern ones. Do you think that even that far back the khanjar was a "symbolic" weapon rather than a practical one? I'm wondering when the khanjar ceased being a practical weapon, and how did those practical khanjars differ from what we see now (if at all)?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by blue lander

Thank you. In the Omani Sayf thread we see many 100+ year old photos of men wearing Khanjars that look more or less the same as modern ones. Do you think that even that far back the khanjar was a "symbolic" weapon rather than a practical one? I'm wondering when the khanjar ceased being a practical weapon, and how did those practical khanjars differ from what we see now (if at all)?

Salaams Blue Lander, Good question... when did the weapon become more symbolic as a badge of office as head of the family? ...When did it cross over from being a skinner, hunter blade to the exotic item it is today... ? The Sherezad hilt item is known to have been invented in about 1840 for the Ruler by one of his wives ...going back further than that is historical, stepping stone, tightrope walking without a net...however Khanjars were around well before the Sheherazad episode... It is a matter of reverse engineering based on probability and magnetism. I have seen no documentary support to back up the probability... but this must go back down the ages many hundreds of years. The Omani Khanjar stars as a Funun dance; "the baraa"... thus it is historically linked...exact dates ... I don't know.... but the Funun being ancient pushes the envelope....

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams, Please note the website below detail showing many excellent details about Omani Khanjars and at the top of the web page you will find different types to peruse.

One form is the al Wusta which is clearly the link style through the port of Sur (and with similarities to the Sur khanjar form) down to Red Sea Regions in particular the style I call Habaabi. This form appears to explain the odd looking 7 ring Khanjar in the famous book by Ruth Hawley; Omani Silver that on the face of it seemed to be an interloper...but which I now identify as Al Wusta as well. See #169 on this thread. The al Wusta is distinct in its likeness to the Bu Saidi Royal Form but more meaty looking though tantalising in that above the belt is the UUUUUUU decorative form also the style of decoration on the Flowermen type in the Asir / Habaabi form.

It is my view that at the time of the Said the Great this style migrated and froze...in the Asir (on the sea route to and from Zanzibar) when the Asir was part of The Yemen but since 1923 has been in a virtual time warp hibernation and as a part of Saudia.

I leave my explanation here to be examined by Forum... and invite input. The Al Wusta.

Please see http://khanjar.om/Parts.html

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Kubur]

Shukran habibi Ibrahim, very good link!