Pata sword with European blade

[Jim McDougall]

Found an example of pata with African blade:
This is just one I found, but as I mentioned I have owned one much like this for any years, and I have seen numbers of them.
The blade is a North African blade known in Saharan regions as 'masri' which according to Rodd (1928) has triple channels in the center of the broadsword blade. The two outside channels each at the terminus has a small crescent moon termed 'dukari'.
These blades are exclusive to North Africa, and are typically regarded as of Hausa production and found in Saharan (takouba) and many kaskara (Sudanese) swords (Briggs, 1965).

The fact that many of these are thus found in Indian swords, usually pata, suggests that somehow, most likely the result of post Omdurman situations, a considerable number of African blades ended up in Southern India.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

The blade is a North African blade known in Saharan regions as 'masri' ..

This is extremely interesting, it could mean that these European blades came from Egypt, maybe via Alexandria...

Originally Posted by Jim McDougall

The fact that many of these are thus found in Indian swords, usually pata, suggests that somehow, most likely the result of post Omdurman situations, a considerable number of African blades ended up in Southern India.

I think that one of your first post was correct: a lot of fakes were made from the relics of the British colonial empire: Sudan & India... Then of course, Indians imported European trade blades.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Kubur

This is extremely interesting, it could mean that these European blades came from Egypt, maybe via Alexandria...



I think that one of your first post was correct: a lot of fakes were made from the relics of the British colonial empire: Sudan & India... Then of course, Indians imported European trade blades.

Well observed Kubur, actually the Arabic term 'masri' means loosely 'Egyptian' as found with many instances of the Mamluk swords in the outstanding reference by Yucel .
What was meant by post Omdurman refers to the British and French condominium occupying Egypt and Sudan after 1898. Certainly these Saharan and Sudanese swords which had moved into those regions could well have transmitted to India just as they arrived in England. Oakeshott in his "Records of the Medieval Sword" describes how many instances of contrived 'medieval' swords actually were mounted with blades from these cannibalized swords of Africa that had been brought back by the thousands.