Period Photos of People with Ethnographic Arms

[estcrh]

Would this particular type of musket be called a Moroccan afedali snaphaunce lock musket? I originally had it as a kabyle (moukhala) musket.

[RobertGuy]

Just noticed the ...bipod? in use here.I'm not a collecter of muskets and no little about them but how common were such attachments? I had somehow always thought of them as a modern development for automatic weapons.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by RobertGuy

Just noticed the ...bipod? in use here.I'm not a collecter of muskets and no little about them but how common were such attachments? I had somehow always thought of them as a modern development for automatic weapons.

I have seen bipods on Tibetan and Afghan long guns and on one Persian example.

The Afghan Joozaeel or Mountain Rifle.
On Stone by J.Bennett. T. Black, Lith Cal. 1840.
Lithograph, rare. Sheet 115 x 205mm, 4½ x 8¼". Narrow margins.
A very unusual illustration of a jezail, with the distinctively curved stock and a bipod. It has been suggested that the jezail was originally designed to be held like a pistol with the stock under the arm, allowing use on horseback. However during the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42) it came into its own as a sniper weapon, fired down from high cliffs down onto the British Army retreating from Kabul to Jalalabad. Being heavier and longer-barrelled than the British Brown Bess musket, the Jezail outmatched the return fire. Most were hand-made: only a few were rifled.

[estcrh]

Indian Kuttuk horseman in armour, 1861?. The Khuttuk clans inhabit a tract of hilly country lying south and south-west of Kohat, and including spurs of the great Sooliman range from Dullun, on the Upper Koorum river, to Kooshalgurh, on the Indus, and from the Bungush valley of Kohat to the Wuzeeree lands in Bunnoo. He is holding a matchlock musket, and wearing a helmet covered in cloth, a tulwar sword, arm guards (dastana) and hauberk (zirah).

[estcrh]

Kazakh warrior wearing a helmet with mail aventail and mail hauberk, he is holding an axe, a matchlock with bipod and huge composite bow are in the backround. The Kazakh Khanate was a Turkic Kazakh state, the successor of the Golden Horde, existing from 1456–1847, located roughly on the territory of the present-day Republic of Kazakhstan. At its height the khanate ruled from eastern Cumania (modern-day West Kazakhstan) to most of Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan and the Syr Darya river.

[estcrh]

Karbadian warrior, North Caucasus mountains, in armour, wearing a helmet and hauberk, with kindjal dagger and shashka sword, holding a whip in his hand, circa 1890's. Kabardians are the largest Circassian (Adyghe) tribe in Russia (over 600,000), Turkey, Egypt, and some other countries in the region, except for Israel and Jordan, where the Shapsug and Abzakh tribe are the largest tribes, respectively. The Kabardian tribe are also the largest Circassian branch in the world in general.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by estcrh

I have seen bipods on Tibetan and Afghan long guns and on one Persian example.

Bipods or rifle stands are very common in Northern India.
My feeling is that is a Far-Eastern influence, probably from China.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Would this particular type of musket be called a Moroccan afedali snaphaunce lock musket? I originally had it as a kabyle (moukhala) musket.

Mukahla (Snaphaunce lock). Taroudant Region, Oued Sous Valley, Morocco.
Stu

[kronckew]

estcrh, the Kazakh's axe above looks rather odd, almost like there is a knife blade mounted from the head along the haft. after zooming in, it looks like it may be part of a suspension strap of some sort. still a bit confusing tho. is it something else behind him obscured by the axe? found the framed image that shows a similar axe with a similar anomaly. anyone have a similar axe or photo of one?

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by kronckew

estcrh, the Kazakh's axe above looks rather odd, almost like there is a knife blade mounted from the head along the haft. after zooming in, it looks like it may be part of a suspension strap of some sort. still a bit confusing tho. is it something else behind him obscured by the axe?

I also noticed it. I think it is a knife, there appears to be an attachment point near the middle. I also see some sort of suspension strap, which makes sense since you could not wrap your hand around the upper part of the shaft due to the knife blade being mounted there.

Take a look at how long this axe is. I found one image of some axes supposedly from the same region.

Axes, photo from the expedition. Dudina, North-East Kazakhstan, 1899.

[kronckew]

i've added a photo of a khazak with a similar odd axe to my earlier post...

a sharp axe & knife flopping about my person, even armoured, would not be my idea of safety. hopefully they had some sort of sheathing device to make it safe. a number of my axes have a languet on the front of the haft to protect it from impacts. could this be a similar device?

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by kronckew

i've added a photo of a khazak with a similar odd axe to my earlier post...

a sharp axe & knife flopping about my person, even armoured, would not be my idea of safety. hopefully they had some sort of sheathing device to make it safe. a number of my axes have a languet on the front of the haft to protect it from impacts. could this be a similar device?

I have never seen another axe like it. I guess we are very lucky to have this one photograph even. Here is a link to a Khazak museum with some info and a few images that are to small to post here. http://old.unesco.kz/heritagenet/kz/.../voorug_en.htm

Also a reproduction Khazak armor made for a Khazak museum, and a copy of the illustration you posted which has a very Persian look to it.


Kazakh batyr in mirror armour, 17th-18th century.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Mukahla (Snaphaunce lock). Taroudant Region, Oued Sous Valley, Morocco.
Stu

Stu, I see some very similar guns being described as "afedali", I am not very familiar with the terms used with North African guns, maybe someone can explain what makes a gun an "afedali". I have read that "afedali" is a Moroccan Moukhala from the Taroudant area and the Souss wadi bassin.

[Kubur]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Stu, I see some very similar guns being described as "afedali", I am not very familiar with the terms used with North African guns, maybe someone can explain what makes a gun an "afedali". I have read that "afedali" is a Moroccan Moukhala from the Taroudant area and the Souss wadi bassin.

Well to me it's a Tetouan type from the Riff.

Like this one...

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Well to me it's a Tetouan type from the Riff.

Like this one...

The barrel and the barrel are strongly bonded together by a broad band of iron about 8 cm. This fitting is found on all the rifles of the south of Morocco (AFEDALI, ALTIT and TAOUZILT) and not on the Mokhala of TETOUAN.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by estcrh

The barrel and the barrel are strongly bonded together by a broad band of iron about 8 cm. This fitting is found on all the rifles of the south of Morocco (AFEDALI, ALTIT and TAOUZILT) and not on the Mokhala of TETOUAN.

Hi Estcrh,
The Term AFFEDALI as I understand it relates more to the to the shape of the stock which in turn relates to the particular region from which they originate. If you have Tirri's book, check out pages 20 to 22 and you will see the differing stock shapes, each given a particular name......TETUAN, AFFEDALI, ALTIT and TAOUZILT, and region from which they are found.
Stu

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Hi Estcrh,
The Term AFFEDALI as I understand it relates more to the to the shape of the stock which in turn relates to the particular region from which they originate. If you have Tirri's book, check out pages 20 to 22 and you will see the differing stock shapes, each given a particular name......TETUAN, AFFEDALI, ALTIT and TAOUZILT, and region from which they are found.
Stu

Stu, I do not have Tirri's book, but according to the website, an "Affendali" would have "the barrel and the barrel are strongly bonded together by a broad band of iron about 8 cm. This fitting is found on all the rifles of the south of Morocco (AFEDALI, ALTIT and TAOUZILT) and not on the Mokhala of TETOUAN", which is backed up by images of the various types.....so which is right??? The website implys that it is more then just the stock shapes that determines the name.