Omani Sayf/Saif

Jim McDougall · 19th November 2022, 11:28 PM

This has become a fascinating study on forging and metallurgy, which is most interesting as I admit I have little true understanding of these processes.
If I may, getting back to the Omani sayf......as one of the key elements of the Razha or sword dance in the Funoon is the theatrics.

The objective was to cause the sword blades to vibrate, in unison, causing a notably loud sound, along with the flashing bright blades. Is it POSSIBLE, that these blades might have deliberately been made to achieve this vibration for such performances?

It would seem that, given the numbers of potential variations of European and other trade blades found in many of these 'battle ready' sayfs, without standard quality control to achieve the necessary 'bendy' result needed for distinct vibration, it would have been quite a task to ensure all the 'warriors' had the proper 'bendy' blades to participate in the ceremony.

I think this might be the reason that, despite the consternation over whether these sayfs were used for battle or not, there just might have been examples made specifically for performances.

19th November 2022, 11:28 PM	#30
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,193	This has become a fascinating study on forging and metallurgy, which is most interesting as I admit I have little true understanding of these processes. If I may, getting back to the Omani sayf......as one of the key elements of the Razha or sword dance in the Funoon is the theatrics. The objective was to cause the sword blades to vibrate, in unison, causing a notably loud sound, along with the flashing bright blades. Is it POSSIBLE, that these blades might have deliberately been made to achieve this vibration for such performances? It would seem that, given the numbers of potential variations of European and other trade blades found in many of these 'battle ready' sayfs, without standard quality control to achieve the necessary 'bendy' result needed for distinct vibration, it would have been quite a task to ensure all the 'warriors' had the proper 'bendy' blades to participate in the ceremony. I think this might be the reason that, despite the consternation over whether these sayfs were used for battle or not, there just might have been examples made specifically for performances.