Somalian Billao

Conogre · 15th May 2005, 07:22 PM

While I can't speak with any certainty about the bilao daggers, the blades of the gile's seem to have become thinner with the advent of surplus milatary vehicle steel, while older pieces often had a darkened depression in the center with a central rib running from top to bottom.
This same chacteristic is/was also seen in spears from the area, with older heads having deeper depressions just as in the knives.
On newer spearheads it's my understanding that they'll crosshatch and darken the area in an attempt to achieve the same effect as in the deeper, older models.
I also suspect that the belt loop may have been a later repair/modification.
As to the horn, aside from water buffalo and cattle, oxen are still used in areas to arrid for the buffalo as beasts of burden with considerable amount of variation in the color of the horn, not just between different animals but even the same horn along its length.
Mike

tom hyle · 15th May 2005, 08:46 PM

I've seen old, putatively and seemingly 19th c. billaos and the only one that wasn't real real thin was a marked Persian trade blade. The gilles and those spear blades you mention bear a certain resemblance to kattars in the cross-sectional variation along their length, no? A wide shallow groove at the base (are you saying you see this with a midrib running up it on gilles as on spears or some kattars? I think I remember it simply a wide groove?) and a thicker diamond section tip. All of my Ethiopian military spears have some version of this type cross-section, BTW. The leaf shaped ones exactly this; a midrib with grooves beside it for a leaf-shaped area at the base, and a diamond-section tip the thickness of the midrib. The gladius shaped ones with a midrib, but instead of shaped tapered grooves thin flat flanges ala jambiya on one, heavy wedge-section flanges on the other, then becoming a diamond section point. Maritime relations between this area and India are well established, too. I wonder about Arab spears; I've seen them (and known it at least) mostly from a distance or in small photos, and don't know about the cross section of the blades. I suppose they've mostly burned the handles up for cookwood by now, as we hear of dry-country Africans doing?

15th May 2005, 07:22 PM	#1
Conogre Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Clearwater, Florida Posts: 371	While I can't speak with any certainty about the bilao daggers, the blades of the gile's seem to have become thinner with the advent of surplus milatary vehicle steel, while older pieces often had a darkened depression in the center with a central rib running from top to bottom. This same chacteristic is/was also seen in spears from the area, with older heads having deeper depressions just as in the knives. On newer spearheads it's my understanding that they'll crosshatch and darken the area in an attempt to achieve the same effect as in the deeper, older models. I also suspect that the belt loop may have been a later repair/modification. As to the horn, aside from water buffalo and cattle, oxen are still used in areas to arrid for the buffalo as beasts of burden with considerable amount of variation in the color of the horn, not just between different animals but even the same horn along its length. Mike

15th May 2005, 08:46 PM	#2
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	I've seen old, putatively and seemingly 19th c. billaos and the only one that wasn't real real thin was a marked Persian trade blade. The gilles and those spear blades you mention bear a certain resemblance to kattars in the cross-sectional variation along their length, no? A wide shallow groove at the base (are you saying you see this with a midrib running up it on gilles as on spears or some kattars? I think I remember it simply a wide groove?) and a thicker diamond section tip. All of my Ethiopian military spears have some version of this type cross-section, BTW. The leaf shaped ones exactly this; a midrib with grooves beside it for a leaf-shaped area at the base, and a diamond-section tip the thickness of the midrib. The gladius shaped ones with a midrib, but instead of shaped tapered grooves thin flat flanges ala jambiya on one, heavy wedge-section flanges on the other, then becoming a diamond section point. Maritime relations between this area and India are well established, too. I wonder about Arab spears; I've seen them (and known it at least) mostly from a distance or in small photos, and don't know about the cross section of the blades. I suppose they've mostly burned the handles up for cookwood by now, as we hear of dry-country Africans doing?