Zanzibar Sword

[Roland_M]

Another example of the rare and mysterious Zanzibar Sword.
Without the scabbard it is 70,5 cm long (58,5 cm blade only) and 72,5 cm total.
With 395 Grams the sword is very light for its length.

This was my first real auction and the picture in the catalogue showed nothing of the blade.
I was a little earlier there and was able to inspect the blade before the auction.
I draw the blade out of the scabbard and was thinking like one who found a gold nugget "What!! OMG! This is almost like new!"
I put it back in the scabbard very quickly to avoid any attention and and put it in the deepest corner of the showcase.
I had to wait long and exhausting six hours but in the end it was worth the waiting and hoping.

The blade is really amazing, very thin and flexible. It is a short and slightly curved rapier, especially designed to stab through chainmail and leather armour.
The point of this sword is the thinnest I ever saw. It is almost a real needle, the comparrison with the pen is impressive.
The first three inches after the point are unsharp, because of its purpose to stab through the rings of a chainmail armour (at least I think so).
The rest of the cutting edge is sharp.
The fantastic condition with only a little bit minor corrosion, allows me to research the old finishing techniques. The surface was smooth with great effort, not far away from japanese standard,
the edge is still very sharp.

The main reason for the good condition of the steel is the brass scabbard of very high quality.
Only the hairs of the red velvet and one of the pins in the middle of the scabbard are lost.
Between the sheath and the hilt is no gap, this demonstrates the high quality and makes the sword water resistant.
The hilt is made of horn and partially covered with brass. It is also in good condition, only some of the twisted decoration wires are lost.

Finally and to add a further point to the discussion, in my opinion the Zanzibar sword have some similarites to the Jordanian dagger.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.


Best wishes
Roland

[Roland_M]

two more pictures

[kahnjar1]

Hi Roland,
Not a Zanzibar sword IMHO.
This is known as a JIBOULA sword, probably mounted in Morocco,. but found throughout North Africa.
Stu

[Kubur]

PFFFFFFF very beautiful I'm jealous!

[ariel]

Agree with kahnjar1: not Zanzibari.
Moroccan and NE African jiboula or s'boula.

For some reasons often attributed to Ethiopian Jews, Falashas.

This one is extra nice.

[Sajen]

Hi Roland,

like said before, a real beauty. And so I was not wrong when I told you that I see similarty to the Algerian shula hilts with the inlaid brass wire, see the attached picture taken from an old thread.

Regards,
Detlef

[colin henshaw]

A fine sword in good condition, congratulations. Most of the examples I have seen have a fair bit of damage to the sheath and/or hilt.

[Jim McDougall]

This is truly an amazing example of Maghrebi dagger which is really usually more of a dirk and termed, as noted s'boula (Buttin, 1933,1939).
What prompted these being classified as Zanzibari was the Burton reference in "Book of the Sword", where one of these is shown in a plate with an Omani broadsword (termed 'kattara').
This pairing was clearly lifted from a reference in "Arms& Armour" by Auguste Demmin (1877), and the instance was noted by Charles Buttin in his 1933 catalog, as well as stating the sword of the type shown in OP as a Moroccan s'boula.

It is most interesting that both of these weapon forms became known in degree as 'Zanzibari', but the Omani sword was the most qualified to carry that term as much of their origin actually was focused in this Omani Sultanate.
The 'H' type hilt dirks known as s'boula were primarily Moroccan but certainly well known across the Maghreb, as well as diffused throughout the routes across the Sahara into trade entrepots in Ethiopia. At one point these were even suggested as being Ethiopian swords from examples found with Amharic script on the blades, but these were incidental examples which had come in as noted via trade routes. As noted by Ariel, the Falashas were Jewish tribes in Ethiopia, who were known armourers to the royal court there.

From these Ethiopian regions, these found exchange with trade coming from Zanzibar and returning, eventually becoming well known in Zanzibar.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

The inclusion by Burton of the S'boula certainly buckled thinking down the decades on this peculiar sword being termed Zanzibari. It would appear that some African slave traders carried this weapon on their travels ... Noted also on the same page on The Book of The Sword was the Omani Dancing Sword...or Sayf. In this case it is easy to see the association since Zanzibar was owned at the time of Burtons Book; by Oman.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by ariel

Agree with kahnjar1: not Zanzibari.
Moroccan and NE African jiboula or s'boula.

For some reasons often attributed to Ethiopian Jews, Falashas.

This concept is stated in Islamic Weapons, Maghrib to Moghul. by Anthony Tirri. Not sure where he got it from.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Marcus

This concept is stated in Islamic Weapons, Maghrib to Moghul. by Anthony Tirri. Not sure where he got it from.

I did quite a bit of research during preparation for a paper I wrote in 2004 which was actually on these swords. My study on them actually began when I acquired one some years prior, and was actually informed on the s'boula connection by Dominique Buttin, great grandson of Charles. I confirmed the origin of the Burton reference from Demmin (1877) when I located an original copy and saw the exact attribution to Zanzibar there along with the Oman broadsword had been lifted by Burton (1885) .

The entire 'faux pas' of the Demmin/Burton references to 'Zanzibar' on these swords was foot noted by Charles Buttin (1933) as he described they were actually s/boula from Morocco as illustrated in his catalog. This was further shown in his article on Moroccan weapons in 'Hesperis' in 1939 .

As I referenced in my paper, Charles Buttin was well acquainted with the arms of Morocco with many years of residence there giving him ample opportunity for his field research on their weapons.

I found the 'Ethiopian' connection in an obscure pamphlet on African weapons by Lindert (1967) which showed these 'Zanzibar' type swords among their arms. I cannot recall offhand whether the Falasha's were mentioned there, but that was included in my paper from research some time prior to 2004.

I do not recall if Tirri noted the Falasha's in his book, but based his Ethiopian attribution on examples with Amharic script on the blades. As I had described in my research, their presence there was certainly understandable with trade networks from the west and south interconnected in these regions.

What was most important about this particular case study in arms classification was understanding the necessity of always cross checking references set forth in early arms writings, despite their veneration and stature. We find errors in degree in so many of these works, and though with the highest respect maintained for the authors, we continue the research to resolve these and thereby adjusting our knowledge on these arms.

[Roland_M]

Thanks for all the comments, they are very informative for me.

I found the term "Zanzibar Sword" after a while during my Internet research. This type was totally unknown for me. I think I can see influences of different regions.

Now I feel much better informed, thanks again.

Here is a picture of the marks on the blade. It could be a talismanic inscription or something in that direction. I count 31 dots and 8 crosses on one side and 34 dots and 10 crosses on the backside.


Roland

[Kubur]

This link will help you
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=nimcha
bon appetit

[Jim McDougall]

Regarding this linear motif, as well noted by Kubur in the link he attached, it is not uncommon to see various marks, symbols and lettering fashioned into design or decoration as seems the case here.

It is always tempting to seek talismanic imbuement in these kinds of displays and in some cases they are, but as often they are simply aesthetically intended suggestions from authentic ones.

Still, this sword is one of the more attractive examples I have seen.