The African Great Lakes and The Omani Empire.

Peter Hudson · 2nd September 2021, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Hudson

Thanks Jim, This is a good point and worth reinforcing...Said Sultan took a long time to relocate his Oman capital to Zanzibar and a lot happened in the meantime for example with design of certain artefacts. Sheherazad had done a number of things including a completely new Khanjar hilt where it was to become the Royal Khanjar (see Omani Khanjars )
This design was adopted for the basis of a new Royal Hilt on the Sayf Yamaani. Also on Forum...
A new camerbund was deigned and a new turban both in Royal Colours. The Terrs was ordered to be carried with the Dancing Sayf... thus can be seen with that sword in slave merchant groups on Zanzibar and with guards around Muscat for pageants only and heralding The Sultan, Eids, weddings etc...The sword next in line to appear would be The Kitara and that would also be worn with the Terrs often slung across the back.

Regards, Peter Hudson..

This pictureshows how the Dancing Sayf has arrived in the modern day application of The Funoon accompanied by the Terrs Shield and the colourful royal Turban and Camerbund..

Peter Hudson · 2nd September 2021, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter Hudson

This pictureshows how the Dancing Sayf has arrived in the modern day application of The Funoon accompanied by the Terrs Shield and the colourful royal Turban and Cummerbund..

Just rounding off with a few relevant pictures as below...

1. The most important man of all regarding Zanzibar Oman and the Great Lakes Said Sultan..THE GREAT... who moved the Omani capital to Zanzibar in 1840 and created the spice islands and formed a very powerful merchant marine across the Indian Ocean and militarily in the region...For good measure he wears a Royal Turban and a Royal Khanjar.
2. Cloves being taken to port by slaves by an Omani Slaver displaying an Abu Futtilla gun and a curved Kitara sword..
3. Tippu Tip the biggest Slaver who had half Omani nationality and who owned 10,000 slaves and plantations in Zanzibar and central Africa...
4. A slave market in Zanzibar with Omani Slavers shown wearing the curved Kitara and slung around his back a Terrs Shield. Note one Slaver wearing a pistol ...These are known to often show African dancing tribesmen carved into the barrel.
5. Tippu Tip again but this time wearing an Omani Shamshiir and a Royal Khanjar..
6. The Royal Hilt designed on a SAYF Yemaani for the Ruler at !. by one of his wives Sheherazad which was almost identical to the Royal Khanjar she also designed ...Later she ran away to Persia and joined their army... She was of Persian Royal extraction ...but by then had fallen somewhat out of favour.

Regards,
Peter Hudson.

asomotif · 3rd September 2021, 02:38 PM

Fascinating information.
Here a picture of the Sultans palace at Stone Town Zanzibar.
januari 2020

Peter Hudson · 3rd September 2021, 06:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by asomotif

Fascinating information.
Here a picture of the Sultans palace at Stone Town Zanzibar.
januari 2020

Yes that was flattened as below....and later rebuilt.

Quote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Zanzibar_War
."The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted around 40 minutes, and is the shortest war in history.

The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. The British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan. In accordance with a treaty signed in 1886, a condition for accession to the sultanate was that the candidate obtain the permission of the British consul, and Khalid had not fulfilled this requirement. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace.

The ultimatum expired at 09:00 East Africa Time (EAT) on 27 August, by which time the British had gathered three cruisers, two gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 Zanzibaris in the harbour area. The Royal Navy contingent were under the command of Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson whilst their Zanzibaris were commanded by Brigadier-General Lloyd Mathews of the Zanzibar army (who was also the First Minister of Zanzibar). Around 2,800 Zanzibaris defended the palace; most were recruited from the civilian population, but they also included the sultan's palace guard and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The defenders had several artillery pieces and machine guns which were set in front of the palace sighted at the British ships. A bombardment which was opened at 09:02 set the palace on fire and disabled the defending artillery. A small naval action took place with the British sinking a Zanzibari royal yacht and two smaller vessels, and some shots were fired ineffectually at the pro-British Zanzibari troops as they approached the palace. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09:40.

The sultan's forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Sultan Khalid received asylum in the German consulate before escaping to German East Africa (in the mainland part of present Tanzania). The British quickly placed Sultan Hamud in power at the head of a puppet government. The war marked the end of the Zanzibar Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence." Unquote.

Peter Hudson.

ariel · 5th September 2021, 04:48 PM

Hi Peter,
Thanks for this beautiful review.
One comment only: I am from Michigan, and we get mightily offended when some people refer to " Great Lakes" as something not surrounding our state: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. In crosswords they are often related as HOMES.

Peter Hudson · 7th September 2021, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Hi Peter,
Thanks for this beautiful review.
One comment only: I am from Michigan, and we get mightily offended when some people refer to " Great Lakes" as something not surrounding our state: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. In crosswords they are often related as HOMES.

Hello Ariel and many thanks for the support..

Regards, Peter Hudson.

Peter Hudson · 27th October 2021, 08:07 PM

Reference A. Jim McDougall at #5 shows a variety of quotes belonging to Richard Burton.
Reference B. My picture at# 11 of A Zanzibar slave market with Omani Slave Traders sitting down wearing Kitara Curved Omani Long Hilted swords.

It was non other than the great man Richard Burton who ear marked the likely position that curved German Cavalry Blades were the source of the Omani Curved Kitara blade adopted by Omani Traders operating in Bunyoro-Kitara (The kingdom of The Sword} in the Great African Lakes

But there are a number of peculiarities that further cloud the issue viz;

1.The government of Bunyoro Kitara have had their entire web page country file re-written and most words which could have been linked to Slavery have been excluded and any links throughout their history have been doctored to exclude such details...whilst much of the blame for everything has been placed at the door of one sort of invader or other African neighbours or British Colonial influence..and in the last 7 years wording like The Kingdom of The Sword has altogether evaporated completely!!

2. Myth and Legend still pervades the landscape of history there and many believe that most of the population vanished beneath the waves of one of the Great Lakes suddenly and without trace a few hundred years ago...

3. With no written form much is said to have happened and since it has been all passed down verbally it isn't exactly accurate..If anything this plays into the mystical concept followed by the Omani hunters and traders coming and going with Ivory, Rhino Horn, Skins, and Slaves thus since Omani people also had a verbal historical device called The Funoon which was essentially a series of traditional songs, dances and performances so the two interacted probably quite well...

Bunyoro - Kitara had many commodities for example; vast banana plantations of differing varieties, huge herds of very long horned cattle ... a huge iron ore smelting operation, agricultural tool making expertise and excellent Salt production areas. Below shows some of the other items made there and seen sketched on he drawing of a medical facility are spears and a long handled sword perhaps a Kitara of the type we are looking at or an African tribal style ...interestingly the scene depicts a Ceasarian operation that amazingly they were expert at conducting and it was recorded by this sketch in a medical Journal of about 1879...

The Omani Long Hilted Kitara were remodelled German Cavalry weapons with an extended Tang thus their hilt had to be rebuilt and copied in the same style as the straight dancing hilt. Unlike the curved sayf the dancer or sayf was made in Oman as one piece tang and blade as one....The Curved Omani Kitara needed an extended tang. The blades of dancing swords were very flexible but the Kitara curved was much thicker and stiff with a heavy back edge. This Kitara was the badge of office of the Omani Slave Trader thus acted like a right of passage and was worn at the waist usually with the Terrs Rhino Skin Shield slung across the back as at Ref B. with silver furniture and a heavy pommel and decorated with usually black leather in the Omani style.

3rd September 2021, 02:38 PM	#3
asomotif Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,221	Fascinating information. Here a picture of the Sultans palace at Stone Town Zanzibar. januari 2020 Attached Images

27th October 2021, 08:07 PM	#7
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 311	Reference A. Jim McDougall at #5 shows a variety of quotes belonging to Richard Burton. Reference B. My picture at# 11 of A Zanzibar slave market with Omani Slave Traders sitting down wearing Kitara Curved Omani Long Hilted swords. It was non other than the great man Richard Burton who ear marked the likely position that curved German Cavalry Blades were the source of the Omani Curved Kitara blade adopted by Omani Traders operating in Bunyoro-Kitara (The kingdom of The Sword} in the Great African Lakes But there are a number of peculiarities that further cloud the issue viz; 1.The government of Bunyoro Kitara have had their entire web page country file re-written and most words which could have been linked to Slavery have been excluded and any links throughout their history have been doctored to exclude such details...whilst much of the blame for everything has been placed at the door of one sort of invader or other African neighbours or British Colonial influence..and in the last 7 years wording like The Kingdom of The Sword has altogether evaporated completely!! 2. Myth and Legend still pervades the landscape of history there and many believe that most of the population vanished beneath the waves of one of the Great Lakes suddenly and without trace a few hundred years ago... 3. With no written form much is said to have happened and since it has been all passed down verbally it isn't exactly accurate..If anything this plays into the mystical concept followed by the Omani hunters and traders coming and going with Ivory, Rhino Horn, Skins, and Slaves thus since Omani people also had a verbal historical device called The Funoon which was essentially a series of traditional songs, dances and performances so the two interacted probably quite well... Bunyoro - Kitara had many commodities for example; vast banana plantations of differing varieties, huge herds of very long horned cattle ... a huge iron ore smelting operation, agricultural tool making expertise and excellent Salt production areas. Below shows some of the other items made there and seen sketched on he drawing of a medical facility are spears and a long handled sword perhaps a Kitara of the type we are looking at or an African tribal style ...interestingly the scene depicts a Ceasarian operation that amazingly they were expert at conducting and it was recorded by this sketch in a medical Journal of about 1879... The Omani Long Hilted Kitara were remodelled German Cavalry weapons with an extended Tang thus their hilt had to be rebuilt and copied in the same style as the straight dancing hilt. Unlike the curved sayf the dancer or sayf was made in Oman as one piece tang and blade as one....The Curved Omani Kitara needed an extended tang. The blades of dancing swords were very flexible but the Kitara curved was much thicker and stiff with a heavy back edge. This Kitara was the badge of office of the Omani Slave Trader thus acted like a right of passage and was worn at the waist usually with the Terrs Rhino Skin Shield slung across the back as at Ref B. with silver furniture and a heavy pommel and decorated with usually black leather in the Omani style. Attached Images Last edited by Peter Hudson; 27th October 2021 at 09:14 PM.

5th September 2021, 04:48 PM	#5
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Hi Peter, Thanks for this beautiful review. One comment only: I am from Michigan, and we get mightily offended when some people refer to " Great Lakes" as something not surrounding our state: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. In crosswords they are often related as HOMES.