[RobT]

an,

Please allow me this last statement because I think that, if Waelty and Buttin are correct, the distinction between the koummya and the khanjar in Morocco is important as it helps to explain why some more recently made daggers we call koummya bear Moroccan khanjar features. Most notably, these hybrid (per Waelty) or mixed (per Buttin) koummya show small to nonexistent quillons which are unsuited for the thrusting capabiity of the koummya blade but are perfectly fine for the hooking function of the Moroccan khanjar blade. The time frame for the first appearance of these hybrids coincides with the period that their actual use as weapons was becoming unlikely. Thus, those who preferred the look of the Moroccan khanjar hilt could make that choice (anyway, there is nothing to prevent a koummya blade from being used in a hooking manner). I would not discount this aesthetic choice (especially when it is backed by culture and tradition). For my part, although I have had many opportunities to purchase koummya with Moroccan khanjar style hilts, I have not had the slightest inclination to do so because I much prefer the traditional koummya hilt with its slender grip flanked by its flared pommel and quillons.
There is one other brief point I would like to make regarding the origin of this particular name game which, AFAIK, originated after reports from forum members to the effect of, “nobody in Morocco calls them koummya anymore”. I am partial to, and have a small number of stockman folding knives. I am willing to bet the ranch that, if I showed 100 New Yorkers an example of this type knife, not one of them would call it a stockman but I suspect that, if I did the same thing to 100 people in rural Montana, the results would be far different. So, do we know how large a sample of the Moroccan population these forum members asked and, just as importantly, where was the question asked? Was it urban or rural, north (khanjar country) or south (koummya country)?

Sincerely,
RobT