Koummiya-ish

[RobT]

Hi All,

There have been a number of knives posted in the past that have been variously surmised to have come from Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Mali, the Bissagos Islands, and the Reguibat Arabs of Southern Morroco. Recently, OsobistGB posted a thread (African daggers for identification) with a dagger that looks similar to one that I recently acquired. I am posting mine in hopes that the hilt decoration might provide further clues. Overall, my dagger measures about 14.75" (37.5cm) long (including the projection atop the pommel). The koummiya style blade is about 8.8125" (22.4cm) long and, next to the hilt, is sandwiched between two brass cheek pieces. Some of the designs on the cheek pieces are either silver inlay or silver plate. The hilt (without pommel projection) is about 5.25". It is made of a very heavy, very hard, black wood. The wood is inlayed with silver wire. All of the other metal pieces on both sides of the hilt are silver. The pommel decoration on the back of the hilt differs from the front. There is a brass band inset into the wood at the top of the pommel. The pommel projection is made of brass with a silver band around it. The silver band looks more like aluminum than true silver. The sheath is leather without wood lining or inserts. It also doesn't have any attachment devices so it must have been worn inside a sash or other article of clothing. The dagger appears to be of a higher level prestige than the sheath.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Battara]

This is a Tuareg dagger. The white parts might be silver.

[RobT]

Battara,

Thanks for the response. The metal on the hilt is silver without a doubt. It was rather tarnished when I bought it and the tarnish smelled like silver when I rubbed it with my fingers. I lightly removed the tarnish with a silver cloth. The designs in the silver certainly appear as if they could be Tuareg and the Tuareg are noted for their silver work but I haven't ever seen a dagger like mine with a positive ID as Tuareg. I like Tuareg work and would be happy to know that my dagger is Tuareg but I should point out that the dagger in the OsobistGB post is rather similar to mine and nobody identified it as Tuareg. Perhaps you or someone else could point out some forum posts with these daggers identified as Tuareg.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Battara]

........or at least Tuareg influenced.

Here are some forum links:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=tuareg

[Battara]

And here are some pictures from Artzi's website:

[kahnjar1]

Hi Rob,
I have this one which would also fit as being described as Koummya-ish. Again likely of Taureg origin but with definite Moroccan overtones. The blade is typical Koummya type
Stu