A somalian billao

[Yvain]

Hi everyone !

I recently cleaned a Somalian billao that I bought during the quarantine, and I thought it might be of interest to you !

(Sorry for the didactic tone of what's below, this is adapted from a post on my facebook page.)

The billao is usually associated with the Somali ethnic group. Its main features are its distinctive asymmetrical leaf shaped blade and composite buffalo horn (or sometimes ivory) hilt. This is a classical end of the XIXth century example. The blade, while broad, is also very thin and nicely shaped, with a well formed central rib, and would have been an amazing cutter (it is still sharp !). This example also features a three annulets ornamentation on each side of the blade, which is unusual but not unheard of (there is another example in the references), it might have had a symbolic value.

The blade shows some damages that looks like edge on edge contact. Interestingly, they are all located on one of the edges (the flattest one), in a very small area, suggesting a specific way to use this kind of knife in a fight.

The hilt is made of buffalo horn, and is very nicely shaped and carefully polished. The guard, for lack of a better term, is made of brass, with decorative incisions towards the blade. The two parts of the hilt are separated by a brass spacer, sandwiched between two thin zinc (most likely) plates.

The intricate pommel is made of low grade silver, or (most likely) silver plated copper alloy. It is (in my opinion) an amazing piece of filigree art.

Those older types of billao mostly come in two varieties : with a single pommel spike, usually made of silver, silver alloy, or silver plated copper; or with a three pronged pommel, usually made (at the time) of brass.

The single pronged pommels are way more scarce, and are usually present on the high end billao, mostly with ivory hilt (I’ve only seen one other example with a horn hilt, it’s in the references). The three pronged ones are more common, but I’ve not been able to find hard evidence explaining the difference between those two types.

I’ve found some speculative explanations about it (the single pronged ones are older, or they are a symbol of social status, or they were made by a specific Somali clan ...), but nothing that was sourced or verifiable sadly. The only sure thing is that the one pronged pommels are scarcer, and usually associated with valuable materials.




Some measurements :
-total length : 40,4cm

-blade length : 22,3cm

-hilt length (without pommel) : 14,2cm

-pommel length : 3,9cm

-max blade width : 6,6cm

-weight : 273g




This is, in my opinion, a really nice knife, with a good balance between aesthetic and efficiency. The blade is really well made, it would have been devastating in a real fight, and the whole thing handles very nicely.





REFERENCES :

A really similar billao from the end of the XIXth century : http://www.africanarms.com/gallery?4...h-cent-38-7-cm

A billao with a similar three annulets ornamentation : https://www.penn.museum/collections/object/362789

Professional restoration of a billao : https://sites.durham.ac.uk/duct-tape...18/october-18/

Some leads regarding the difference between the three pronged and one pronged billao : http://www.forensicfashion.com/1900SomaliWarrior.html

An interesting discussion regarding the billao, with some other leads concerning the different types : http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...prong#post9196

And just for fun, a really weird looking billao, maybe made from a European knife blade : https://collections.royalarmouries.o...ect-10749.html