A ‚Christian’ Yataghan – Translation help needed :-)

Jim McDougall · 26th May 2009, 07:32 PM

Interesting yataghan!
While awaiting the linguists interpretations of the inscriptions, the symbolism is always of interest to me.
We are of course all well aware of the fish symbolism in Christianity.
This blade is rich in geometric symbolism, and the raised devices on the blade seem to resemble geometric apotropaics somewhat, thinking again of the aghrab on Arabian scabbards, although the design here is not quite the same.

The fish was also symbolically a folk religion talisman in North Africa, from Tunis to the Sudan, and probably much wider, certainly in the Ottoman realm.
The concentric circles resemble ancient motifs in shamanic and folk religion symbolism with wide ranging interpretations, but often seen on rock art and other early artwork.

Naturally it is dangerous to assume whether symbolics in any material culture is applied as deliberate symbolism or whether simply adopted as space filling motif, but it is always interesting to consider the possibilities.

26th May 2009, 07:32 PM	#7
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,192	Interesting yataghan! While awaiting the linguists interpretations of the inscriptions, the symbolism is always of interest to me. We are of course all well aware of the fish symbolism in Christianity. This blade is rich in geometric symbolism, and the raised devices on the blade seem to resemble geometric apotropaics somewhat, thinking again of the aghrab on Arabian scabbards, although the design here is not quite the same. The fish was also symbolically a folk religion talisman in North Africa, from Tunis to the Sudan, and probably much wider, certainly in the Ottoman realm. The concentric circles resemble ancient motifs in shamanic and folk religion symbolism with wide ranging interpretations, but often seen on rock art and other early artwork. Naturally it is dangerous to assume whether symbolics in any material culture is applied as deliberate symbolism or whether simply adopted as space filling motif, but it is always interesting to consider the possibilities.