Spanish Morocco Berber sword

Jim McDougall · 21st January 2019, 05:32 PM

Another great example of these most interesting swords which we have discussed here so many times, and which appear to predominate in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the 'Spanish Main' to the Mexican coasts.
This example seems to have made it into the Spanish colonies in Morocco, just as the long disputed 'Berber sabres' of the OP.

These curious swords with the distinct 'finger stalls' and nocked pommel seem to have numerous variations, but the narrow blade and that 'squiggle' motif seem to occur almost characteristically on most. The one I obtained back in the 90s had a knuckleguard and shell guard much in the 'espada ancha' manner and was attributed to Monterrey, Mexico.

As I described in my post #10 (30 Oct 2018) I was researching these with Pierce Chamberlain ("Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821", 1972) back then, and others with focus on the Spanish Colonial aspects.
A number of years later, he contacted me and had found evidence of these being 'bring backs' from Spanish American war from Cuba.

After that Juan Calvo (2006) wrote his paper (op. cit. post #10) which described these as 'guanabacoa' apparently from the Cuban city near Havana . Clearly these diffused considerably through the Spanish Main and from Morocco to as far as the Philippines. I cannot see them as a functional weapon in most cases, but more as a ceremonial accoutrement.

While these, like the 'Berber sabres', were not indiginous to Morocco, they certainly occurred there, it seems mostly in the early years of the 20th century. As noted, Charles Buttin, in his thorough studies if ethnographic weapons, and after many years of residence in Morocco, never included either of these forms in his work.

Conversely, the also much discussed 'Zanzibar swords' (Demmin, 1877; Burton, 1884) he did note in his work (1933) and correct as actually s'boula daggers from Morocco.

Thank you for posting this Kubur!! Nice example!!

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21st January 2019, 05:32 PM	#18
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,470	Another great example of these most interesting swords which we have discussed here so many times, and which appear to predominate in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the 'Spanish Main' to the Mexican coasts. This example seems to have made it into the Spanish colonies in Morocco, just as the long disputed 'Berber sabres' of the OP. These curious swords with the distinct 'finger stalls' and nocked pommel seem to have numerous variations, but the narrow blade and that 'squiggle' motif seem to occur almost characteristically on most. The one I obtained back in the 90s had a knuckleguard and shell guard much in the 'espada ancha' manner and was attributed to Monterrey, Mexico. As I described in my post #10 (30 Oct 2018) I was researching these with Pierce Chamberlain ("Spanish Military Weapons in Colonial America 1700-1821", 1972) back then, and others with focus on the Spanish Colonial aspects. A number of years later, he contacted me and had found evidence of these being 'bring backs' from Spanish American war from Cuba. After that Juan Calvo (2006) wrote his paper (op. cit. post #10) which described these as 'guanabacoa' apparently from the Cuban city near Havana . Clearly these diffused considerably through the Spanish Main and from Morocco to as far as the Philippines. I cannot see them as a functional weapon in most cases, but more as a ceremonial accoutrement. While these, like the 'Berber sabres', were not indiginous to Morocco, they certainly occurred there, it seems mostly in the early years of the 20th century. As noted, Charles Buttin, in his thorough studies if ethnographic weapons, and after many years of residence in Morocco, never included either of these forms in his work. Conversely, the also much discussed 'Zanzibar swords' (Demmin, 1877; Burton, 1884) he did note in his work (1933) and correct as actually s'boula daggers from Morocco. Thank you for posting this Kubur!! Nice example!!