Somalian Billao

tom hyle · 15th May 2005, 08:46 PM

I've seen old, putatively and seemingly 19th c. billaos and the only one that wasn't real real thin was a marked Persian trade blade. The gilles and those spear blades you mention bear a certain resemblance to kattars in the cross-sectional variation along their length, no? A wide shallow groove at the base (are you saying you see this with a midrib running up it on gilles as on spears or some kattars? I think I remember it simply a wide groove?) and a thicker diamond section tip. All of my Ethiopian military spears have some version of this type cross-section, BTW. The leaf shaped ones exactly this; a midrib with grooves beside it for a leaf-shaped area at the base, and a diamond-section tip the thickness of the midrib. The gladius shaped ones with a midrib, but instead of shaped tapered grooves thin flat flanges ala jambiya on one, heavy wedge-section flanges on the other, then becoming a diamond section point. Maritime relations between this area and India are well established, too. I wonder about Arab spears; I've seen them (and known it at least) mostly from a distance or in small photos, and don't know about the cross section of the blades. I suppose they've mostly burned the handles up for cookwood by now, as we hear of dry-country Africans doing?

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15th May 2005, 08:46 PM	#17
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	I've seen old, putatively and seemingly 19th c. billaos and the only one that wasn't real real thin was a marked Persian trade blade. The gilles and those spear blades you mention bear a certain resemblance to kattars in the cross-sectional variation along their length, no? A wide shallow groove at the base (are you saying you see this with a midrib running up it on gilles as on spears or some kattars? I think I remember it simply a wide groove?) and a thicker diamond section tip. All of my Ethiopian military spears have some version of this type cross-section, BTW. The leaf shaped ones exactly this; a midrib with grooves beside it for a leaf-shaped area at the base, and a diamond-section tip the thickness of the midrib. The gladius shaped ones with a midrib, but instead of shaped tapered grooves thin flat flanges ala jambiya on one, heavy wedge-section flanges on the other, then becoming a diamond section point. Maritime relations between this area and India are well established, too. I wonder about Arab spears; I've seen them (and known it at least) mostly from a distance or in small photos, and don't know about the cross section of the blades. I suppose they've mostly burned the handles up for cookwood by now, as we hear of dry-country Africans doing?