The Manding sword, the Tuareg aljuinar and Omani curved kattara: Are they connected?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Interesting thread Jim. There is no doubt that the hilt style of Manding swords closely resembles those of Oman. Trade in the "early days" no doubt would have had some bearing on similarity of styles.
I have attached a pic of a Manding sword which I have. While the blade is quite short, and straight, the hilt is guardless and resembles very closely those of Oman.
Stu

Thank you Stu!
This curious similarity has perplexed me for many years, and I could never really get a good 'read' on the idea of sort of 'connecting the dots'. Now with this being a very well seasoned venue of weapons investigation thanks to all the years we have all worked together on these mysteries....we are much better at getting to the bottom of them.

This straight version of these West African swords which has of course similarities to the Manding, but has the kaskara like blade (central three fullers). These I have thought associated with straight blade swords of Sierra Leone (often termed 'slavers swords' from the 'slave coast'). The leather work of Manding character seems to often broaden the geographic scope of these similar but slightly varied types.
I added a picture of one of these with the three fuller blade from 2008...…...in the thread I got a good chuckle from our late friend Vandoo…..when he quipped it looked like the sword of Karis from "The Mummy" because of the mummified wrap.

Charles thank you again for these most helpful maps and photos, which really get us in line with much of the Omani sector which Ibrahiim has noted as well. This is all as I mentioned, key in connecting the dots literally across Africa in looking into the relationships of these varying swords.

[CharlesS]

Ibrahim,

The photo of Tibu Tib is awesome, but I not a fan of your second posted pic. That one imho is too stylized and doesn't represent hardly a pretense of accuracy in the weapons depicted, and probably not much better with the people. In fact, the sword in the hand of the fellow to the lower left could practically be a samurai sword! Even the super rare Madagascar round-ish shield(which is what I am assuming he is attempting to render here) is poorly done.

Like you, am thrilled to see this topic pop up as well!

[CharlesS]

Jim,

In the pic attached you can see one guard with a straight kattara, and another guard to the far right with his hand over what must surely be an Omani style nimcha or the style that collectors like to call the Zanzibar/Madagascar sword or "nimcha".

[Jim McDougall]

Interesting rendering by W. Churchill posted by Ibrahiim, and this man was apparently the brother of the British Council in office in Zanzibar 1867-70.
While it is of course quite likely there is a degree of artistic license in the drawing of this rather wild assembly of characters, it does seem that there was some effort toward accuracy in that the hilt of what looks like that of a 'nimcha' is see held aloft by one central figure.

The curved swords shown of course seem pretty generic, as typically the case in these kinds of drawings which simply are for effect, but the point carried is that there were curved sabres present, not just the familiar straight Omani swords.
Charles this is displayed in the photo you show in the previous post, that there were clearly numerous styles of swords at hand in this bustling entrepot in these times.

The shield noted as of a Madagascar type seems interesting, and though I really don't know shields well, it may be equally 'licensed' as are the swords. I am sure that in the busy enterprise in Zanzibar with trade from many sources brought weaponry and goods of wide array into materials handled.

I think one of the most interesting elements of the Churchill drawing is the possibility that this may be a loose interpretation of the Razha sword dance typically performed with the straight blade Omani sword, but using curved swords. This emphasizes the potential for curved bladed swords of Omani form being carried into the trade routes going into the interior, and from there into the networks toward the Sahara, and Manding regions.

[Jim McDougall]

I just noticed, to add to the diversity of the drawing by Churchill, the figure with the drum with zig zag motif......that same type of drum is depicted in the motif of a blade of a flyssa I had. Again, it would seem that items from far and wide ended up in Zanzibar! We cannot underestimate the dynamics of trade networking.

[CharlesS]

Jim,

I think the "zig-zags" you are referring to is Churchill's rendering of the cords that bind the top and bottom "heads" of what is often called the "talking drum" and is seen through large swaths of Africa. Of course, I may be wrong.

This is, again, the problem with artists' renderings. Much is left up to perceptions and even the imagination, especially in a drawing as generalized as that one.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Jim,

I think the "zig-zags" you are referring to is Churchill's rendering of the cords that bind the top and bottom "heads" of what is often called the "talking drum" and is seen through large swaths of Africa. Of course, I may be wrong.

This is, again, the problem with artists' renderings. Much is left up to perceptions and even the imagination, especially in a drawing as generalized as that one.

Ahah! so there they are. I had thought the 'talking drums' were from West Africa, and there was an article someplace I had on them. It seemed like so much of the cliche' in Tarzan movies but turned out to be truly fascinating cultural reality.
I need to find that flyssa again.
The thing is, like you say, these or ones like them surely must have appeared in a wide scope in Africa if they were known in Kabyle regions in Algeria.

edit: I just found the reference and it was West Africa, with the concept moving into Saharan regions, Mali, Burkino-Faso etc. and on into Hausa land. From here it is not hard to see how these drums made it well into Algeria, or far to the east.....to Zanzibar. This well concurs with the maps and support for the paths which connected West to East in our study.

The zig-zags are indeed a good example of artistic license, and stylized form. While the zig zags should be cords, the hourglass shape is correct, and the curved sabres' shape mindful of the Samurai style sword may well represent the long hilt of the Omani curved kattara,.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Jim,

I think the "zig-zags" you are referring to is Churchill's rendering of the cords that bind the top and bottom "heads" of what is often called the "talking drum" and is seen through large swaths of Africa. Of course, I may be wrong.

This is, again, the problem with artists' renderings. Much is left up to perceptions and even the imagination, especially in a drawing as generalized as that one.

I agree the sketch is only a sketch...Pity Churchill didn't take a photograph of this scene. What I am trying to convey is the blades. these are curved and carried by African not Omani dancers said to be irregulars in the Zanzibar military contingent. I only show this to suggest that the curved blades were there in Zanzibar ...It may thus be logical that the weapons were arrived from interaction through trade with Manding...and the date( known from churchills time there) adds weight to the trade in slavery being at an all time high in the latter part of the 19thC and that Manding would have been there in large numbers trading ...when the artist was there.

My further hypothesis being that since the Manding were oral ...only passing down information not writing it down ...and since the Omani System The Funun was also similar ( here is where the problem exists...no written evidence), it is almost impossible to ascertain the copied direction or exactly when it was that these hilts moved from one tribal system to another wholly or in part. What I think is obvious is that they were copied and I would go with the East West concept or rather that the hilt moved in two directions concurrently encompassing Omani and Manding at the same time... What did this look like on the ground as a series of events?

I suggest that the Manding either copied the hilt form of the Omani Long Hilt on the dancing sword and put it to use on their curved Manding sabres and the Omani contingent absorbed the Manding curved blades and furnished them with the Omani Longhilt form copied from their dancing swords.