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

[Jim McDougall]

This truly is an interesting discourse, and actually I don't think we are 'worlds' apart overall.....the matters of whether a sword was combat oriented or not basically seems circumstantial. Clearly the long hilt Omani 'dance' sword (which has become so contentious over years here) is quite misunderstood and with the flimsy blades is an exception.

Iain, I must apologize for my clumsy wording re: the dha and dao included in my comment toward guardless swords ……..what I meant was 'sword to sword' combat. I don't know SE Asian sword technique but I was not aware that they 'fenced'.....I know in China of course the jian is used is such manner, but think there is a guard of sorts. Whatever the case, trying to sort out how each sword is used, or whether each type is battle worthy pretty much strays from the whole gist of this thread.

It seems quite clear that trade routes moving westward from hubs in the east may have carried the style or convention of the open (without guard) hilt as far as Mali and environs. That these were swords of distinction possibly could have inspired Manding traders to adopt and use similar types which became the sabre we are familiar with now,

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Earlier we had a series of maps appear outlining geographically the situation facing movement East or West and between Zanzibar and the Manding situation. Here is the linking map I was looking for with the vast Tippu Tip region based on The Falls Region..where he had 10,000 slaves and supported not only his own labour requirements at his herb farms on Zanzibar but also in co operation with the Omani Slavers and Ivory and Rhino traders welcomed in the Falls region and through the Zanzibar Hub worldwide.

Would this strategic position not be a stepping stone both ways from and to East and West African entrepots and or a trading centre rather like a small Hub in its own right?

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Earlier we had a series of maps appear outlining geographically the situation facing movement East or West and between Zanzibar and the Manding situation. Here is the linking map I was looking for with the vast Tippu Tip region based on The Falls Region..where he had 10,000 slaves and supported not only his own labour requirements at his herb farms on Zanzibar but also in co operation with the Omani Slavers and Ivory and Rhino traders welcomed in the Falls region and through the Zanzibar Hub worldwide.

Would this strategic position not be a stepping stone both ways from and to East and West African entrepots and or a trading centre rather like a small Hub in its own right?

I have always wondered just how slaving worked in that it was a predominate activity in the west (the 'Slave Coast') as well as far east, in Darfur and to the southeast in Zanzibar. While slaves were transported by ship out of the west and east, I am wondering just how much, if any, direct interaction between slaving factors in these regions there was.

While of course, an unpleasant topic, and seemingly outside the scope of this discussion, the reason I think there may be relevance is that these movements and possible contacts might account for some of the diffusion of these weapons. We have determined that the Hadj caravans often operated quite different routes and composition from those of traders, were there such caravans of slaves operating independently as well?

It has been noted that trade routes typically move north to south/vice versa, so is it possible that diagonals of other caravan routes intersected at varying points contributing to further diffusion of goods etc.?

It does seem that the complexity of caravan networks, realizing the varying contexts of their purposes, add to the conundrums of direction of movement in influences and types of weaponry. I think the best semblance we might have of consistency or indigenous origin of a form is the preponderance of the form in a given area.

[Edster]

Jim,

I can't say much about other areas, but since Greater Sudan (Darfur to Ethiopia) in the 19th Century would be an intervening area between Oman and Manding, it may be relevant. Of course slaving had been endemic for centuries due to the non-Muslim (Christian and animist) populations south and east of Egypt.

But before I go there, have we considered the possible role of the Portuguese shipping trade. They were active with trading and slaving concessions in both West & East Africa especially in the 16th & 17 centuries. Local people from both regions could have become part of ship crews and even staff and exposed each other to their material culture.

Slaves (men, women and children) were often used regionally as farm & household labor. Arabised Sudanese didn't do labor, but used slaves. Many even used for slave armies and not exported. Of course, many were walked to Cairo for military service there. Annually several young boy slaves were castrated and shipped to Cairo as eunuchs. Remember the Mamluks were themselves slaves from the Balkans and later the Russian steppes.

The Ottomans from 1821 onward made government sponsored raids mainly to replenish their military. The catchment area for Darfur and eastward were the Nuba areas in S. Kordofan. They were preferred as soldiers. (Nuba were the Mahdi's riflemen.) Many tribes from the upper Nile were not considered as good laborers or soldiers. Those not used regionally went to Cairo.

The Funj raided heavily in the Ethiopian borderlands and preferred their women. Many were shipped to Egypt as well as to Arabia via Red Sea ports.

Walking slaves to either coast was logistically complex and lots of losses resulted. Ivory was carried on camels and was a more efficient export commodity.

Regards,
Ed