The Musandam Axe. The Jerrs Axe.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 7th September 2019, 05:14 PM

This has to be the best Mussandam Axe I have seen to date and seems to be a laminated blade ..From the private collection of Hussain Ahli Probably the finest stick maker in the region.

Jim McDougall · 7th September 2019, 07:22 PM

Ibrahiim thank you for posting these! While not particularly familiar with most axes and hafted weapons, these very much remind me of a type of axe used by the Kalash tribes of Chitral regions in N. India. These tribes were previously known as Kafirs and of what is now Nuristan.
What I recall is they had a small head and very long haft like this.

The cross influences are most interesting, and it seems there are similar kinds of long hafted axe in Eastern Europe as well.

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 8th September 2019, 03:08 PM

Salaams Jim, At #5 the story unfolds; Was it brought to the shores of Musandam by sailors from other lands or was it picked up by the people of Musandam in the course of voyages down the Arabian Gulf and out into the Indian Ocean? Or was it developed by an artistic smith keen to showcase his skills as a good metal worker and an artist? The antecedents of the jerz are covered in mist. There are no records to indicate how it came to be an integral tool in this society. The quest to find where this tiny hardware surfaced from and who influenced the design and the fine decoration on the blade and the handle draws a blank.

Later in that article the focus seems to be toward a 2nd Milenium BC origin and I may have noted that the curator of al ain Museum conducted a study on the weapon. It is perhaps related to other axes across the Gulf in Luristan for example and onward to India and Northwards to Europe though it is here in Arabia that this weapon is now embedded as almost an Icon of The Mussandam. Regards Ibrahim al Balooshi.

Edster · 8th September 2019, 09:22 PM

I collected this utility axe in Eastern Sudan, likely at El Fao, in 1985. The type is used by herders to hinge acacia tree limbs so their camels can feed on the leaves. It looks remarkably like the subject axes, but in a much cruder fit for purpose finish. As you wonder, where is the origin of the design/type?

Ibrahiim al Balooshi · 9th September 2019, 03:10 PM

Thank You Edster for the excellent examples clearly related in form.

Peter Hudson · 26th December 2022, 07:01 PM

An interesting Oman Observer article notes QUOTE "The men carry a walking stick, called a Yurth (Jerz), rather than a khanjar, the distinguishing feature of which is the handle, which is a small axehead, about two inches long, and traditionally was used as a weapon. After a celebration such as a wedding, they frequently perform a nidhiba. This consists of a group forming a semicircle while the leader blows into a goat skull to produce a sound like a conch shell, while the rest of the group chant praises".UNQUOTE

http://williamtherebel.blogspot.com/...of-shihuh.html States QOUTE "The Shihuh, however, carry a jerz, the long-handled axe that is unique to Mussandam. The head is small (2-3 inches) and can either be very simple or might be decorated with intricate inlay. Prototypes date back thousands of years but predictably, many of those available today are imported from India".UNQUOTE.

When I was in the Oman Army I met Major Mikey Wilson who sadly died recently but who was a great friend and he wrote extensively on the Mussandam Axe though I have yet to find a copy of his work . I do recal someone saying that Mikey never thought the item was used for fighting although others including a great Shihuh friend and expert stick maker did mention it had been used in the past and he had a fighting axehead much larger than the usual type seen today but I never got to see an example ...

I spent some time in the Desert Regiment and noted a few examples were carried by local men and assumed they were a sort of camel stick variant but they were of simple design with no carving on the hasp and of a lighter wood. The distance between the Wahiba Desert and Mussandam was long and arduous but I assumed that these items had come from there by camel train or herding episodes and had become accepted in the desert as accoutrement tools of the trade.

As a camel owner I knew that camels were trained to the stick therefor adopting a good camel stick would have been a likely development...As an antiques dealer in Oman I had up to 30 of these Jers and found them to be so interesting that I wrote this Thread !

When I was in Buraimi I was acquainted with the Al Ain Museum where the curator Dr Waleed had done a thesis on axe heads but I was never able to get in to view the collection....but eventually met a brilliant camel stick maker from Mussandam thus I learned much about this peculiar so called Mussandam Axe.

Peter Hudson

7th September 2019, 05:14 PM	#1
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	This has to be the best Mussandam Axe I have seen to date and seems to be a laminated blade ..From the private collection of Hussain Ahli Probably the finest stick maker in the region. Attached Images

8th September 2019, 09:22 PM	#4
Edster Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 411	I collected this utility axe in Eastern Sudan, likely at El Fao, in 1985. The type is used by herders to hinge acacia tree limbs so their camels can feed on the leaves. It looks remarkably like the subject axes, but in a much cruder fit for purpose finish. As you wonder, where is the origin of the design/type? Attached Images

26th December 2022, 07:01 PM	#6
Peter Hudson Member Join Date: Jul 2020 Posts: 315	The Mussandam Axe. An interesting Oman Observer article notes QUOTE "The men carry a walking stick, called a Yurth (Jerz), rather than a khanjar, the distinguishing feature of which is the handle, which is a small axehead, about two inches long, and traditionally was used as a weapon. After a celebration such as a wedding, they frequently perform a nidhiba. This consists of a group forming a semicircle while the leader blows into a goat skull to produce a sound like a conch shell, while the rest of the group chant praises".UNQUOTE http://williamtherebel.blogspot.com/...of-shihuh.html States QOUTE "The Shihuh, however, carry a jerz, the long-handled axe that is unique to Mussandam. The head is small (2-3 inches) and can either be very simple or might be decorated with intricate inlay. Prototypes date back thousands of years but predictably, many of those available today are imported from India".UNQUOTE. When I was in the Oman Army I met Major Mikey Wilson who sadly died recently but who was a great friend and he wrote extensively on the Mussandam Axe though I have yet to find a copy of his work . I do recal someone saying that Mikey never thought the item was used for fighting although others including a great Shihuh friend and expert stick maker did mention it had been used in the past and he had a fighting axehead much larger than the usual type seen today but I never got to see an example ... I spent some time in the Desert Regiment and noted a few examples were carried by local men and assumed they were a sort of camel stick variant but they were of simple design with no carving on the hasp and of a lighter wood. The distance between the Wahiba Desert and Mussandam was long and arduous but I assumed that these items had come from there by camel train or herding episodes and had become accepted in the desert as accoutrement tools of the trade. As a camel owner I knew that camels were trained to the stick therefor adopting a good camel stick would have been a likely development...As an antiques dealer in Oman I had up to 30 of these Jers and found them to be so interesting that I wrote this Thread ! When I was in Buraimi I was acquainted with the Al Ain Museum where the curator Dr Waleed had done a thesis on axe heads but I was never able to get in to view the collection....but eventually met a brilliant camel stick maker from Mussandam thus I learned much about this peculiar so called Mussandam Axe. Peter Hudson

7th September 2019, 07:22 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,190	Ibrahiim thank you for posting these! While not particularly familiar with most axes and hafted weapons, these very much remind me of a type of axe used by the Kalash tribes of Chitral regions in N. India. These tribes were previously known as Kafirs and of what is now Nuristan. What I recall is they had a small head and very long haft like this. The cross influences are most interesting, and it seems there are similar kinds of long hafted axe in Eastern Europe as well.

8th September 2019, 03:08 PM	#3
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Salaams Jim, At #5 the story unfolds; Was it brought to the shores of Musandam by sailors from other lands or was it picked up by the people of Musandam in the course of voyages down the Arabian Gulf and out into the Indian Ocean? Or was it developed by an artistic smith keen to showcase his skills as a good metal worker and an artist? The antecedents of the jerz are covered in mist. There are no records to indicate how it came to be an integral tool in this society. The quest to find where this tiny hardware surfaced from and who influenced the design and the fine decoration on the blade and the handle draws a blank. Later in that article the focus seems to be toward a 2nd Milenium BC origin and I may have noted that the curator of al ain Museum conducted a study on the weapon. It is perhaps related to other axes across the Gulf in Luristan for example and onward to India and Northwards to Europe though it is here in Arabia that this weapon is now embedded as almost an Icon of The Mussandam. Regards Ibrahim al Balooshi.

9th September 2019, 03:10 PM	#5
Ibrahiim al Balooshi Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Buraimi Oman, on the border with the UAE Posts: 4,408	Thank You Edster for the excellent examples clearly related in form.