A koummya- and contexts

Marc M. · 1st April 2025, 10:36 AM

These are the only koumiyas I have, perhaps too few to confirm my thesis, on all three the shape of the handle is such that an integrated 'hand stop' is formed. On the middle one this is very minimal. However in all three the blade against the handle is not sharp and this maximum thickness of the blade is 2.4 and 5 cm long at the inner curve. At the outer curvature, this unsharpness is much longer. That the thickness of the blade is so present on most koumiyas I have seen is in all likelihood spike for a reason. If the hand does slide off the blade under impact those blunt edges are there to keep the hand from doing damage, admittedly limited but still.
Regards
Marc

Jim McDougall · 1st April 2025, 02:48 PM

RobT, thank you .....STATUS & UTILITY absolutely of shared importance. As collectors, typically we are attracted not only to certain various fields of collecting, but to different aspects of the arms and cultures.

"...show the connoisseur the arms of a people, and he will tell you about its culture".
-Joseph Lepkowski (1857)
*from frontispiece of "Polish Side Arms", Nadolski

Rick- absolutely good catch..............the 'genouii' is important as, if I understand correctly, simply the local term for basically a koummya with straight blade rather than curved.

There are a number of Moroccan edged weapons which might be observed as well, such as the s'boula, which is typically straight blade (often bayonets) and often with 'H' type hilt.

Perrtinax, as Ian has well said, your notable knowledge on the flyssa and these subject weapons is remarkable, and sharing it here with us totally expands our collective knowledge base.......exactly why we're here.

Marc, nice examples! The center one with bone handle seems very much liked my example in original post.

Great discussion guys, thank you all so much. While other weapon forms are brought in as analogies, the perspective added to understanding of the weapon in discussion, the koummya, is outstanding.

1st April 2025, 10:36 AM	#1
Marc M. Member Join Date: Aug 2019 Location: Belgium Posts: 293	These are the only koumiyas I have, perhaps too few to confirm my thesis, on all three the shape of the handle is such that an integrated 'hand stop' is formed. On the middle one this is very minimal. However in all three the blade against the handle is not sharp and this maximum thickness of the blade is 2.4 and 5 cm long at the inner curve. At the outer curvature, this unsharpness is much longer. That the thickness of the blade is so present on most koumiyas I have seen is in all likelihood spike for a reason. If the hand does slide off the blade under impact those blunt edges are there to keep the hand from doing damage, admittedly limited but still. Regards Marc Attached Images

1st April 2025, 02:48 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,442	RobT, thank you .....STATUS & UTILITY absolutely of shared importance. As collectors, typically we are attracted not only to certain various fields of collecting, but to different aspects of the arms and cultures. "...show the connoisseur the arms of a people, and he will tell you about its culture". -Joseph Lepkowski (1857) *from frontispiece of "Polish Side Arms", Nadolski Rick- absolutely good catch..............the 'genouii' is important as, if I understand correctly, simply the local term for basically a koummya with straight blade rather than curved. There are a number of Moroccan edged weapons which might be observed as well, such as the s'boula, which is typically straight blade (often bayonets) and often with 'H' type hilt. Perrtinax, as Ian has well said, your notable knowledge on the flyssa and these subject weapons is remarkable, and sharing it here with us totally expands our collective knowledge base.......exactly why we're here. Marc, nice examples! The center one with bone handle seems very much liked my example in original post. Great discussion guys, thank you all so much. While other weapon forms are brought in as analogies, the perspective added to understanding of the weapon in discussion, the koummya, is outstanding.