Jambiya or Khanjar?

Philip · 20th December 2006, 07:07 AM

The Turks call these d.e. curved daggers "hancer". It's a phonetic rendition of the Arabic "khanjar" (= dagger), if you keep in mind that the Turkish "h" is a bit more gutteral than in English, and the "c" is pronounced like "j", the similarity is clear. In Morocco, this dagger configuration is called a "koumiya", but it's interesting to note that in the region, the weapon is slung from a shoulder-baldric of heavy cords, rather than inserted through a sash or directly attached to a belt as is done elsewhere.

ward · 20th December 2006, 12:52 PM

Actually in present day Morocco it is called a khanjar. At least by every Berber or Taurag that I have met over there.

Philip · 21st December 2006, 01:30 AM

I'm not surprised that it is called a khanjar in the modern vernacular, after all it's a standard Arabic term. The term "koummiya" (sorry, I left out an "m" in my last post) is typically encountered in arms literature of the last century, Charles Buttin used it in his catalogs, an anternate spelling "koummya" is used by Alain Jacob in his LES ARMES BLANCHES DU MONDE ISLAMIQUE, and it is found in numerous books by 19th cent. travellers and explorers in the Maghreb.

20th December 2006, 07:07 AM	#1
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	The Turks call these d.e. curved daggers "hancer". It's a phonetic rendition of the Arabic "khanjar" (= dagger), if you keep in mind that the Turkish "h" is a bit more gutteral than in English, and the "c" is pronounced like "j", the similarity is clear. In Morocco, this dagger configuration is called a "koumiya", but it's interesting to note that in the region, the weapon is slung from a shoulder-baldric of heavy cords, rather than inserted through a sash or directly attached to a belt as is done elsewhere.

20th December 2006, 12:52 PM	#2
ward Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 637	Actually in present day Morocco it is called a khanjar. At least by every Berber or Taurag that I have met over there.

21st December 2006, 01:30 AM	#3
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	I'm not surprised that it is called a khanjar in the modern vernacular, after all it's a standard Arabic term. The term "koummiya" (sorry, I left out an "m" in my last post) is typically encountered in arms literature of the last century, Charles Buttin used it in his catalogs, an anternate spelling "koummya" is used by Alain Jacob in his LES ARMES BLANCHES DU MONDE ISLAMIQUE, and it is found in numerous books by 19th cent. travellers and explorers in the Maghreb.