The Omani Khanjar

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

High Density Plastic hilts called "Ameriky" here~ Not a bad looking couple of Khanjars and nicely decorated in the Royal Khanjar form (in Salalah style) on the left and a broad meaty hilted T shaped 4 ringer on the right.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

On the waist ...

[Ian]

Ibrahiim:

This is a huge and highly illustrated thread and you have contributed much of it. Thank you for such a rich source of archival material on this interesting subject. May I ask, which of these are ones that you own? I see a lot of high quality examples, and I was wondering if you have collected them over many years. Are they your passion?

Regards,

Ian.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Ian

Ibrahiim:

This is a huge and highly illustrated thread and you have contributed much of it. Thank you for such a rich source of archival material on this interesting subject. May I ask, which of these are ones that you own? I see a lot of high quality examples, and I was wondering if you have collected them over many years. Are they your passion?

Regards,

Ian.

Salaams Ian, I have set up a network of like minded people in the following centres of Omani Khanjar making ~ Muttrah, Muscat, Sur, Nizwa, Bahlah, Ibri, Sohar, Senaw, Salalah. They feed in details to my own library all the time. Some I take on to my collection others remain as heirlooms or I repair and recycle some.My own workshops in Sohar is key to UAE and Dhakiliyyah Khanjar production and also Baatinah styles. Stuff is on the move all the time either repaired or re-belted or in some cases they are not redeemable and go into the scrap bin... Actually eaten by termites is the worst damage I have seen.

In fact the Omani Sword is my number one passion in Omani Arms and a treatise will be available on that subject fairly soon; meanwhile Forum has I believe the finest store ...Library... on The Omani Khanjar anywhere.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Many people ask me what to look out for when viewing Omani Khanjars.. Rather than list the obvious perhaps if we examine a pretty bad example and see what is the outcome.. Here is one of the worst examples of abuse and misuse I have seen ...

It is battered and broken as well as riddled with termite .The silver is bad quality and the hilt is simple poor quality wood. The blade is finished ... There is nothing except maybe the scrap silver to recover ... The Qiba'a is totally rotten ...Just after I stop writing you should imagine the clunk! as this one hits the garbage drum... !!

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

The silver pin use on Hilts. Clearly the preference is silver pins since that gives great beauty to the hilt and added weight. It is used on all hilts but the tendency is for anything other than compound plastic or Rhino to split. Rhino is hugely expensive and the work to pin these is not cheap ...In my view this effect is deliberate in an attempt to mirror the bunched or spaghetti ends of Rhino and confirms my view that this weapon is much closely linked to that animal than previously considered. Added to this it is noted that the blade is shaped like a Rhino Horn and in studying the scabbard it too has a deliberate accent to the horn ...exaggerated in fact.
Here we see the superb pinning effect on a Hilt. With it I place the hilt from #221 above to observe the pattern in the Rhino horn material which the pins seem to be reflecting.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

On Elephant Ivory which is banned for export and in keeping with current restrictions not allowed except if old reused items..e.g.recycled hilts.. The pattern is common on Ivory Hilts and in fact difficult at first to imagine these are different daggers... but they are !!

On examination the decoration in the hilts follow split palmettes or heart shapes and repeat use of the mulberry fruit cluster in 3 or 6 configuration (not cannon balls!) The top of the hilt may also be said to have a bull horn pattern.

Here are Ivory Hilts.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

The region of the Omani Dhakiliyyah (The Interior) is next to the UAE thus the Khanjar style is very similar. I have a few weapons from the UAE here. Note the high degree of leather showing below the belt section and often the use of a quite distinctive woven cloth belt also marks the Khanjar as of The UAE. The most obvious marker on UAE khanjars is the Chevron inner two belt rings however, not all have these...There is one below with a beautiful UAE belt and another exists at #224. Occasionally the Emblem of the UAE ~ A Falcon ..may be included in the design from its origin in 1973 as in the rusted blade scabbard below.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

In Oman the souks are aimed directly at visitors looking to spend a small modest sum for example on a souvenir Khanjar thus the majority of weapons are less expensive cow horn or plastic compound hilts. If you are in the market for an expensive Khanjar the shop owner will have a few specials ..let him know... but expect a price to reflect the much higher quality.. Here is a typical spread of souk Khanjars~

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

This deceptive hilt looks like old cow horn but its Rhino..Many hilts are recovered from old khanjars and the shape with a narrow pommel like this is often the give away as from a Royal Hilt..Shining a powerful pen torch into the fibres is the best test..Rhino illuminates to show itself but cow horn is usually dull.

[DavidE]

Thank you Ibrahiim for the terrific posts!

I have a small sword and dagger collection, but know very little about the Khanjar and other Omani weapons. However, I am in Oman now and just purchased a Khanjar from one of the shops in the Nizwa souq. I looked around a good bit and found an older one that I felt was higher quality than most I had seen, of course with a higher price to match! The old man I bought it from spoke hardly any English, and since I don't speak Arabic I wasn't able to get much information from him about this Khanjar. Whatever you might be able to let me know about it would be much appreciated! I have attached a few images. Thank you!

David

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

See http://khanjar.om/Parts.html
See 87, 119 and 240 on this thread for comparisons relevant to post below.

This is an interesting Khanjar with a likely replaced hilt which may be old Rhino … I cant make out the material so it could be horn or wood. Get a powerful light and shine it into the hilt at close range and see if it lights up...This thread has examples on it of what I mean.

I see evidence on the hilt of more pins which have gone. Its old...but the silver work is very nice. This is Nizwa Khanjar and carries distinctive patterns from there and the little shield covers over the rings are typical for Nizwa. The pattern on the scabbard is split palmette stitched in silver on leather.

The blade is interesting and with 4 dots it is rare. I see 3 dots occasionally but the 4 dot is nice to see and is likely talismanic as it presents the lucky 3 dot configuration up and down the blade simultaneously.. It is doubly powerful as it is on both sides of the blade. The material in the dots is likely to be brass often used to substitute for gold which would be considered; over the top …

[Tatyana Dianova]

Hello Ibrahiim,
Thank you for the great thread which I read again and again when getting a new piece!
Last time although I have got an old Khanjar which is different to all the examples you have shown. Do you have any idea which region does it come from?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

This is a remarkable Omani Khanjar of quite some age which if it is what I think it is may be one of the oldest I have seen to date perhaps from the al Busayyidi dynasty of Saiid bin Sultan who ruled 1804 to 1856 and who died on board a warship off Zanzibar .. a country he absorbed as part of Oman ..in fact he made it the capital through Stonetown Zanzibar and vastly important as a herb growing, slavery and centre and hub of the trade in Ivory and Rhino and other commodities...

One of his wives designed a Khanjar known as The Busaidi Dagger but before that there was a dagger quite similar ...I think this style with its seven rings and straight T shaped hilt (this one is broken unequally on both ears so it looked different in its younger days.) Post 1 looks at these Royal Busaidi weapons . The Richardson and Dorr has a similar weapon to this which I will dig out later.

Thus actually the Muscat Dagger had a T shaped hilt normal across much of Oman and carried 7 rings which Sheherezad copied onto the Royal item and with a very Indian design lavish and highly decorated hilt. It was the Hilt which she brought to the design for the Royal Khanjar the 7 rings were already here...on the Muscat item... Interestingly this weapon carries 5 inner rings of silver and two outer rings of what looks like copper or brass... I have no idea why but there is on this weapon a really important play with the geometric figure 5...which I will cover here..

5 is very lucky as a Talismanic figure in many cultures... In Oman it is related to the hand of Fatimah (the five fingers of) and here unlike in say Morrocco where an actual hand is fashioned in their jewellery it is represented by a geometric form like a figure 5 in dominos . This is often the décor on lucky charm boxes (Hirz) worn as a neck pendant.
See your last picture ...above the rings the section with figure 5s starting with a big silver dot in the centre there are many exploding figure 5 geometries working outwards ...They are hand of Fatimah 5s. Along the base of the shabak or triangular net construction are 5 silver additions . I note also that the Rings are also 5 in number on the inner belt...and other 5 geometries in the lower section .

The blade is very old going by the wear and like other parts of any khanjar could be from an even earlier weapon...To the back of the hilt is a strengthener of a style I have never seen; probably fashioned to save the hilt from disintegrating... It may have cracked I cannot tell...but a fixing like this probably means the hilt was an heirloom and the owner wanted it kept together as such. The material looks like Rhino.

See 165 for similar outer rings on a Royal Khanjar but one extra point Your Khanjar has very peculiar fixings reflected in the Quba at the end of these 7 dot flowers . The fixings between the rings follow this pattern. Please see 168 for similar fixings between the rings. 168 is the dagger from the Richardson and Dorr I was talking about earlier... This to my eye pinpoints the weapon much more clearly as described.

There is discussion here as to whether it is from the Sharqiyyah or has Yemeni style in its silver work and so on but to me it follows the structure and description of The Muscat Khanjar.

[Tatyana Dianova]

Hello Ibrahiim,
Thank you for the great and interesting analysis! I hope this example will help your research!

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Showing the weapon around to associates I often get the call that this is a Busaidi Khanjar if you cover the hilt with one hand they will say 'Saiidi Khanjar then show the hilt they say saifaani! Some like their Royal Daggers like this !! at which point it becomes almost a personal preference . Saifaani being a Rhino horn type. Very much favoured in the past. Khanjar descriptions often mingle between styles and there are many variations add ons and subtractions...So technically this is a Saifaani 'Saiidi .
Thanks for your kind words.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Reference;
A. Omanisilver.com/contents/en-us/d365_Omani_khanjar.html


Some detail on the subject of Khanjar blades which tend to get sidelined and I have to admit not a great deal is available. This group all have some sort of wootz decoration whereas the majority are steel non wootz.

The reference above mentions earlier blades as being from Europe or Iran in its Von Oppenheimer book but that the British Museum suggests blades made in Sanaa were used in the collection of Ingrams Khanjars. (Harold Ingrams was a famous historian and chief secretary at Zanzibar in the early 20thC) I think all regions in the hub may have been responsible as well as some Omani production.

[Richard G]

I am always surprised at how little tang there is on these blades.
Regards
Richard

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

It baffles me as well! Perhaps the vibrations through a longer tang would wreck the hilt? The only thing holding the blade in the hilt is the short tang and some glue and to stop the blade twisting a small bit of the broad blade slots in. Blades dropping out is quite common.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

I should log in the usual load of normal lower quality blades available at most workshops and although some do now carry a few wootz examples these are the blade types normally seen. On being asked the shop people usually either don't know where they are obtained or say India; Rajastan

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

THE BEST ALTERNATIVE HILT TO RHINO


I've looked at cowhorn and sandalwood and ceramic and plastic alternatives but have not seen a good horn equivalent until today where an Indian hilt has stolen second place to Rhino in the business of top class hilts for Khanjars.
Its name is Qarn Zaraf al Hindi and it looks bovine or could be a large deer horn. It is dark and after a few years has slight translucent properties but is excellent for Omani khanjar hilts as it accepts silver pins easily and in quantity without splitting. While a little costly it is far less than Rhino and could help save it from further extinction. I will present the examples in my next post.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Hilt: Khanjar Zaraf al Hindi ~

Again I rely largely on the pictorial with whatever detail I can muster with this most interesting development in good quality hilts. the Zaraf al Afrique which we know better as the rhino is very translucent and hugely expensive and of course very rare and almost extinct. (The Rhino has another name ~ wahid al garn which can be, the one with the horn or the one horn)

Now to the pictures~ on which it can be seen the colour range for this horn is from almost black through a nut brown to an almost olive light green... its ability to accept silver nails almost the same as the Rhino hilt makes it the best alternative yet seen and could help save the Rhino from extinction.

I believe that aspects in design of the Omani Khanjar are directly linked to the Rhino traditionally and down many centuries from the shape of the blade to the pins reflecting the Rhino horn fabric and the turned up decorated scabbard and the fact that this weapon is worn front and centre on the belt. In support there is also the Rhino hilt shield also carried with the Khanjar and or sword. My post earlier at #246 looks at the same design.

[Richard G]

That's a bloody giraffe's head - isn't it?

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

It is indeed. There in lies the puzzle on zraf al hindi or zaraf al Hindi. Its not some weird Indian antelope or deer>>>though they are related ~millions of years ago ..

I researched this oddity years ago and came to a dead halt as the reason seemed to point that giraffe were used for their horn although the smoke screen thickened to giraffe hoof horn !! aha!!! but that was all bull (scuse pun) as it turns out the whats in a word has had the last laugh... but not any more!!

Zraf al Hindi is African Giraffe!!

The head and horns shown above are from male African giraffe which goes by the Arabic name zraf al hindi. moreover the horns are as below~

see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossicone

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Thus ;
1. That the African Rhino (ar. Zraf al Afrique) is closely mirrored in the weapon the Omani Khanjar in a number of parts; the hilt, the silver pins, the scabbard, the blade and the use of the Terrs shield as below~

The hilt being the Rhino horn preferred traditionally and hunted by Omani traders for hundreds of years and through the vast Zanzibar hub. This is the preferred hilt for all Royal Khanjars (al bussaidi) even though most or all of the hilt is adorned in silver. and always was the first choice in any Omani Khanjar of quality. The beauty in the material is in its ease of accepting masses of silver pins and in the translucent nature of the material which nothing as yet is able to imitate. The main factor however in my view is that this is from the great powerful rhino itself.. The weapons hilt derived from the rhino main armament!

The Blade. shaped like the rhino main horn, slightly less turned than the Yemeni equivalent but a strong defensive weapon worn not at the side but front and centre as is the Rhino Horn.

Scabbard. the Scabbard appears even more so as a copy of the Rhino Horn curving in the same shape but way more than the blade though not monumental as in the Yemeni variant.

The Pins the pins appear to reflect the tubed or spaghetti ends of the rhino horn and light is reflected through and from them in the same way. The silver pins are not apparent in other Omani weapons... Only on the khanjar and mainly in the hilt. Silver pins are used en masse on Rhino Hilts which unlike other materials like cow horn or wood does not have a tendency to split on their use...

The Terrs Shield. This goes together with a number of weapons in the Omani arsenal including the Omani battle sword and the Omani Sayf however, it appears in the funoon (The traditions) in its own right as alongside the Omani khanjar in dance such as the baraa
The terrs can appear in a couple of materials even in wood and one I saw in woven straw ...another said to be from a barking sea dog;...the Walrus. But it is most famously known as being from Rhino Hide.
This product was hunted and traded in the same network via Zanzibar and from African Rhino. In those days it made sense to fight behind a shield which had been taken from such a powerful animal as the Rhino and is entirely in line with the application of this apparent mirroring in Omani Khanjar design with the African Rhino.

Thus with 5 reasons above I believe there is every reason to believe the Rhino and the Omani Khanjar are inextricably linked .. a Rhino Dagger by everything but name!

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

in addition to the proof above I wish to add a couple of other indicators under the headings for 1 below The Rhino Hide and for 2 below The Terrs Shield thus giving 6 factors linking the Omani Khanjar and Rhino~

1. Regarding the expanse of usually black leather below the belt on Dhakiliyyah(interior) Omani Khanjars a device not usually seen on Yemeni Jambia which I suggest is a reflection of Rhino hide. Actually all Omani Khanjars (and Emirati) have leather below the belt on the scabbard although on non Dhakiliyyah (and Emirati) weapons the leather covering the scabbard is almost always totally covered in silver stitched decoration. I believe the use of leather in construction is a recognition pointing to the great beast for its strength and power.

2. Staying with the general theme of leather but this time observing the strange pointed hat shaped silver covers usually seen on the two outer belt rings on the Scabbard. See the diagram at thread The Omani Khanjar of the parts/Omani names and see the name given to these tiny shapes...Terrs!! ...in recognition of the Rhino again ...of its thick skin shield The Terrs ..worn with the dagger and Omani Swords.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

From library some back up evidence for the above proof>

[ALEX]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

This deceptive hilt looks like old cow horn but its Rhino..Many hilts are recovered from old khanjars and the shape with a narrow pommel like this is often the give away as from a Royal Hilt..Shining a powerful pen torch into the fibres is the best test..Rhino illuminates to show itself but cow horn is usually dull.

Hello Ibrahiim,
I posted a new thread HERE .
Your post referenced my questions so well, unfortunately I saw it after posting mine.
The hilt on my new Jambiya looks older to the rest. Could it be one of those "recovered" hilts. Does it look like one? The weak flashlight I used did not illuminate the hilt and showed almost no translucency, so I think it is a regular horn. What do you think of it based on the look and the fibrous structure?
Thanks again

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

JUST TO ADD A FEW MORE KHANJARS AS EXAMPLES ~ and an interesting observation in that the main tool set in all decorating techniques on the Omani Khanjar has always been a little hammer and a nail..I note that old masters in the art of copper and brass plate decorating in Palestine used the same technique.