Shula for comment

TVV · 23rd June 2007, 08:31 PM

I was able to get this shula from eBay - nobody else wanted it and bid on it, which was nice. I believe the pommel and guard were later additions to the hilt, but with them it does have some resemblence to the mysterious s'boula. In a commercial site which sells weapons, including some ethnographic ones, I found a picture of a man with what looks like a Moroccan musket and a s'boula. While I am not sure if this conclusively confirm that this sword is from Morocco as opposed to Zanzibar, it certainly points in the direction of the Maghreb.
Another interesting feature is the scabbard mouth, which is made from a fitted bayonet scabbard. The lower part of the scabbard core is wood.
All comments are greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Teodor

Jim McDougall · 23rd June 2007, 09:33 PM

Hi TVV,
Thank you for posting this! It seems you are aware of the discussions a number of years ago that were concurrent with research I did on these. Much as with the Kurdish/Armenian vs. North African controversy regarding the so called Black Sea yataghans (which turned up being Laz Bichagi with some very nice research work by Ariel), the controversy of these being termed 'Zanzibar' swords vs. my contention they were from Morocco stirred considerable debate.

Your example appears a 20th c. example of the dagger termed s'boula according to references in the work of Charles Buttin. Apparantly the 19th c. examples of these had straight needle point blades with the distinct I shaped hilt and Sir Richard Burton illustrated these in his 1884 "Book of the Sword", captioned as 'Zanzibar swords'. Apparantly this identification was taken directly (even the illustration) from an earlier work by French arms writer Auguste Demmin. The compounded misidentification was noted by Charles Buttin, the famed French scholar and author on antique arms in his catalog (publ. 1933) where he notes that Burton had used the Demmin reference for Zanzibar. Buttin identifies these distinctly hilted weapons as s'boula from Morocco, an attribution he was well qualified to cite as he had lived in regions in Morocco for considerable periods over 40 years.

This was the thesis for a talk I presented several years ago in Baltimore, and where the alternate suggestion occurred that these were in fact Ethiopian!
It is true that these do appear in groupings (though rarely) of Ethiopian weapons, and I believe Anthony Tirri had one with Amharic markings. It is my opinion that the examples found in Ethiopia were anamolous and probably appeared there via trade routes that passed through from Saharan regions, and of course likely connected to those from Zanzibar and inland.

The discussions on these were excellent on the amazing diffusion of ethnographic weapons, as well as certain misattributions perpetuated on certain weapons from earlier works. As I once heard, "...the thing about history is that it's always changing!". Pretty much the same on weapons study as research continues

All the best,
Jim

TVV · 23rd June 2007, 11:32 PM

Thank you Jim,

As always your comments are very informative and intriguing. I have started to develop an interest in weapons from the Maghreb, as for the most part they seem to be poorly studied. Information on them is scarce and hard to come buy, and I wonder if there is a way for me to obtain a copy of your paper on the s'boula.

Regards,
Teodor

Jim McDougall · 24th June 2007, 12:23 AM

Hi Teodor,
Thank you very much for the kind words. I try to provide as much information as I can in hopes of promoting further research on the weapons we discuss, and it is always rewarding when others pursue thier interests in depth and share information. There is an incredible knowledge core on this forum, and while many specialize on various weapon forms, as you note, there is indeed little on the weapons of the Maghreb.

I will try to see if I can locate the extract of the paper, but do not have access to my notes at present. It is possible an extract is held in the material from our annual events. There is an excellent article written by Charles Buttin on the s'boula I believe in a publication titled 'Hesperis' from the 1930's and hopefully someone can cite that reference here

In any case, I'm glad you recognize the value of even weapons not particularly sought after by others. Many of these still hold thier own degree of history, and represent important traditional character of the people who often still use them in present times.

I am hoping that others might post similar examples of the s'boula here, and the search may reveal more information that may be helpful from previous discussions over the years.

All the best,
Jim

23rd June 2007, 08:31 PM	#1
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,616	Shula for comment I was able to get this shula from eBay - nobody else wanted it and bid on it, which was nice. I believe the pommel and guard were later additions to the hilt, but with them it does have some resemblence to the mysterious s'boula. In a commercial site which sells weapons, including some ethnographic ones, I found a picture of a man with what looks like a Moroccan musket and a s'boula. While I am not sure if this conclusively confirm that this sword is from Morocco as opposed to Zanzibar, it certainly points in the direction of the Maghreb. Another interesting feature is the scabbard mouth, which is made from a fitted bayonet scabbard. The lower part of the scabbard core is wood. All comments are greatly appreciated. Thanks, Teodor Attached Images

23rd June 2007, 09:33 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,896	Hi TVV, Thank you for posting this! It seems you are aware of the discussions a number of years ago that were concurrent with research I did on these. Much as with the Kurdish/Armenian vs. North African controversy regarding the so called Black Sea yataghans (which turned up being Laz Bichagi with some very nice research work by Ariel), the controversy of these being termed 'Zanzibar' swords vs. my contention they were from Morocco stirred considerable debate. Your example appears a 20th c. example of the dagger termed s'boula according to references in the work of Charles Buttin. Apparantly the 19th c. examples of these had straight needle point blades with the distinct I shaped hilt and Sir Richard Burton illustrated these in his 1884 "Book of the Sword", captioned as 'Zanzibar swords'. Apparantly this identification was taken directly (even the illustration) from an earlier work by French arms writer Auguste Demmin. The compounded misidentification was noted by Charles Buttin, the famed French scholar and author on antique arms in his catalog (publ. 1933) where he notes that Burton had used the Demmin reference for Zanzibar. Buttin identifies these distinctly hilted weapons as s'boula from Morocco, an attribution he was well qualified to cite as he had lived in regions in Morocco for considerable periods over 40 years. This was the thesis for a talk I presented several years ago in Baltimore, and where the alternate suggestion occurred that these were in fact Ethiopian! It is true that these do appear in groupings (though rarely) of Ethiopian weapons, and I believe Anthony Tirri had one with Amharic markings. It is my opinion that the examples found in Ethiopia were anamolous and probably appeared there via trade routes that passed through from Saharan regions, and of course likely connected to those from Zanzibar and inland. The discussions on these were excellent on the amazing diffusion of ethnographic weapons, as well as certain misattributions perpetuated on certain weapons from earlier works. As I once heard, "...the thing about history is that it's always changing!". Pretty much the same on weapons study as research continues All the best, Jim

23rd June 2007, 11:32 PM	#3
TVV Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 1,616	Thank you Jim, As always your comments are very informative and intriguing. I have started to develop an interest in weapons from the Maghreb, as for the most part they seem to be poorly studied. Information on them is scarce and hard to come buy, and I wonder if there is a way for me to obtain a copy of your paper on the s'boula. Regards, Teodor

24th June 2007, 12:23 AM	#4
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,896	Hi Teodor, Thank you very much for the kind words. I try to provide as much information as I can in hopes of promoting further research on the weapons we discuss, and it is always rewarding when others pursue thier interests in depth and share information. There is an incredible knowledge core on this forum, and while many specialize on various weapon forms, as you note, there is indeed little on the weapons of the Maghreb. I will try to see if I can locate the extract of the paper, but do not have access to my notes at present. It is possible an extract is held in the material from our annual events. There is an excellent article written by Charles Buttin on the s'boula I believe in a publication titled 'Hesperis' from the 1930's and hopefully someone can cite that reference here In any case, I'm glad you recognize the value of even weapons not particularly sought after by others. Many of these still hold thier own degree of history, and represent important traditional character of the people who often still use them in present times. I am hoping that others might post similar examples of the s'boula here, and the search may reveal more information that may be helpful from previous discussions over the years. All the best, Jim