9th May 2008, 05:38 AM | #1 |
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Is there a common link?
Several Arab swords clearly have a common ancestor, based on their common feature: multi-pronged, down-turned quillons: Moorish Jineta, old variant of Omani Kattara, Moroccan Nimcha and its Zanzibari cousin.
Here is something from Congo: remarkably similar. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=005 Are we talking a coincidence here or is there a link? |
9th May 2008, 02:14 PM | #2 |
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This form of African status sword is based on 16th century Portuguese swords and stems from Portuguese influence in the region in the 16th and 17th century. I have read somewhere that the Moroccan nimcha guard was based on early Italian swords of the 14th/15th century.
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