Hmmm. Interesting swords...must be recent Sana'a rehilts :rolleyes:
Hardly likely that such a well known dealer would try to pass off "fakes" as real swords.......

Here is one that appears to be newly made, it was supposedly very recently purchased at the Janadriyah Festival outside of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I have to think that this type of hilt is an older form that has been for some reason frequently copied as Ibrahiim points out. The question is how do you determine older ones from newer ones.

I guess you just gave an answer: it "appears" to be. In this case the rivets are shiny, the handle material is in an unusually good shape, the notch is still having traces of rough work not polished by years of contact with human hand.... Most bazaar forgers are not doctors Moriarty, the Napoleons of crime, and they leave myriad of small incongruities that tell experienced collectors that something is not entirely kosher, and that's usually enough for the old antennae to start twitching:-)

And when they do, just walk away.

Salaams estcrh, These are excellent photographs and the descriptions blanket cover what has been part of the mystery surrounding these forms. It is well known that the Clauberg blades appear on many of these hilts..but as you see these are vastly different hilts; some roughly formed and others that are uniformally precise...in Rosewood and Horn or roughcast wood... The same with the ironwork...roughly hammered or precisely made with precast iron to the hilts... I think they form the origin of species of the later copies done in backyard workshops in and around Sanaa. There is no argument here...

These are in my view...some of the Zanzibar forms later copied in Sanaa. The Sanaa copies used Ethiopian blades having removed the Rhino hilt Gurade hilts and replaced (though not always) with poor quality iron. It still goes on today. Sanaa provides such stock to Muttrah, Salalah and no doubt Cairo, Istanbul and Sharjah souks. Regional variation in hilts is interesting with silver covering hilts in Saudia style sometimes in the Karabela form and other hilts decorated in pot metal...The chart by Butin shows many of the variations..but does not include Muttrah recent (since 1970)_ rehilts. In fact does not the chart by Butin below suggest a much more organised ..even industrial approach to mass turnout of the precise hilt form for which no one has put the finger upon ...Could it be Afghan production/ Indian contract?

Where I think the real intrigue exists is in discovering where the Moroccan and Zanzibar sword form sprouted out of... How did Spanish/Moroccan sword form get to the Indian Ocean and was it direct or indirect from Europe or the Philippines...or both. Was it by sea...or land? Or both!! What is the connection with Afghanistan and was there any collusion in these from Hadramaut or Hyderabad..and did the Yemeni influence in Hyderabad or India have any bearing on this trade?... How did Oman influence this weapons development and when did the Ivory gold inlaid weapons appear and was it at the time or before Said the Great took over Zanzibar as the capital of Oman in the late 1830s...? Where did the uniform hilt originate since it looks like a workshop or factory precise item rather than hand made ?... Could it have been Navy?...or military in its style?


For more blades at Muttrah see http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=omani+souk


For a good example of the Ethiopian Gurade see http://stsathyre.tumblr.com/post/364...ord-dated-19th

As a general querry there seems to be a bell ringing on sword number 1009 on the Butin Chart ...does this hilt pommel remind us of an African shape but turned ?? That of the Billao of Somalia. Ilustrated below.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Most astutely observed Ibrahiim !!! That hilt with three prongs most certainly does resemble the Somalian 'billao' !!!
I wonder if there is more on the development of the billao, and obviously relationship to these nimchas. It seems these are shown in Elgood (Arabian Arms) as Hadhramauti, but it seems there are Indian counterparts.
More research!!!

I enlarged it but is there a larger and clearer image of this chart, also is there a discription page which matches the numbers on the chart?

Bravo Ibrahiim!


I never had an inkling of a thought that Somali Billao and the South-Aravian Sayf may have common roots.

These are exactly the minutiae that allow us to make important connections!

Good job!

Salaams Ariel ..Thank you !! They may well be related. It is interesting that the form of hilt is also reflected in Saudia style often with a completely metal plated hilt..

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams estcrh, Thanks that's a great improvement !! Actually I haven't seen a descriptive chart but since they are numbered I suppose there is one... Anyone got the chart please??

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams Jim , I agree ...More research... I would like to place a further supposition here that indicates, perhaps, the true meaning behind the word (from the Baluch); Nimcha. It appears to concoct a single word from two . Nim meaning half and Cha being sword/blade. These blades are both long and short thus it may not mean half sword?...

Applied to this form, could it mean single edged sword?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams I saw that the original description by the seller indicated Morocco on this weapon... I can see why they thought this as the blade is similar to other examples from there..and the hilt could be a cut back altered one from that region. I have to say that the eyelash marks are very clear...almost too clear...but that could just be accurate strike marks..as opposed to more recent. Its very difficult especially just from a photo but I would go with that; Moroccan but with severe potential rehacking of the hilt..:)
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

You will find a digitized copy of Buttin's catalogue here http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6524676d
Plates I-XXXII at the end, the description for #1009 is on page 262.

Salaams ...and as a continuation of the Baluch clue... I Quote"

The East African Baloch.

In 1821, the Sultan and Imam of Oman, Seyyid Said bin Sultan Al Busaidi, hired an Iranian fleet to invade the islands and ports of East Africa. The Iranian fleet leased by the Sultan of Oman consisted mostly of Baluchi and Sindhi/Cutchi mercenaries, with a few Arab, Persian, and Pathan officers from India. Almost all of these, after their families had arrived from Iran and India, settled in the coastal towns in or around the forts and the newly built camps (e.g., Saa-teeni north of Zanzibar City and Fort Jesus in Mombasa – the largest fortification in East Africa), with the Baluchi cavalry settling in Zanzibar City at the site of the present Haile Selassie School."Unquote. and recommend the article from which this came at

http://www.chapatimystery.com/archiv...an_baloch.html

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams!! Excellently placed material here by Andreas. There are actually more charts relevant to the overall picture well stocked with similar swords. The charts are at the back of the digitized book.
I am considering at the moment how the name Nimcha evolved and if it is a Baluchi word (possibly Iranian Baluch) how it became diffused if in fact it did spread to North Africa ...or whether this is more to do with worldwide sword nomenclature rather than the sword itself ? There is some evidence which points in the Indo Baluch or Iranian Baluch direction not least the huge inclusion of Baluch mercenary groups on the Zanj coast...and employed by Said the Great from about 1830...and a large number of such forces in the Great Lakes. Where this fits in the jigsaw of Nimcha terminology ..I am still trying to discover. There is even a place in India called Nimcha !

In reference to a note I made earlioer on Zanzibar City ...From Wikepedia note;
Quote "Zanzibar City is the capital and largest city of Zanzibar, in Tanzania. It is located on the west coast of Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, roughly due north of Dar es Salaam across the Zanzibar Channel.''Unquote. At its heart is the old town of Stonetown.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

In his book "The races of Afghanistan" Henry Bellew discusses Nimchas, "The Half-and-Half", ie mixed race or converted "Kaffirs"

And Elgood and others explained that the very term Nimcha stems from Arabic Nim, half, and -cha, a diminutive suffix.

Thus, nothing specific sword-related. Kind of "Shorty":-)

Salaams Ariel...I suspect this word has been misunderstood somewhere down the line. Nim isn't Arabic... Nuss would be...but Nim is Baluchi. it is also Persian (nim meaning half) as the mercenaries on the Zanj coast were largely from Iranian Baluchistan) Thus I suspect it was coined by the vast numbers of Baluch mercenaries on the Zanj not least the many squadrons employed to attack Fort Jesus by Said the Great after 1830...Please note the number of Baluch mercenaries also employed on exploration and with Burton far inland around the great lakes and in many places on the Zanj and of course stationed on Zanzibar.

Common practice in Baluch word twisting and bastardized phraseology I can see how Nimcha came about though I am still tracing the cha part...Does cha mean anything?....or is it just a handy ending... Nimcha... As a diminutive suffix yes I can see that and I use chamcha as another example...It means spoon...but the cha seems entirely superfluous except as a suffix of no meaning. When looking at the plural form it is important to be able to for the plural. In Army parlance Baluch if you want to say complicated mix up you use the singular and plural together agadam-bagadam... so I imagine swords... Nimchas would form around the structure Nimcha Chimcha....M is commonly substituted when nothing else works thus Gari Mari is plural for carts or cars. Table mable for tables. Kursi Mursi for chairs. There will be a quiz later on Baluch linguistics...

Oddly there is a Nimcha as a place in India which I am also looking at... What is more weird is how if this is a Baluch word did it backwash onto North African swords?....and when did the word start being used?...I might add that Nimcha are not at all all short as the Butin chart shows many full length and is why I posit that the term means single edged blade...of that type.

In addition I note a peculiarity on top of the Pommel of the Zanzibari type which has been considered before as a scorpion..but which I think is in fact a Turtle. That makes abundant sense as a ship borne weapon relating the type to the sea...(and that area; Zanzibar and North to Muscat as a huge Turtle breeding area)... The two ideas seem to interlock. The shorter version certainly advantageous at sea whilst the longer at Forts and shore locations. In both I would expect to see the Turtle insignia being common on the Zanzibar type and not on the Moroccan.... Which of course is true.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi. :)

my other nimcha (with a guard) has a 35 in. fullered single edge blade. :)

Salaams Kronkew ~ and is dated.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

not sure what it is dated at though

marking:

Very interesting historical information.

Ibrahim, this is some most intriguing perspective on the seemingly most misunderstood term 'nimcha', which has long been included in the assembled glossary of classifying terms among arms collectors.
While Robert Elgood rightly noted the often misapplied use of the term in describing the sabres better described as Maghrebi sa'if (often Algerian also) as these typically had ful size blades, not 'half' or small/short as implied.

This is interesting investigative work in tracing the probable etymology of the term 'nim' and the variously interpreted suffix 'cha', in the use of this term collectively in describing many types of Arab sabres in this group.

It seems quite likely for the diffusion of the Baluch/ Iranian version of the word into Arab parlance and into a vernacular description used more collectively as you suggest.

Salaams Jim, What the map does not show is the other areas that Baluch mercenaries flowed into ... From our perspective there are two important omissions ...One is the Zanj where they were called into service after 1830 by Said the Great against Fort Jesus and the Portuguese enemy at the time. This was something of a pushover as it was disease that weakened the Portuguese but I earmark this as part of the conundrum addressed in the next paragraph. To the North is the region that is part of Afghanistan. To the West Persian controlled Baluchistan... The entire area of what we call Baluchistan may be thought of as more straddling these countries in an amorphous blob...but administered and owned by the countries of which they are painted upon. The other area was The Punjab South and East of Baluchistan. Said the Great favoured these tough tribal fighters and many remained in place until today as well as in Oman. The Sultan continues to recruit from Baluchistan in the Pakistani controlled region of Mekran. (Oman owned Gwadur port until 1950). ..though among those recruits it was often found soldiers from other areas were in the group. In the Zanj they were often found in the 19thC inland working with Tipu Tib and at Zanzibar. They also worked with Burton on his journeys to and from the African interior.

A couple of things struck me as interesting while I was thinking this through...The sword Nimcha as we know it can not have developed from scratch in Zanzibar waters... it must have come from North Africa either by desert or Sea or both. The first Europeans into the Indian Ocean were the Portuguese.

After the Portuguese left Bahrain, Musandam, Muscat(1650) and Zanzibar (1652) there was still a lot of activity and fighting as they struggled to hold parts of the Zanj etc... Said the Great attacked them at Fort Jesus in 1831? with his Mercenaries from Baluchistan... after that there was a general retreat and reformation built around Mozambique ...but insofar as the Zanj etc they were more or less absent. My question is this...

Was it not the Portuguese who brought the weapon from North Africa... and was it not also they who took the name Nimcha back to North African shores ...Nimcha..from the Baluch on the Zanj as their (the Portuguese) possessions in the Indian Ocean disintegrated ?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Salaams All ...To visualize how far the Nimcha spreads ...The Type Zanzibari (I suggest) here is something of a brain teaser... For this I illustrate the Comores situation... an island grouping not dissimilar to Zanzibar ...another slavery and spice islands grouping closer to Madagascar and seized by the French in the late 18oos...on research you will discover the Algerian connection in the Indian Ocean which will give you hours of fascinating study.

Not least among the conundrum encountered will be ..Was the Nimcha the result of Spanish, Portuguese, English, French sea going trade/war and did it enter the Indian Ocean around the Cape of Good Hope or via the Spanish via Accupulco and the Philipines or was this via an overland route ...Spanish Sahara perhaps or by ship down the Red Sea?...For certain it didn't just happen in Zanzibar...Someone brought the concept although it may have Morphed..What then was the influence of the Baluch mercenaries employed by Said the Great in Zanzibar and on the Zanj? To add a little spice to the problem we are dealing with two things...The actual weapon and the peculiar name... and how did it backwash to mean swords from here and from the North African coast?

Please also observe the formal almost exact engineering of a sword with quite marked disciplined design which to my eye is almost military in style and appears similar to Afghan blades. Hyderabad and Hadramaut seem invisibly linked with Yemeni(from Hadramaut ) mercenaries in Hyderabad dominant...and with the group name Jawsh ...Jeysh (ar. army)

~and I have to add research indicates blades entering the Indian Ocean from The West Indian region ..Bombay.

Your comments appreciated please.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Here's my only Nimcha. One of the quillons is missing. The blade's very thin - you can see where they had to put a shunt in the hilt to make it fit. I assume the blade's european?

Zanzibari Sword Hilt.
 

Salaams All...As part of a multi layered puzzle with this weapon viz;

On the Zanzibari sword hilt there are three dots often with their gold decoration removed. Does this signify something Talismanic?

The entire hilt takes on an animal outlook... Is it a Lion or Horse designed geometrically?

On top of the pommel are two projections possibly ears?

Over the top of the pommel is what I have previously suggested is a Turtle?

Incorporated with the three dots is an INVERTED V . Is this meant to signify a mouth?

What are the R figures on all the quillons and on the upper hand Guard.?

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

These are all excellent and compelling questions Ibrahiim! I am hoping some out there with experience with weapons of these regions might have ideas concerning these features from examples they own or have owned, or perhaps material culture items with clues.

Such as the great entry some time ago you posted an example of an ivory embellished comb with similar features seen on the Zanzibari sabre posted here.

With the presumed zoomorphic character of the profiles of these hilts, it seems this dilemma prevails with quite a few ethnographic hilts, including the flyssa, karabela, the so called Berber sabres etc. There seems a strong possibility these are stylizations which have devolved into simply aesthetic forms with connections to any prototype long lost, whether on actual examples or from iconographic sources.

I would surely like to know others thoughts on this, as there must be other views.

From George Stone.

Excellent entry Estcrh!! Thank you.
I would like to add some notes which might be pertinent, especially as Stone has made reference to Egerton (1880) where he describes ' as Mahratta sabres (534,535).

Actually in Egerton the first reference #534 describes an iron hilt sabre , 'nimcha or tegha' date 1780, used by men of high rank.
#535 describes a nimcha of 2ft 8" from Vizianagram.

Neither is illustrated.

Curiously, Pant ("Indian Arms and Armour", Lahore, 1980, p.59) notes Stone and his description of the Moroccan nimcha correctly, however he claims that Egerton has referred to these as Mahratta sabres, which I cannot find evidence of.
Pant does claim that Egerton has wrongly equated nimcha with his own descriptions of tegha and goliah.

Clearly the term nimcha was in use in India, and as early as the years as Egerton did his research pre 1880. As Pant has noted, the term was used for 'small' in varied context, however it does not seem clearly applied as to a certain sword type.

Pant, on p.77 notes a nimcha shamshir (he often coupled terms) to refer to a 'miniature shamshir' intended for young princes, and describes it as a small sword slightly curved. He adds that one of these was used by Ibrahim Quli Khan in 1725 in an attack at Gujerat, noting reference to it from an 1889 record (A copy of the Akbar Nama).
It is unclear whether the narrative of the 1725 event uses the term nimcha or whether this was appended by Pant.

On p,169, Pant also notes that smaller jamadhars (katars) with blades 3-6" are referred to as 'nimcha' (=small).

These notes may add more benchmark data to seek more on the nimcha term.

We know that the Buttin reference (1933) #1009 to one of the Hadhramati style nimchas is simply referred to as Arab sa'if.

In the 2002 update of Egerton's 1896 revision including Arab arms,
#194 is one of the 'peaked' hilt style swords seen in the Stone plate, which is noted as probably a presentation sword of the 18th c. The nimcha term is absent.
#196 is one of the 'Hadhramauti' (sharply canted hilts) listed as Arab and from Yemen, and 'bought at Cairo'. Cairo would seem to have been an outfitting center and this with likely European blade. Again, the nimcha term is absent.

So now we can look into other references beyond these more familiar ones.

Buttin in his catalogue refers to all his “nimcha” swords as saifs. He considers the type as the quintessential Arab sabre, with relatively minor differences in Moroccan swords, and attributes the origin of its form to a Sinhalese prototype.
I found another reference to the Indian nimcha, in a report by the French consul to Calcutta, describing the international exhibition of 1883. He mentions several swords from the Deccan by name, including the “Nimcha, a short sword, carried by the lower classes”.

Andreas, thank you so much! This is exactly what I always hope for in these discussions, other references not previously included; other sword examples from private collections as kindly posted by Kronckew; pertinent illustrative examples as always graciously entered by Estcrh and the key engagement in varying aspects of the topic by Ibrahiim.

These things are how we can bring the knowledge and advance on the understanding of these forms, as a team.

As you note, Buttin(publ.1933) did indeed refer collectively to these groups of sabres as Arabian saif, which I believe he felt served better to describe the entire spectrum rather than variations....though he does specify Moroccan in some examples. It is unclear whether he knew of, or used the term 'nimcha' in his collections or works.
In going through old notes, I found one of the key articles on this topic from Connoisseur magazine December 1975, by the Anthony North, " A Late 15th Century Italian Sword".
In the article he addresses the similarities in the Moroccan saif with an Italian short sabre of 15th century. In this Charles Buttin is mentioned with his comparisons of the kastane of Ceylon with European swords . In a paper he wrote ("Les Poignards et Les Sabres Marocaines", 'Hesperis' tome XXVI,published 1939), he noted an example of this hilt system as Spanish, however as North points out this was a North Italian sword in actuality.

I recall personal discussions with one of the Buttin family from 2004, and it was noted that Charles believed that the European swords had been influenced by the kastane. Obviously the early views of even the most venerable of authorities can have possible errors, just as his dating of some hilts of this form to the 14th and 15th century.
The earliest example we have found of the kastane with its guard in the familiar form is c. 1622 (probably slightly earlier).
The earliest known examples of the 'Moroccan' hilts are in English paintings of 1628 and 1640 .

There does seem to be a void between the late 15th century and the known 17th century examples of these swords in Morocco.
As noted swords with these style hilts are known in Mediterranian context with Italy late 15th, Moroccan early 17th, with the curious examples from India apparently later reflecting probable Arab influence via Hyderabad.
As noted, the kastane has its earliest appearance early 17th c.

So our question is , 'where are the examples of these distinctive multi quillon hilts in the 16th century? Perhaps knowing the location of their notable presence then might reveal more on the diffusion of the hilt form.

As for the term 'nimcha' it does seem selectively used but most evidence points to Indian context, although it does not seem to have been clearly understood by Egerton. Also another curious conflict, in Egerton it is noted the 'nimcha' was used by upper classes, however his emphasis seems to have been on the Deccan to Mahratta regions........the French consul noted by Andreas states conversely, the nimcha to lower classes?