Wahabbi Jambiya

Michael Blalock · 21st December 2008, 04:19 PM

Here is a page with photos of men dancing with what we call wahabbi jambiyas or Sabiki. Very long jambiyas, in fact. The photos are from Asir region, formally part of Yemen and taken by Saudi Arabia at the begining of the century.

http://www.galenfrysinger.com/flower...udi_arabia.htm

Emanuel · 21st December 2008, 04:37 PM

Interesting that they're holding the sabiki with the concave edge forward, no the convex. I wonder if they were used in this manner to strike.

Rick · 21st December 2008, 04:58 PM

It looks like an efficient way to use such a large weapon .
The way the Kukri is held comes to mind as a similar gripping style .
Also the weapon held as it is stabs quite efficiently .

This kirach in my collection is quite good at stabbing straight and true .

The backhanded cut from such a large kanjar would be nasty after a chop or stab .

Michael Blalock · 21st December 2008, 11:28 PM

Here is a video of a yemen battle charge, albeit staged for the camera. The jambiyas are all held in the same fashion as they are in the dances,(further in the video) with the concave edge forward. I never saw a sharp yemeni jambiya though and I would wager most of these warriors' jambiyas had blades made of welded sheet metal. If it really came to using the jambiya, there would most likely be no slicing, only stabbing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEzXLpwGPB0

dancing

kahnjar1 · 22nd December 2008, 04:18 AM

These particular Jambiya are called SABAK in the HIJAZ region and SABIKI in the ASIR region. The Wahhabis (after whom this particular type of Jambiya is popularly named) were just one of the many tribes who inhabit(ed) the Arabian Peninsula, and certainly were not the only tribes who used this type.
A few pics attached of these jambiya.

Emanuel · 22nd December 2008, 06:39 AM

Since I first read "sabiki" in Elgood I wondered about the root of this word. In Polish "sablje" means sword, and this word has been adopted in French and English as "sabre" and even Romanian as "sabie". Of course it could very well be coincidence, but I wonder...

Can anyone enlighten the roots of these two words?

21st December 2008, 04:19 PM	#1
Michael Blalock Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: dc Posts: 271	Wahabbi Jambiya Here is a page with photos of men dancing with what we call wahabbi jambiyas or Sabiki. Very long jambiyas, in fact. The photos are from Asir region, formally part of Yemen and taken by Saudi Arabia at the begining of the century. http://www.galenfrysinger.com/flower...udi_arabia.htm Attached Images

21st December 2008, 04:58 PM	#3
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,293	It looks like an efficient way to use such a large weapon . The way the Kukri is held comes to mind as a similar gripping style . Also the weapon held as it is stabs quite efficiently . This kirach in my collection is quite good at stabbing straight and true . The backhanded cut from such a large kanjar would be nasty after a chop or stab . Attached Images

21st December 2008, 11:28 PM	#4
Michael Blalock Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: dc Posts: 271	Here is a video of a yemen battle charge, albeit staged for the camera. The jambiyas are all held in the same fashion as they are in the dances,(further in the video) with the concave edge forward. I never saw a sharp yemeni jambiya though and I would wager most of these warriors' jambiyas had blades made of welded sheet metal. If it really came to using the jambiya, there would most likely be no slicing, only stabbing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEzXLpwGPB0 dancing Attached Images

22nd December 2008, 04:18 AM	#5
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,739	SABAK,SABIKI These particular Jambiya are called SABAK in the HIJAZ region and SABIKI in the ASIR region. The Wahhabis (after whom this particular type of Jambiya is popularly named) were just one of the many tribes who inhabit(ed) the Arabian Peninsula, and certainly were not the only tribes who used this type. A few pics attached of these jambiya. Attached Images

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21st December 2008, 04:37 PM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Interesting that they're holding the sabiki with the concave edge forward, no the convex. I wonder if they were used in this manner to strike.

22nd December 2008, 06:39 AM	#6
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Since I first read "sabiki" in Elgood I wondered about the root of this word. In Polish "sablje" means sword, and this word has been adopted in French and English as "sabre" and even Romanian as "sabie". Of course it could very well be coincidence, but I wonder... Can anyone enlighten the roots of these two words?