Kattara restoration

[Gavin Nugent]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

There is another of the same type that does not bend...
Gavin
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Salaams SwordsAntiqueWeapons, It would be great if there was one (why would I deny it?)... however;

No there isn't. Not counting the Omani Shamshiir which I put down to being a VIP Sword/dignatories only, there are 3 sword types designated Omani viz;

1. Omani Battle Sword.. or Sayf Yamaani. For Fighting.
2. Omani Curved Sword .. or Kattara. The slavers sword.
3. Omani Dancing Sword .. or Sayf (Saif). Pageants and Salutation only.

The designation Omani Dancing Sword carries the description Conical Hilt, broad, flexible blade often fullered with 1, 2 or three grooves. A flat spatulate tip, rounded. Sharpened on both edges. The flexible blade easily bending through 90 degrees so that the sword can be vibrated whilst dancing. This action is carried out with the flick of the wrist and is vital to the swords duel function in the traditional march past and pageants or "Funun".

A sword that looks like the dancing sword but is of Ethiopian/German origins and is stiff is considered as a Tourist sword sold in the souk to tourists since 1970...and occasionally fetching high prices apparently. Omani people don't buy them since as they dont bend they cannot be danced with thus are useless for the march past and Funun.

Omani Dancing Swords are not fighting weapons. They never were. Think of them as Dynastic swords invented just after 1744 for Celebration and Pageantry...Salutation and Parades...for what is in fact the current Dynasty..

No matter how warlike you may consider them they were never used in war.

There is no other derivative except the style that has been played with by the souk workshops for the Tourist market. Viz;

German>Ethiopia>Yemen >Oman > Souk> World. Here is a picture of one such blade (stiff)...from the workshop that has been converting thousands of such blades since 1970...brought in from Sanaa... previously of Ethiopian ownership...a German Blade...they are not all tripple fullered ...this one happens to be SEE #241 on http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ttara+comments

Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Yes my mind boggles at the denial and that your eyes are so closed. You defend a theory you consider 100% absolute with never a chance of a single individual in the past straying from this conviction of yours...

The souk items you speak of are not even a shadow of the old swords in the style we differ opinion on, the notion is void in when comparing these and old examples.

By your reckoning, in 1744 onwards, a new hilted was just designed and everyone queued for the next 100 years to get one and not a single person re-hilted an old battle sword or an heirloom blade in this "newer" style hilt.

Through divine intervention, they all kept their old battle swords at home and rushed off to the nearest market place to buy a new type of sword they can dance with because they all had pockets full of gold and a desire to "keep up with the Jones’s", this and sword makers were pumping these new swords out by the tens of thousands to appease the masses during this time....sounds like an economy stimulus package.

By this reckoning, simply by these people then keeping these old straight battle swords with quillons, there should be so many available to collectors to sight, yet they remain elusive I would say 1 old for every 50 new would be generous....but hang on Hilda, they now, during this period of 1744 onwards, suddenly chose to use a curved sword with the dancing hilt for fighting, never a straight sword with this new hilt, gentlemen of the period just thought how cool it would be to forget all they learned with the old straight sword, a comfort and knowledge ingrained in to their very being to suddenly adopt a curved sword...but hang on again, NO, you'll tell me they all continued to use their old straight battle swords right up until the early 20th century based on one photo.

We continue to venture through the lands of Dragons and Makara.

Gavin