Indo / Arab Jambiya

[Miguel]

Hello Everyone I would like to share this item with you and to solicit your assistance in determining it`s origin.

I think it is a beautiful design of weapon in it`s simplicity and symmetry. The hilt of an Indian pistol grip design in polished Sardonyx stone whereas the blade and scabbard are pure Arab from south Yemen called `Hejaz`. I have never seen an Arab Jambiya with a stone pistol grip hilt so I am inclined to think that it is of Indian origin but I just don't know. There seems to be some punched decoration or inscription in the centre panel of the scabbard if the latter I would be grateful if someone could translate it.
The overall length is 12 ins with a blade length of 7.75 ins x 1.75 ins wide.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Regards
Miguel

[kahnjar1]

Hi Miguel,
You are right about the SCABBARD being what is described as Hejaz. This style comes from southern Yemen around the Aden region. The punched script is just that....script, which some one here may be able to translate for you if you could post clear pics. I have a strong suspicion that the knife is not original to the scabbard and is a much later Indian made addition.
The scabbard is worthy of attention as it is very nice, and I suspect by the way it looks, that the silver is of good quality.
Stu

[A.alnakkas]

interesting piece. Like Stu I think the piece is put together. If you can post better photos I will be able to translate. Already done with half :-)

This type of dagger usually comes with "Baqatyan" name, a maker whose descendants still work in the business and make items in the same style.

[Multumesc]

Beautiful knife.

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Hi Miguel,
You are right about the SCABBARD being what is described as Hejaz. This style comes from southern Yemen around the Aden region. The punched script is just that....script, which some one here may be able to translate for you if you could post clear pics. I have a strong suspicion that the knife is not original to the scabbard and is a much later Indian made addition.
The scabbard is worthy of attention as it is very nice, and I suspect by the way it looks, that the silver is of good quality.
Stu

Hi Stu,

Thanks for your interesting comments and information, it is fascinating what unfolds about items posted for comment and info when knowledgeable members kindly give their time to pass on their knowledge.

I wonder how the scabbard got to India and whether the dagger was made for an Indian who liked the scabbard or an Arab who liked the pistol grip style of handle.? Whoever made the knife and handle must have been very skilled and in my opinion did a perfect job. For interest I obtained this piece in the early 70`s in a part exchange deal with money as well for my Bayonet collection at the time it being the first Ethno weapon I purchased.
Regards
Miguel

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

interesting piece. Like Stu I think the piece is put together. If you can post better photos I will be able to translate. Already done with half :-)

This type of dagger usually comes with "Baqatyan" name, a maker whose descendants still work in the business and make items in the same style.

Hello Mr A.alnakkas and thank you so much for your comments and info. I have taken some more photos of the script and really hope that they are clear enough for you to complete your translation for which I will be most grateful. I have also included a photo of inside the throat of the scabbard.
Regards
Miguel

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by Multumesc

Beautiful knife.

Thank you for your kind comment. I really like this piece myself I think the knife maker created a perfect balance matching that handle with that blade.
Regards
Miguel

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Hi Stu,

Thanks for your interesting comments and information, it is fascinating what unfolds about items posted for comment and info when knowledgeable members kindly give their time to pass on their knowledge.

I wonder how the scabbard got to India and whether the dagger was made for an Indian who liked the scabbard or an Arab who liked the pistol grip style of handle.? Whoever made the knife and handle must have been very skilled and in my opinion did a perfect job. For interest I obtained this piece in the early 70`s in a part exchange deal with money as well for my Bayonet collection at the time it being the first Ethno weapon I purchased.
Regards
Miguel

Hi Miguel,
The contact between India and the Arabian peninsula goes back a very long time in terms of trade etc so the flow of items went both ways. This is probably one of those happenings. Interesting that you have had the knife since the 70s. I had been thinking a very late mating of the two parts.
Re the blade.....can you tell if it is forged or is it a "sandwich" blade (made in two parts and joined together)?
Stu

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Hello Everyone I would like to share this item with you and to solicit your assistance in determining it`s origin.

I think it is a beautiful design of weapon in it`s simplicity and symmetry. The hilt of an Indian pistol grip design in polished Sardonyx stone whereas the blade and scabbard are pure Arab from south Yemen called `Hejaz`. I have never seen an Arab Jambiya with a stone pistol grip hilt so I am inclined to think that it is of Indian origin but I just don't know. There seems to be some punched decoration or inscription in the centre panel of the scabbard if the latter I would be grateful if someone could translate it.
The overall length is 12 ins with a blade length of 7.75 ins x 1.75 ins wide.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Regards
Miguel

Salaams Miguel, I agree on the Yemeni style with typical punched insignia....though an almost exact dagger to this is called the Gabali in Southern Oman whose tribes straddle the border.. see http://khanjar.om/Types.html In addition see the picture at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=omani+khanjar #127

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Typically worn as below...

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Hi Miguel,
The contact between India and the Arabian peninsula goes back a very long time in terms of trade etc so the flow of items went both ways. This is probably one of those happenings. Interesting that you have had the knife since the 70s. I had been thinking a very late mating of the two parts.
Re the blade.....can you tell if it is forged or is it a "sandwich" blade (made in two parts and joined together)?
Stu

Hi Stu,

I would say that the blade is forged not sandwich construction also on comparison with my other Arab Khanjars and Yemeni Jambiya that the blade is Arab and not Indian made but not being an expert I could be wrong as I said I have had it in my possession for the best part of 45 years. Thanks again for your interest and comments.
Regards
Miguel

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Miguel, I agree on the Yemeni style with typical punched insignia....though an almost exact dagger to this is called the Gabali in Southern Oman whose tribes straddle the border.. see http://khanjar.om/Types.html In addition see the picture at http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=omani+khanjar #127

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Hello Ibrahiim,

Thank you very much for your interesting information and for the links which are most informative, I am most appreciative of sharing in your knowledge.

Not having much knowledge of these weapons I must admit to not knowing of the existence of Gabali khanjar which is as you say is exactly the same as mine apart from the hilt.

The links are very interesting and I take your point re hilts made from rock crystal being heavy and impractical if they dropped onto a hard unyielding surface they would shatter or pieces splinter off. The examples you showed were in the shape of an Arab style hilt. Mine is in the style of an Indian pistol grip fitted to what I believe to be an Arab blade. This is why I believe it to be for an Indian who likes the Yemen style blade and scabbard or an Arab who likes the Indian style handle as I said previously I doubt the latter as I have never seen an Arab khanjar or Jambiya with this style of handle.
I would appreciate your opinion on this together with your estimation of the age of the weapon.
Regards
Miguel

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Hello Ibrahiim,

Thank you very much for your interesting information and for the links which are most informative, I am most appreciative of sharing in your knowledge.

Not having much knowledge of these weapons I must admit to not knowing of the existence of Gabali khanjar which is as you say is exactly the same as mine apart from the hilt.

The links are very interesting and I take your point re hilts made from rock crystal being heavy and impractical if they dropped onto a hard unyielding surface they would shatter or pieces splinter off. The examples you showed were in the shape of an Arab style hilt. Mine is in the style of an Indian pistol grip fitted to what I believe to be an Arab blade. This is why I believe it to be for an Indian who likes the Yemen style blade and scabbard or an Arab who likes the Indian style handle as I said previously I doubt the latter as I have never seen an Arab khanjar or Jambiya with this style of handle.
I would appreciate your opinion on this together with your estimation of the age of the weapon.
Regards
Miguel

Salaams Miguel, Oh yes I had forgotten that one of my references contained some rock crystal hilts as well as pictures of the Gebali weapon.

As you say we need to consider 45 years in your possession plus the other variables... Of course it is virtually impossible but the dagger has all of its history on show including the obvious rehilting and perhaps travel to India and the fact that the scabbard silver has a great patina indicating age...but how much? Yemen influence through trade and migration to India etc is well documented and you will find Yemeni influence in the great spices plantations and in centres like Hyderabad. The age of the scabbard could be 100 years and you might be happy with that ... Who knows when it was re hilted as wear on the hilt is virtually impossible to determine?
Hilts like that are actually millions of years old!!...
A better answer could be... "Its old enough" !

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Salaams All...In terms of what looks like a modified rehilted Yemeni dagger I thought a look at the way the influence flowed ...both ways... between Yemen and India as well as Indonesia ...and even how Indian influence came to Aden...

Here is a reference to the migration from Hadramaut of Yemeni people to Indonesia...Many of these male migrants intermarried ...see https://books.google.com.om/books?id...ration&f=false

http://scroll.in/article/719148/merc...ndia-and-yemen

See http://www.yementimes.com/en/1545/cu...ntegration.htm for an interesting reverse look at Indian influence in Yemen.

I was impressed with the easy to read article from one of the above references which I Quote

"As Houthi rebels overran the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in March, the embattled government shifted its capital to Aden. For many Indians, and especially for residents of Mumbai, the name of the city has an unusual ring of familiarity to it. It is evoked, for instance, in the name of major thoroughfare in the Central Mumbai neighbourhood of Matunga: Adenwala Road is a the leafy symbol of a deep if forgotten connection between India and Yemen.

The road gets its name from a Parsi family that had such strong business links with Aden, they decided to make it part of their identity. But trade wasn't the only bridge between India and Yemen. Islam has long bound the two countries, with clerics and lay people travelling back and forth from the medieval age.

The strategic location of Yemen, close to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, means that it has always been an important centre of Islamic theology. As a result, the medieval age saw Islamic saints come down from Yemen to India, especially the Deccan. The most significant transfer of this sort might have been the migration of the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community to Gujarat in the 16th century.

Yemenis in India

Yemen also exported fighters. Mercenaries from Yemen were well known for their skills of war and were in great demand, especially in the Deccan. Bahadur Shah, the Sultan of Gujarat in the 16th century had 10,000 Yemenis in his army and and Nana Phadnavis’ Maratha empire employed 5,000 fighters who were the highest paid soldiers in the entire army. Later on, with the fall of the Marathas, these Yemenis would serve the Hyderabad Nizams, where they were just as well regarded: they often served as guards of the Nizam’s palace.

The descendants of those soldiers still live in India. On the Konkan coast, there are Marathi-speaking Muslims of Yemeni descent. They are called Jamaatis and their Marathi is heavily influenced by Arabic loanwords, reflecting their origins. In Hyderabad, they are called the Chaush and many of still live in the Barkas neighbourhood.

The traffic between India and Yemen intensified greatly after 1839, when the British conquered Aden and declared it a free port. The city came to be used as a coal refuelling station for steamships sailing between India and Europe. The building of the Suez Canal in 1869 transformed the city into a entrepot for trade between Europe, Asia and Africa.

Cowasji Dinshaw (the name “Adenwala” would be added later), a Parsi merchant of Mumbai, saw this potential early on and arrived in Aden in 1845. He proceeded to remodel the port to make it capable of handling the steamer traffic between the Indian Ocean and Europe, turning Aden the Singapore of its age. At the turn of the century, his son, Hormusjee, expanded the business, eventually acting as bankers, naval agents, shipowners, managing agents for mills and steamship companies. When the Suez Canal, the world’s largest shipping company at the time, the British India Steam Navigation Company, hired the Adenwalahs as their agents in Aden''.Unquote.

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Hi Stu,

I would say that the blade is forged not sandwich construction also on comparison with my other Arab Khanjars and Yemeni Jambiya that the blade is Arab and not Indian made but not being an expert I could be wrong as I said I have had it in my possession for the best part of 45 years. Thanks again for your interest and comments.
Regards
Miguel

....so the assumption here, and it is only an assumption, is that what you have is likely an original scabbard and blade, with a new handle fitted at some stage. Whatever the outcome, it is a nice and very interesting piece showing cross cultural traits.
Stu

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Miguel, Oh yes I had forgotten that one of my references contained some rock crystal hilts as well as pictures of the Gebali weapon.

As you say we need to consider 45 years in your possession plus the other variables... Of course it is virtually impossible but the dagger has all of its history on show including the obvious rehilting and perhaps travel to India and the fact that the scabbard silver has a great patina indicating age...but how much? Yemen influence through trade and migration to India etc is well documented and you will find Yemeni influence in the great spices plantations and in centres like Hyderabad. The age of the scabbard could be 100 years and you might be happy with that ... Who knows when it was re hilted as wear on the hilt is virtually impossible to determine?
Hilts like that are actually millions of years old!!...
A better answer could be... "Its old enough" !

Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Hello Ibrahiim,

Thank you very much for your opinion it is very much appreciated, you knowledge on the subject of Omani in particular and Arab khanjars in general is awesome. I agree with your answer on age definitely "old enough".
Regards
Miguel

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

....so the assumption here, and it is only an assumption, is that what you have is likely an original scabbard and blade, with a new handle fitted at some stage. Whatever the outcome, it is a nice and very interesting piece showing cross cultural traits.
Stu

Hi Stu,
I could not have put it better myself. I am hoping that A. ainakkas comes back with a translation that might shed some more light on the scabbard.
Regards
Miguel

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

interesting piece. Like Stu I think the piece is put together. If you can post better photos I will be able to translate. Already done with half :-)

Hope the new photos were clear enough for your purpose.
Regards
Miguel

[A.alnakkas]

Woops.

Says on the left side "Ali Ibn Suwayed" (owner name)

Says on the right side "Malbous al Afya *****" (could not read the last word but the first two are common and means a wish for the wearer to have good health)

[Miguel]

Originally Posted by A.alnakkas

Woops.

Says on the left side "Ali Ibn Suwayed" (owner name)

Says on the right side "Malbous al Afya *****" (could not read the last word but the first two are common and means a wish for the wearer to have good health)

Many thanks for the translation it is most appreciated. Is the name of the owner a common one in Yemen or Oman Regards
Miguel

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Miguel

Hello Everyone I would like to share this item with you and to solicit your assistance in determining it`s origin.

I think it is a beautiful design of weapon in it`s simplicity and symmetry. The hilt of an Indian pistol grip design in polished Sardonyx stone whereas the blade and scabbard are pure Arab from south Yemen called `Hejaz`. I have never seen an Arab Jambiya with a stone pistol grip hilt so I am inclined to think that it is of Indian origin but I just don't know. There seems to be some punched decoration or inscription in the centre panel of the scabbard if the latter I would be grateful if someone could translate it.
The overall length is 12 ins with a blade length of 7.75 ins x 1.75 ins wide.
Thanking you in anticipation.
Regards
Miguel

Miquel, I can not find another example of a pistol grip jambiya with a true arab type blade. No matter how it ended up being created it is a nice looking combination.