Zanzibar Sword

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Marcus

This concept is stated in Islamic Weapons, Maghrib to Moghul. by Anthony Tirri. Not sure where he got it from.

I did quite a bit of research during preparation for a paper I wrote in 2004 which was actually on these swords. My study on them actually began when I acquired one some years prior, and was actually informed on the s'boula connection by Dominique Buttin, great grandson of Charles. I confirmed the origin of the Burton reference from Demmin (1877) when I located an original copy and saw the exact attribution to Zanzibar there along with the Oman broadsword had been lifted by Burton (1885) .

The entire 'faux pas' of the Demmin/Burton references to 'Zanzibar' on these swords was foot noted by Charles Buttin (1933) as he described they were actually s/boula from Morocco as illustrated in his catalog. This was further shown in his article on Moroccan weapons in 'Hesperis' in 1939 .

As I referenced in my paper, Charles Buttin was well acquainted with the arms of Morocco with many years of residence there giving him ample opportunity for his field research on their weapons.

I found the 'Ethiopian' connection in an obscure pamphlet on African weapons by Lindert (1967) which showed these 'Zanzibar' type swords among their arms. I cannot recall offhand whether the Falasha's were mentioned there, but that was included in my paper from research some time prior to 2004.

I do not recall if Tirri noted the Falasha's in his book, but based his Ethiopian attribution on examples with Amharic script on the blades. As I had described in my research, their presence there was certainly understandable with trade networks from the west and south interconnected in these regions.

What was most important about this particular case study in arms classification was understanding the necessity of always cross checking references set forth in early arms writings, despite their veneration and stature. We find errors in degree in so many of these works, and though with the highest respect maintained for the authors, we continue the research to resolve these and thereby adjusting our knowledge on these arms.