Abyssinian shotel for coment - Page 2

Emanuel · 8th December 2007, 04:23 PM

Thank you very much for the clarification, Ron. I'll follow you in accepting these terms.

On another note, I've finally got pictures (well, drawings) of European-made shotel blades. This gentleman was kind enough to scan some pages from Wilkinson and Solingen catalogues: http://forums.swordforum.com/showpos...0&postcount=13
These date from the early 1900s.

Regards,
Emanuel

Jim McDougall · 8th December 2007, 04:46 PM

Hi Ron,
Thank you so much for adding that information, and as I have noted, I think we can be confident that yours is pretty much the final word when it comes to these Ethiopian and Eritrean weapons. I have truly admired the work you have done on studying them over the years.
You are right also in noting that the general population in these regions is much like most modern populations, in being terribly uninformed when it comes to such matters. I wonder if the situation with the term 'kaskara' is much the same problem?

You have certainly resolved at least one of the elements from the dreaded Pandoras Box on weapons terminology!!! I'm with Emanuel and will accept the terms we have discussed as you have described.
Thank you again.
All very best regards,
Jim

roanoa · 8th December 2007, 09:45 PM

Jim,
it is understandable that the vast majority of people would not know much about "old stuff". Things WE take for granted are a mystery to most. If you were ta ask a fellow from Europe about a PALLASH, what do you think his response would be? I wonder if I ask about a RAPIER.... I may be told that the correct word is RAPIST..... About the KASKARA, it may be a modification of QATTARA???? I googled ETHIOPIAN SHOTEL and found a reliable reference to SHOTEL meaning KNIFE. That would be in line with my mother-in-law's translation. Also, another word for knife, in this article, was GARA, which in modern Amharic and Tygrinian is KARRA. One of the problem with these terms is that they have to be written in English based on the pronounciation which differs from area to area. Also, in Ethiopia/Eritrea there are MANY languages spoken and the same object will have a dramatically different name. Well, this is the stuff that make my collecting interesting!!!

8th December 2007, 04:23 PM	#31
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Thank you very much for the clarification, Ron. I'll follow you in accepting these terms. On another note, I've finally got pictures (well, drawings) of European-made shotel blades. This gentleman was kind enough to scan some pages from Wilkinson and Solingen catalogues: http://forums.swordforum.com/showpos...0&postcount=13 These date from the early 1900s. Regards, Emanuel

8th December 2007, 04:46 PM	#32
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 9,957	Hi Ron, Thank you so much for adding that information, and as I have noted, I think we can be confident that yours is pretty much the final word when it comes to these Ethiopian and Eritrean weapons. I have truly admired the work you have done on studying them over the years. You are right also in noting that the general population in these regions is much like most modern populations, in being terribly uninformed when it comes to such matters. I wonder if the situation with the term 'kaskara' is much the same problem? You have certainly resolved at least one of the elements from the dreaded Pandoras Box on weapons terminology!!! I'm with Emanuel and will accept the terms we have discussed as you have described. Thank you again. All very best regards, Jim

8th December 2007, 09:45 PM	#33
roanoa Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 237	Jim, it is understandable that the vast majority of people would not know much about "old stuff". Things WE take for granted are a mystery to most. If you were ta ask a fellow from Europe about a PALLASH, what do you think his response would be? I wonder if I ask about a RAPIER.... I may be told that the correct word is RAPIST..... About the KASKARA, it may be a modification of QATTARA???? I googled ETHIOPIAN SHOTEL and found a reliable reference to SHOTEL meaning KNIFE. That would be in line with my mother-in-law's translation. Also, another word for knife, in this article, was GARA, which in modern Amharic and Tygrinian is KARRA. One of the problem with these terms is that they have to be written in English based on the pronounciation which differs from area to area. Also, in Ethiopia/Eritrea there are MANY languages spoken and the same object will have a dramatically different name. Well, this is the stuff that make my collecting interesting!!!