Cult of the Jambiya
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 12:28 pm
An interesting blade, the Jambiya has caught my fancy since a few years now. Browsing for information, I came across this interesting article by Schuyler VR Cammann, which I recomposed into a few lines and thought of sharing it here along with a few blades (old, new, touristy, et al) in my collection...
The Jambiya dagger has cultural origins in Yemen going back nearly 3000 years. With a T-shaped handle made from horns or animal bones and decorated with gold and other precious metals, it is famous throughout the Arab world and areas wherever Arab influence could penetrate historically - from Turkey to the Balkans and from Spain to India. Generally having a ‘J’ shaped curved double-edged blade, it also travelled to other cultures in Persia and the Ottoman Empire albeit with some alterations to the blade, hilt and scabbard. The Jambiya is tucked inside a sheath called Aseeb, which is made of wood and covered with brown or white leather, or decorated metal.
Although it is a knife, it has evolved more as a symbol of wealth and social class or as a token of manhood, rather than a functional tool. While some say it is representative of strength and independence and used during traditional festivals, many others describe it as an object of peace, despite it being a dagger!
The link to the article is : https://www.penn.museum/sites/expeditio ... e-jambiya/
For a visual treat:
The Jambiya dagger has cultural origins in Yemen going back nearly 3000 years. With a T-shaped handle made from horns or animal bones and decorated with gold and other precious metals, it is famous throughout the Arab world and areas wherever Arab influence could penetrate historically - from Turkey to the Balkans and from Spain to India. Generally having a ‘J’ shaped curved double-edged blade, it also travelled to other cultures in Persia and the Ottoman Empire albeit with some alterations to the blade, hilt and scabbard. The Jambiya is tucked inside a sheath called Aseeb, which is made of wood and covered with brown or white leather, or decorated metal.
Although it is a knife, it has evolved more as a symbol of wealth and social class or as a token of manhood, rather than a functional tool. While some say it is representative of strength and independence and used during traditional festivals, many others describe it as an object of peace, despite it being a dagger!
The link to the article is : https://www.penn.museum/sites/expeditio ... e-jambiya/
For a visual treat: