Questions remain:
When did the Samanniya style originate, become homogenous,
and the signature style of the Mahdist Era?
I think the answer to all elements is, “We don't know.” There is scant and
scattered physical evidence. I have summarized what I have found.
Others, please add to what is known and may be known.
The accounts of 18th and 19th C European travelers to the Central and Eastern Sahel may be our best available sources of information or lack thereof on the swords and their quillons. Historians of the period are also in the mix. Many observers noted the availability of imported Solingen sword blades, and only a few even suggest the grip portions of the swords observed.
Historical notes
1700–1702 Father Theodoro Krump (translated by Jay Spaulding) in the Funj lands reports that swords were a symbol of authority among the Funj hierarchy, and separately, that a sword brandished by a local Arab prince was "like that of Emperor Charles." [Fig. 27 is a replica version of a sword of Charles V. Other swords of the period had loop guards as well.] Krump also observes that slave infantry carry lances and shields while horse and camel cavalry use lances or sabres.
The 1762 dated Funj sword of Nasir Mohammad. See Fig. 7 above (unrestored). While the blade may be 18th Century, I doubt the period date because the quillon is heavily flared like the Ali Dinar examples of 1899 period. Also, the silver grip cover has the star & comet design like much later examples.
A print of the Funj King with sword dated 1821. Fig. 12 above. (The source of the print is unknown to me. It is assumed that the artist was faithful to the physical item.) The scabbard already has the leaf shaped lower part characteristic of the kaskara. An enlargement of hilt area (Fig. 13 above) shows what looks like a jeweled quillon considerably wider than the Samanniya type, more like a takouba. The pommel is not visible, but one could imagine the upper and lower langets of a kaskara.
During 1837–39 Ignatius Pallme traveling in Darfur and Kordofan observed “that people use swords without guards, hilts covered with leather. Sheikhs’ swords have “massive silver hilts, terminating in a knob as large as a hen’s egg of the metal.” [The Mandinka of West Africa don’t have guards on their swords and use a leaf-style end on their scabbards. The scabbard style carried by Haj pilgrams passing through Sennar may have influenced the kaskara scabbard appearance. See Fig. 28.]
1851. Following Pallme’s observation, El Tounsy in his 1851“Voyage to Wadai” (Darfur's neighbor to the west) has a lithograph of a Wadai knight with a sword with similar knob. See Fig. 29. These two observations suggest that the kaskara’s home is not in the West. [As a footnote, he observed that the silver pommels were hollow, containing pebbles that produce a jingling sound. These are called garlic-heads.]
1861–62 Samuel Baker explored the upper Atbara River east from the Nile and observed that rank and file Arab’s swords had a plain bar cross-guard while the sheiks, etc. wear silver-hilted swords. While he did measure the swords, he apparently wasn’t interested in the fine points of sword accessory design. Also, the Hamran sword hunters he met were equipped with straight, double-edged swords, but he did not comment on guards.
In 1874–1875 Arthur Myers and others had a big game hunting experience with the same tribe of sword hunters. There are photos taken by Roland Ward, but they are unlikely to include other than portraits of their dead animals.
1871. Frederic-Benoit Garnier wrote about imports through Suakin from Egypt. Andreas, in a 2014 EAA post, translates from the French that “among the goods were blades and cross guards of German manufacture. “ This is the first and only reference to imported German cross-guards. We don't know the material or design on the cross-guards, nor has any known examples emerged.
1879 lithograph by Robert Hartmann in the Zeitschrift fur Ethnologie, Vol 11, 1879 in German (Journal of Ethnology) shows a horseman with a kaskara with a leaf shaped scabbard. The hilt and quillon appear to be like the classic kaskara style, but since it's from a sketch, the details are not definitive. Google Translate produced “Sukuri Rider in Full Armor”. I assume he was a Shukriyya Arabic tribal knight in the Northern Butana Plain area of Eastern Sudan. See Fig. 30.
1885–1998. The overwhelming majority of the war trophies brought back to England display the classic characteristic of kaskara quillons named herein and with the characteristic leaf scabbard. (Exceptions are virtually limited to reptile skins on hilts and scabbards which may be associated with various reptile cults especially in the southern range of the Mahdiya controlled lands. Many of these are associated with Thuluth blades. I read somewhere that the exotic reptile dress was made to appeal to visitors or British Condominium staff.) This suggests that the kaskara, as we know it, had been homogenized and made universal before or near the beginning of the Mahdiya in 1881-85 or certainly after 1885 when the Khalifa consolidated his power after the Mahdi's death.
1899–1916. With the exception of the 1884 outlier, in my understanding virtually all the extreme flared Samanniya quillons were made during Ali Dinar's restoration of the Darfur Sultanate. Reed’s 1987 LI & LII, as well as others, were likely made during this period, as well. I have no information on the fate of Dinar’s workshop after his reign ended.
Thus, we have scant evidence from remote and static sources to support our speculation. In order to progress, we need on-site primary research by Sudanese investigators. Local people have memories, provenanced swords, and perhaps documents that could elucidate our inquiry, but as time goes by fewer exist. No doubt dated heirloom swords still exist in context. But then again, "Who will bell the cat?"
Ed Hunley
August, 2018
----------Figures 27,28,29,30----------
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